Wide-area Access-BPL appears to have all but vanished from the Australian telecommunications landscape. Also, Smart Metering trials in Australia appear to have bypassed Access-BPL in favour of other technologies.
However, my guess is that in-house BPL is likely to become a major issue in Australia.
Now, in-house BPL modems are being supplied by a number of retailers and in-house BPL may possibly find application as part of the mix for in-home distribution of entertainment services supplied via the NBN.
For instance, in the UK more than 1 million pairs of in-home BPL modems have been installed by British Telecom, with large numbers of interference complaints to their regulator, OFCOM.
The WIA continues to be a very active participant in Standards Australia.
The international CISPR BPL working group, in which Standards Australia has been an active participant, has not been able to reach consensus within the time allowed. So its work has now ceased.
This is not good news, because without a CISPR standard BPL manufacturers are likely to adopt other industry developed standards which are likely to be less favourable to amateur radio.
I would again like to thank the WIA's BPL working group members, Justin Giles-Clark , Fred Johnston, Keith Malcolm, Gilbert Hughes, David Wardlaw, Barry White, and Peter Young, for their efforts over the last, thankfully quieter, year.
BPL - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
From WIANEWS 4 May 2008 Edition via (Ben, VK7BEN)
VK7 Electricity
Regulator Rules BPL Breach
Tasmania's electricity provider, Aurora Energy, has been found
to have breached the state's Electricity Code.
The breach relates to high levels of electromagnetic
interference (EMI) from powerlines being used for a broadband
trial in the Hobart suburb of Mount Nelson.
The electricity regulator, Andrew Reeves, has upheld a
resident's complaint relating to the EMI levels recorded by
the ACMA in January 2007.
However, Mr Reeves will not take any action against Aurora
because the broadband trial ended five months ago.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/21/2222408.htm
Aurora Energy to drop BPL/PLC in Tasmania. (VK7)
Info via
the SPECTRUM mailing list and Justin, VK7TW.
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
AURORA SHIFTS FOCUS TO
FIBRE IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
Aurora Energy has announced a significant shift in its
telecommunications business, to build on major successes in
optical fibre activities which are delivering high speed
communications around the State.
As a result of increasing competition and the rapidly changing
national policy position for retail telecommunications, Aurora
is to divest its involvement with the local retailer TasTel and
conclude its Broadband over Powerlines initiative.
Aurora is working closely with its TasTel partner AAPT on the
transitional arrangements, and negotiations are under way with
parties interested in securing Aurora's majority TasTel
shareholding.
The changes were announced today by Aurora's Chief Executive
Officer, Dr Peter Davis, following comprehensive review of the
company's broad suite of communications activities over the past
six months.
"The review has taken place against a background of the cost
pressures and service demands for Aurora's electricity business,
resulting in a re-focusing of our telecommunications activities
in areas of strong advantage.
"It is essential that Aurora concentrates efforts on areas in
which it is able to deliver the best service and commercial
outcomes for Tasmanians - electricity distribution and
retailing, and carefully selected telecommunications
activities," Dr Davis said.
As a result of the decisions: Aurora Energy will sell its
shareholding in TasTel Aurora's Broadband over Powerlines
project, which has been undergoing technical and commercial
evaluation trials since 2004, will not proceed further.
Dr Davis said that in both cases it had become evident that the
rapid pace of change in telecommunications and the extremely
narrow margins in the telephony reseller sector made it
commercially prudent for Aurora to withdraw.
"Aurora continually re-evaluates its strategies in view of
changes in policy, technology and the market, and as a result of
this review of telecommunications activity we are re-focusing
activities to reflect current and emerging developments.
"The optic fibre based strategy on which we are now
concentrating draws on Aurora's extensive infrastructure needed
to support electricity distribution services.
"Incremental capacity is being made available to Government and
commercial users, including the Tasmanian Research and Education
Network (TREN) and support for the Government's
fibre-to-the-premises broadband project TasCOLT.
"Aurora focus on these activities will be strengthened as a
result of the decisions announced today," Dr Davis said.
The research and education optical fibre network has linked key
institutions including the University of Tasmania, CSIRO,
Antarctic Division, the Menzies and Ann O'Byrne centres, and a
number of schools and colleges. TasCOLT now supplies internet,
video on demand and VOIP services to approximately 200 users in
New Town and South Hobart, and is being extended to Devonport.
Dr Davis said that against
this background and after careful commercial assessment,
Aurora's board and management had determined that the
broadband-over-powerlines (BPL) trial should be concluded.
"Although technically successful, the changed commercial
environment and the Federal Government Broadband Connect Program
preclude the investment required for any extension," he said.
TasTel will be individually contacting BPL trial participants
and assisting them with transfer to other service arrangements.
Offical Aurora Statment is available here
https://www.auroraenergy.com.au/news/default.asp?file=27-november-2007.txt
Are you ready for BPL in your Neighbourhood!!!
From BPLandHamradio Yahoo groups 11 November 2007.
Justin, VK7TW has just
released a new video on YouTube of his experiences of BPL
enablement in his street in South Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Titled "Are you ready for BPL in your Neighbourhood" and
demonstrates the levels you can expect if BPL is installed in
your area.
There is no notching evident at this stage.
This video accompanies the popular North Hobart and Mt Nelson
Virtual BPL tours!
The web addresses can be found at:
https://reast.asn.au/vk7bplwatch.php#bpltours
73, Justin, VK7TW
International CISPR BPL working group meeting in Sydney
BPL
INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
From WIANEWS 30 September 2007 Edition
BPL NEWS - with VK2DKN
Phil Waite
In last week's broadcast I mentioned that the WIA was
attending the international CISPR BPL working group meeting in
Sydney.
The aim of this Working Group is to set measuring methods and
propose emission limits in order to protect established radio
services in the frequency band 1.6 to 30 MHz from interference
from BPL.
The meeting was attended by about 40 people with several
representatives from countries such as France, Germany, UK,
USA and Australia. The WIA attended as an observer.
At the last Working Group meeting in Geneva (which Australia
did not attend) those present agreed to submit a draft
proposal to change the test method for measuring conducted
emission from BPL modems.
The Australian group presented three papers to this latest
meeting in Sydney which suggest that, without modification,
the proposed change would relax the emission limits for BPL
modems by at least 20dB.
Following spirited technical discussion a sub-group of 10
technical experts was formed to investigate the issues and
report back to the next CISPR BPL Working Group meeting in
Washington, late January.
CISPR is where the rubber meets the road as far as BPL is
concerned, and as CISPR's charter is to protect radio
communications services the outcome from the BPL working group
will be very interesting. We believe it will be very difficult
for CISPR to adopt methods and limits which both allow BPL to
operate and also protect HF radio communications services.
ACMA publically releases BPL measurement report!
BPL
INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
From WIANEWS 23 September 2007 Edition
BPL NEWS -
A Busy Week
Last week the ACMA publically released a BPL measurement report,
written in September 2006, in response to a number of
interference complaints by Conrad VK7HCK.
Conrad
lives in the Mt Nelson BPL trial area in Hobart, and has
experienced significant interference to his amateur radio
operations for an extended period.
Although this ACMA report is quite old it contains a number of
significant statements from the regulator:
"There are very few options available for the complainant to
reduce the effects of the interference from BPL."
and
"This
report substantiates the claim made by the complainant that the
Aurora BPL system is causing interference and greatly reducing
his ability to operate licensed amateur radio equipment."
We expect anyone else who experiences high level BPL
interference will experience the same difficulty.
Not to be deterred, Aurora continues to roll out BPL within the
South Hobart area using Corinex BPL kit and optic fibre
back-haul. Early reports are that there is some notching in
place on the amateur bands.
The South Hobart BPL trial is running concurrently with, and in
an area close to the TasCOLT fibre-to-the-home (FttH) trial. We
very much hope fibre-to-the-home will prove the better
proposition.
Phil Wait VK2DKN
BPL meetings have taken place in Sydney, Australia
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
From WIANEWS 23 September 2007 Edition
Last week
the WIA attended BPL subcommittee meetings of the International
Electrotechnical Commission (the IEC), hosted by Standards
Australia in Sydney.
Standards developed by IEC, those commonly known as the CISPR
standards, set the permitted level of radiated emissions
(through the air) and conducted emission (through the connecting
cables) from electrical and electronic equipment. Those
standards are very important for radio amateurs because they are
used in National regulation, such as the ACMAs Electro-Magnetic
Compatibility regime.
The EMC regime prevents
equipment being imported or sold in Australia which exceeds
the allowed emission levels, and protects the electromagnetic
spectrum we all use against widespread electromagnetic
pollution. That includes BPL equipment.
However a proposal has been presented for consideration by
CISPR which, by changing the test methods, will effectively
increase the permitted emission limits for BPL equipment.
A Standards Australia BPL Working Group report identifying
serious deficiencies in the proposed changes, and measurements
showing the potential for interference from a typical BPL
modem in various residential premises, was presented to the
CISPR meeting.
The WIA attended the 3 days of BPL meetings as an observer. If
possible, I hope to have more to say about this important
meeting in next weeks broadcast.
Phil Wait VK2DKN
VK1OD has prepared notes on his interpretation of the ACMA Mt Nelson report!
BPL
INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
From WIANEWS 1 July 2007 Edition
VK7news says Owen Duffy
VK1OD has prepared some notes on his interpretation of the
ACMA Mt Nelson report that was recently released.
Owen suggests that the background measurement are most likely
the reporting instrument's internal noise as they do not match
expected ambient noise levels.
The BPL emission levels are up to 55dB above the expected
ambient noise levels and even within the notch on the 20m band
emissions are 37dB above the expected ambient noise level.
Notch depth is on average about 22dB less on 20m band, 21dB on
average in the 17m band and on average about 18dB on the 15m
band.
Owen concludes that the measurements taken using Conrad's 20m
quad once you take into account the difference in test
receiver and amateur receiver bandwidth results in a noise
floor degradation in the order of 11.4dB within the 20m
notched segment.
It is an interesting read and I encourage everyone interested
in BPL to take a look. The notes can be found at the address
on the email and internet editions of this broadcast.
https://www.vk1od.net/bpl/HobartBPLTrial.htm
Australian Communications and Media Authority releases Mt Nelson BPL report
Via the "BPLandHamradio" Yahoo group 2 June 2007
The Australian
Communications and Media Authority released their report from
their testing at Mt Nelson, Tasmania, Australia in January
2007.
The report presents the findings using three antennas
connected to their test receiver at VK7HCK's QTH - the ACMA's
calibrated flat response loop antenna, VK7HCK's 20m quad loop
antenna and VK7HCK's 80, 40, 20 & 15m vertical antenna.
Testing was also undertaken outside the notched area and there
are clearly higher levels of BPL emissions evident in these
measurements. Measurements where also undertaken in Tolmans
Hill where the power is underground and levels were
nderstandably lower.
In a number of the charts measurements were also included that
were taken at Quoin Ridge (ITU Region 3 Monitoring Station -
20km away) for background comparisons.
The ACMA also included the US FCC levels in most charts for
reference purposes and make the comment that if the FCC
standards were in place then the levels detected in these
tests would meet these limits. This raises the question. Is
the ACMA seriously considering using the FCC BPL emission
levels? If so, then this is a disturbing trend as it is
clear that the FCC levels do not protect amateurs from
potentially harmful BPL emissions.
An examination of the notches was also performed and at lower
bandwidth (300Hz) it was found that the suppressed carriers
from the BPL system were still evident at relatively high
levels within the notched area.
The report also raises another disturbing issue in relation to
the testing. The standard bandwidth that was used in the
testing was 10kHz which is close to the CISPR22 standard of
9kHz. However, a standard amateur transceiver has a nominal
bandwidth of around 2.7kHz, which will enable amateurs to
detect BPL emissions much more easily than the test receiver
which uses the wider bandwidth.
If the standard that the ACMA adopts does not take into
account this difference in equipment bandwidth, then the ACMA
testing will not be getting a true picture of what amateurs
will be experiencing from BPL interference.
The report suggests that the powerline segments either side of
the affected amateur should be notched at all applicable
amateur bands as this may help reduce the BPL interference
that would be detected by the amateur.
The report can be found at:
https://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD//pc=PC_2846
73, Justin, VK7TW
Jerrabomberra is the latest site for an Australian trial of BPL!
From Owen Duffy via the BPLandHamRadio Yahoo mailing list 10 April 2007.
Jerrabomberra is the
latest site for an Australian trial of BPL technology. The
area is residential land use, and uses underground power
distribution, so the emission characteristics can be expected
to be quite different to those previously observed with aerial
power distribution.
The report of a preliminary visit to Jerrabomberra is now
available at https://www.vk1od.net/bpl/JerrabomberraBplTrial01.htm.
Second VK7 BPL Virtual Tour Released
Via the
"BPLandHamradio" Yahoo group 1 April 2007
The 4 minute virtual tour video of the North Hobart BPL trial
area has been released on DVD and streaming video.
This tour is similar to the Mt Nelson tour but has one
disturbing difference. The interference that can be seen on the
S-Meter and heard in the soundtrack remains for most of the
video at S9 and above. This is a disturbing visual and audible
representation of the interference potential of the BPL
technology deployed in North Hobart.
The video contains commentary about the trial, technology, issues and background information on BPL.
Take a look at https://reast.asn.au/vk7bplwatch.php#bpltours
BPL Virtual Tour Released
(Info via the "Spectrum"
mailing list 28 March 2007)
The 8 minute virtual tour video of the Mt Nelson BPL trial
area has been released on DVD and YouTube streaming video.
This tour shows a visual and audible representation of the
interference potential of the BPL technology deployed in the
Mt Nelson area. The video contains commentary about the trial,
technology, issues and background information on BPL.
There is also a virtual tour of the North Hobart trial area
that will soon be released.
Take a look at https://reast.asn.au/vk7bplwatch.php#bpltours
(73, Justin, VK7TW)
VK7 BPL Noise Floor Report Released
BPL
INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
From WIANEWS 18 March 2007 Edition and Justin VK7TW
VK7 BPL NOISE FLOOR
REPORT RELEASED
On the morning of 17 February 2007 a lightning strike caused
the loss of power in the Mt Nelson area. With power and BPL
systems non-operational, background noise level measurements
were taken around the QTH of VK7HCK and VK7HK.
Measurements were taken on 20m using Owen VK1OD's Field Strength Measurement Software.
Comparisons between the previous noise floor measurements
taken in January, March and July 2006 and measurements taken
with no power and no BPL, show a noise floor that is between
10.9dB (12 times lower) and 12.6dB (18 times) lower than the
previous noise floor measurements taken outside the BPL trial
area.
The most likely explanation for the lower measured noise floor
level is the lack of power in the previously BPL enabled area.
This would mean that all mains power devices including BPL
equipment would have ceased to operate and therefore ceased to
emit any contributory radio frequency noise.
The key conclusion from this report is that the initial impact
of BPL emission levels are understated.
The report is available on the VK7 BPL Watch Page.
ACMA Measures BPL Emissions at Mt Beauty in response to Interference Complaint by Ian Paul, VK3LJJ
Webmasters Comment: Of course nothing
mentioned about notching out General Coverage HF
reception, 27 Mhz CB Band or the 30 to 50 Mhz range.
From WIANEWS 27 February 2007 Email via Phil Wait VK2DKN
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
The Australian
Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) performed background
noise and emission measurements at the Mt Beauty BPL trial in
Victoria, over the 20th-21st February 2007. The measurements
were in response to an interference complaint lodged with ACMA
by Ian Paul VK3LJJ.
Gary Smith - Manager BPL Projects Team Regulation and
Compliance Branch, and Colin Payne – Regulation and Compliance
Branch Melbourne, represented ACMA. Yoram Apter - Project
Manager BPL, represented SP-Ausnet, and WIA Director Phil Wait
VK2DKN represented the WIA.
Background noise measurements were performed in various
locations around the township of Mt Beauty, following
deactivation of the BPL equipment by the service provider
SP-Ausnet. BPL emissions and the effectiveness of notching the
BPL signal in amateur bands were measured after system
re-activation.
As expected high level BPL emission was measured in the trial
area. The maximum notch depth measured within amateur bands
was about 35dB. Background noise was higher than expected,
highlighting the need for a series of noise measurements over
many days to accurately determine typical background noise
levels at any location.
Observations of BPL emissions received on Ian Paul’s amateur
transceiver and G5RV antenna were recorded by Phil Wait. Those
observations confirm that, in the vicinity of Ian Paul’s QTH,
SP-Ausnet has notched all affected HF amateur bands except for
10 metres. However due to the higher than expected level of
background noise on all amateur bands at the time of the
observation, notch depth could not be adequately determined.
SP-Ausnet demonstrated new network control software that
allows remote notching of frequencies or bands of frequencies,
in any segment of their trial BPL network, from an office
anywhere. It now appears relatively easy for SP-Ausnet to
quickly notch amateur band frequencies in response to an
interference complaint from an amateur.
As the maximum notch depth was measured at about 35dB, the WIA
is of the opinion that both software and hardware notching
will be required to adequately protect amateur radio operation
from substantial interference from BPL emission, and that
should be the focus of further development by BPL equipment
manufacturers.
This measurement event also provided an ideal opportunity to
compare real-world data from ACMA’s measuring equipment and
the FSM technique developed by Owen Duffy VK1OD and Ed Hare
W1RFI. We were able to demonstrate close agreement between the
two measurement systems, thus confirming our confidence in the
FSM measuring technique and our own FSM measurement Jump-kit.
The WIA has now attended ACMA measurement events at Mt Nelson
(TAS) and Mt Beauty (VIC) BPL trials. It is apparent that all
stakeholders involved in BPL trials are now taking
interference complaints from radio amateurs very seriously,
and are making changes to their BPL technology and systems to
improve the outcome for radio amateurs.
We would like to thank ACMA for their invitation to attend
these measurement events, and for their constructive working
relationship with the WIA.
Note : A picture is viewable online at the WIA website
https://www.wia.org.au/news/2007/20070227-01.php
Hobart Tasmania, BPL Interference confirmed!
From WIANEWS 21 January 2007 Edition and Justin VK7TW.
BPL
INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
On Thursday 11 January 2007, ACMA undertook another round of
measurements at Conrad VK7HCK's QTH. Equipment was specially
flown in from Melbourne with Conrad, Phil VK2DKN, Harvey VK7HK,
Greg VK7YAD and myself in attendance.
Measurements were taken using a flat-response loop antenna and
also using Conrad's quad and vertical antennas so a comparison
could be made between the calibrated professional antenna and
tuned amateur antennas.
There was definite correlation between what Conrad was reporting
using the "S" signal strength scale and what was measured using
the test equipment on the same antenna.
ACMA took notch profile measurements which showed up to a 20dB
notch depth however this still resulted in about an S3-4 signal
level being experienced by Conrad within a notch.
As some background, Conrad put in a complaint of unacceptable
levels of interference from BPL emissions in November 2005 and
then again in September 2006, and these have been the subject of
ongoing investigation by ACMA.
ACMA staff undertook initial measurements at Mt Nelson in
November 2005, June and July 2006. ACMA even detected emissions
at the Quoin Ridge ITU monitoring station which is 20km away
back in November 2005, however that is no longer the case
possibly due to the utilisation of wireless technology for the
BPL back-haul network.
Following Conrad's complaint of September 2006, ACMA compiled
their measurement results into a report which was released at
the end of November 2006 and reported signal levels ranging from
34.1 to 64dBuV/m across the HF amateur bands.
This ACMA report substantiates the claims made by Conrad that
the Aurora Energy BPL system is causing interference and greatly
reducing his ability to operate licensed amateur radio
equipment.
It was acknowledged during the measurement day, that Aurora has
through notching and wireless backhaul, reduced the level of
emissions over the period of the trial.
Conrad has requested further reductions in emission levels
including the widening of notching in various bands and notching
of the 10m band.
We await with interest the release of measurement results from
this round of testing.
Mt Beauty BPL Emission Measurement Report Released
From WIANEWS 17 December 2006 Edition and Phil Wait, VK2DKN.
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
WIA has performed field
strength measurements on the Mt Beauty BPL trial using the
WIA's new interference measuring kit.
Measurements were taken outside the home of Ian Paul VK3LJJ,
and at other locations in the BPL trial area.
The measurement results show very high levels of RF emission
from the BPL enabled power lines, between approximately 33 and
49 dB above the expected ambient noise conditions.
We did some calculations to determine the expected level of
interference in S-units using a dipole antenna. We calculated
the interference level at between S9+10dB and S9+20dB.
Stations experiencing this level of interference would be
prevented from transmitting, as they would be unable to
determine if the frequency was in use by another station, as
required under the terms of their licence.
The BPL interference we measured will mask all but the very
strongest of HF radio communication signals on 40, 30, 20, and
15 meters at various locations within the trial area.
The WIA report has been forwarded to ACMA
and the Standards Australia working group on BPL. The full
measurement report is published on the WIA website at www.wia.org.au.
This is Phil Wait, VK2DKN, for the WIA.
Mt Beauty BPL trial update
From WIANEWS 26 November 2006 Edition and Jim Linton VK3PC
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE
BATTLE CONTINUES
The substantial interference resulting from a trial of
Broadband over Power Lines in Mt Beauty in north-east Victoria
continues to be experienced by at least two radio operators.
In addition to Ian Paul VK3FIOP now VK3LJJ, a CB radio
operator is plagued with the interference. He too has so far
been unable to get the BPL operator SP Ausnet to solve the
problem.
The CBer wants to become a radio amateur and shares Ian
VK3LJJ's disappointment at the loss of HF radio
communications.
The evidence is stacking up against this BPL trial. The latest
is an observations report by a former ACMA BPL Project Team
Manager, Peter Young, who reports interference on five amateur
bands, 27MHz CB band and the adjacent Industrial, Scientific
and Medical (ISM) band.
He found that the BPL emissions, in addition to amateur radio
and CB radio, create a potential for severe interference to
medical alert alarm devices, some remote control devices such
as door openers, cordless telephones and radio controlled
model aircraft.
Meantime, Ian VK3LJJ is continuing to deal with SP Ausnet and
the ACMA, with help from the WIA and Amateur Radio Victoria.
He also, through this broadcast, sends a sincere "Thank You"
to those who have let him know they support him.
To send a note of support, Ian can be contacted on email
vk3ljjatamateurradiodotcomdotau
ACMA requested to investigate BPL interference
BPL at the War Front
From WIANEWS 5 November
2006 Edition and Jim Linton VK3PC
The extremely high level of interference experienced by radio
amateur Ian Paul VK3FIOP at Mt Beauty in north-east Victoria
is now the subject of a written complaint to the Australian
Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
He has exercised his right as the holder of an apparatus
licence to lodge a formal written complaint to ACMA about the
interference.
Ian has a firm ground for doing so. The interference was
confirmed as BPL, its source known and substantial and harmful
impact to this licensed amateur service communications well
documented.
The latest is that the BPL system operated by SP AusNet
radiates 60dB over S9 signal emissions over the entire 3.5 MHz
to 30 MHz spectrum.
Ian VK3FIOP appears to be the first VK radio amateur to
actually lodge a formal complaint of interference to ACMA.
The amateur service, being a licensed radiocommunications
service, is protected from substantial interference under
sections of the Radiocommunications Act.
ACMA is the Authority responsible for administrating the
provisions of the Act and is required to investigate cases of
interference when they are reported.
Without complaints, BPL operators may be able to claim that
the technology is not cited in any formal way to have caused
interference to radiocommunications.
It is vitally important that any radio amateur affected by BPL
interference first verify that the interference is in fact
caused by a BPL system, and secondly lodge an effective
interference complaint with ACMA.
Without a valid and effective interference complaint lodged
with ACMA little can be done.
The WIA provides a BPL interference advisory service to all
radio amateurs - whether they are WIA members or they are
non-members.
Check out https://www.wia.org.au/ click on BPL
Mount Beauty BPL, Victoria under Surveillance!
via the Spectrum Mailing list and Roger Harrison, 27 October 2006.
Amateur Radio Victoria
has added a new section to their website, dubbed "BPL Watch
VK3".
Details on what's happening with the BPL trial at Mount Beauty
have been posted to there.
BPL radiation from the Mt Beauty power lines ". . . was S9
+60dB across the entire HF spectrum from 3.5 MHz to 30 MHz.
This is even before the system begins to carry traffic. BPL
deployment through the issuing of free modems to households is
running at least three weeks behind schedule."
ACMA commissions independent review of government spectrum holdings
18 October 2006
"To help the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) better achieve an appropriate balance between government use of the radiofrequency spectrum and its use by the broader community, ACMA has commissioned SpectrumWise Radiocommunications Consulting to provide an independent review of government spectrum holdings."
"As ACMA faces growing demand for spectrum from both the government and non-government sectors, this is a looming and important challenge for ACMA and requires a preparedness to re-think the status quo and traditional paradigms to continue to optimise the overall public benefit it is charged to deliver".
https://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.852114:STANDARD::pc=PC_100867
Webmasters Comment
Why is this non-bpl news item and link here may you ask, well, I do not like the quote "to re-think the status quo and traditional paradigms to continue to optimise the overall public benefit". It sounds like just a another way to make BPL a communications service and any interference to BPL will be outlawed and you will not be allowed to operate a amateur (Ham) transceiver in areas where BPL is present.
And forget about short-wave listening, the noise from BPL will be terrible, they want you to buy a computer and pay over $50 a month for broadband access to listen to overseas broadcasts. What a joke!!!! Money always talks!!!!
Tasmanian BPL trial susceptible to disruption from Legal HF Radio traffic!
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
From WIANEWS 15 October
2006 Edition
Justin (VK7TW) and his team at REAST have measured the
susceptibility of the Aurora Energy BPL service in Hobart to
nearby HF radio transmissions.
https://reast.asn.au/2006/VK7_BPL_RF_Susceptibility_Tests.pdf
(262 Kb pdf)
The Mt Nelson RF Susceptibility Report, demonstrates a very
high degree of disruption from very low power radio
transmitters.
In some cases Aurora's client was required to re-enter their
username and password and log back into the service.
In fact, less than 5 Watts power output from a mobile station
within 60 to 80 metres of an Aurora clients modem adversely
affected their BPL service. This represents an effective
radiated power (EIRP) of less than 1 Watt due
to the inefficiency of the mobile antenna.
Remember, mobile HF radio equipment normally operates with an
output power of 100 watts so severe disruption from an amateur
mobile station to a nearby access BPL service is probable.
This degree of susceptibility to electromagnetic interference
(EMI), and the apparent inability to deliver quality customer
service in the presence of nearby radio transmissions, should
be of great concern to BPL equipment
manufacturers, BPL service providers, and their end-user
clients.
New BPL Trial Switched On in Mount Beauty, Victoria!
via the Spectrum Mailing list and Roger Harrison, 12 October 2006.
According to news posted
on the Wireless Institute of Australia website (11 Oct 2006),
a new BPL trial by SP-Ausnet has recently been activated in
Mount Beauty, Victoria.
"Internet service provider SP Ausnet is partnering with
Schneider Electric, which is providing all hardware
components," says the WIA report.
Full story here: https://www.wia.org.au/news/2006/20061011-02.php
HF Radio is Not Dead despite what the BPL supporters claim!
via the Spectrum Mailing list and Roger Harrison, 18 August 2006.
DEMAND FOR HF
RADIO STRONG
ASX-listed communications equipment manufacturer, Codan, revealed this interesting fact in its full year
results released, 17 August 2006.
"Demand for HF
radio arising from world security concerns remained strong.
Sales revenue was less than FY05 but was the second highest
annual sales ever achieved."
"Global security concerns were expected to deliver higher
sales of HF equipment during the 2007 financial year.", the
company said.
Makes you wonder how BPL deployments may impact "global
security concerns".
BPL proponents have been pushing the line that demand and use
of HF radio is low and declining.
"Didn't you notice the powerful and obnoxious odor of
mendacity in this room?", said Big Daddy from Tenessee
Williams' play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Get the facts from the Codan website here: https://www.codan.com.au
Select "Corporate", then "Investors" then get the top document
(pdf) in the table, titled "Announcement 2005/2006 Full Year
Results". Posted in the interests of shedding light in the
dark.
BPL Conference Enlightenment
via Amateur Radio Victoria 1 August 2006
A major conference on Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) was held in Sydney on 26-27 July 2006 by the Institute for International Research (IIR), and the technology's interference issues got a good airing.
Further Details at
https://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/2006/aug.html#a
or
https://www.wia.org.au/news/2006/20060728-05.php
This page has a link to a 10 Megabyte "Powerpoint" presentation, suitable for clubs or anyone interested in the interference problems with BPL/PLC technology.
Latest Tasmanian BPL measurements confirm interference!
From Justin Giles-Clark VK7TW via the Spectrum Mailing List
27 July 2006
The third
round of measurements have just been released from the Tasmanian
BPL trial from the Mt Nelson, Tolmans Hill, North Hobart and
Mount Stuart trial areas. There is also a new area within the
Suburb of West Hobart that we have detected emissions from.
The site also contains a second round of measurements taken in
Burnie on the North West coast of Tasmania. These are all
available at: https://reast.asn.au/vk7bplwatch.php#emissionmeasurements
The methodology behind the measurements is one of measuring the
background noise outside the trial area and comparing this to
the measurements taken within the trial areas using the latest
version of Owen Duffy's FSM software (v.1.11).
The conclusion reached in the report in the Hobart trial areas
shows that there is continuing to be a degradation of the noise
floor in the trial areas. In the un-notched areas this is caused
by emission levels ranging from 5dB (3 times higher) to 37dB
(5,000 times higher) above the measured ambient noise floor
(level). In the notched areas this is caused by emission levels
ranging from 9dB (8 times greater) to 14dB (25 times greater)
above the measured ambient noise floor (level).
In the Burnie trial the degradation of the noise continues with
emission levels ranging from 9dB (8 times higher) and up to 42dB
(15,850 times higher) than the measured ambient noise floor.
The nightmare continues.
73, Justin, VK7TW
Comment from a concerned Amateur (Ham) Operator in Tasmania
23 July
2006 (Used with permission from VK7ZYZ)
I like your comment about BPL being a seriously flawed
technology. This applies technically, economically,
financially as well as environmentally.
I do not understand why Aurora (Tas Tel) is so wedded to it in
this state. I can only assume poorly considered and dubious
contractual obligations or undertakings or possibly cushy jobs
for those involved.
Economically it would be far cheaper, easier and rewarding for
power reticulation companies to leverage 11g technology. Costs
would be insignificant compared to BPL and performance far
better. As their 11g based system is developed costs would
plummet and service delivery capacity increase exponentially.
Reliance on 3rd party co-providers would also fall.
The key that no one seems to realize is that power
reticulation companies already have microwave lines of sight
over the last mile and beyond and most probably the last
hundreds of miles and beyond. No one else has this apart from
possibly road authorities and they don't have all those
convenient posts to mount the antennas out of everyone's way.
Tree removal would also add to their costs. If Aurora won't
play ball then perhaps I could approach local councils?
The use of a combination or passive and active repeaters on
existing poles would be an almost insignificant cost. Passive
repeater cost of a few dollars would basically amount to the
cost of bolting the unit to a pole and using a simple rifle
sight. (Webmasters comment: For aiming of the repeater
antenna correctly for strongest signal)
Active repeaters would often double as a trunking node. But in
any case we are still talking in the low tens of dollars in
commercial volumes for a simple active repeater.
Costs to consumers would be reduced with their modem cost
amortised by their local network router.
One downside would be reduced reliability (in our state at
least) unless active nodes were fitted with battery backup.
Solar might be a viable option despite power being immediately
available 9x% of the time.
Why are power companies continuing to flog a dead horse that
they are unlikely ever to be allowed to use?
WIA launches helpful BPL advisory and reporting service!
05 June 2006
Wireless Institute of Australia BPL Interference Advisory Service
Latest Tasmanian BPL measurements confirm interference Potential!
From Justin Giles-Clark VK7TW via the Spectrum Mailing List
16 April 2006
https://reast.asn.au/vk7bplwatch.php#emissionmeasurements
BPL threatens marine distress and safety services in Australia!
From Glenn Dunstan VK4DU via the Spectrum Mailing List
9 April 2006
https://www.gmdss.com.au/bpl.htm
A second round of measurements have just been released from the Tasmanian BPL Trial at Mt Nelson, Tolmans Hill, North Hobart and Mount Stuart areas.
From Justin Giles-Clark 1 April 2006
Radio and
Electronics Association of Southern Tasmanian Inc.
VK7 (Tasmanian) BPL Watch
The second round of
measurements have just been released from the Tasmanian BPL
trial from the Mt Nelson, Tolmans Hill, North Hobart and Mount
Stuart trial areas.
https://reast.asn.au/vk7bplwatch.php#emissionmeasurements
The methodology behind the measurements is one of measuring
the background noise outside the trial area and comparing this
to the measurements taken within the trial areas using Owen
Duffy's FSM software.
The conclusion reached in the report shows that there is
continuing to be a degradation of the noise floor in the trial
areas. In the un-notched areas this is caused by emission
levels ranging from 15dB (32 times greater) to 41dB (12,600
times greater) above the measured ambient noise floor (level).
In the notched areas
this is caused by emission levels ranging from 5dB (3 times
greater) to 15dB (32 times greater) above the measured ambient
noise floor (level).
Measurements were also taken at Mt Nelson on 20metres (14MHz)
where notching is being used around the amateur radio
operators who have complained.
The conclusion reached in this report is that the notching as
measured at the street is variable, whilst some parts of the
notched spectrum may be 20dB (100 times) or lower in strength,
the notch does not reliably achieve better than about 10dB (10
times) reduction.
ACREM (Australian Citizens Radio Emergency Monitors) releases 6 page Press Release on BPL drawbacks!
From Martin Howells, VK2UMJ ACREM-NSW
22 March 2006
Safety Concerns Continue over New Technology ( 57 Kilobyte pdf)
ACMA responds to concerns on BPL tests
19 March 2006
The ACMA has responded to my concerns on BPL testing, here is a copy of my e-mail and below that, a response from the ACMA.
To:
Australian Communications and Media Authority
Subject: BPL trial in Adelaide, South Australia
Dear ACMA
I bring to your attention this article
Silk Telecom slips into
powerline broadband
In it, it
was mentioned that Adelaide, South Australia has already had a
BPL trial. I would like to ask the following questions.
1) Did the ACMA give permission for this test and if so, why was
it not mentioned on the ACMA's "Access BPL Trials" page?
2) If the ACMA was NOT notified of this trial should have it
been?
3) Did the ACMA do any testing or measurement of this trial in
Adelaide?
4) The Melbourne trial in the above article is also NOT
mentioned on the ACMA's "Access BPL Trials" page?
5) Do electricity companies have to notify you of BPL trials or
can they test anywhere they like, so long as they don't tell
anyone?
Yours sincerely
Stephen Newlyn VK5VKA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ACMA'S Response
I have
contacted SILK Telecom and they inform me that the BPL trial
mentioned in the ZDNet article is in fact completed and no
trial or BPL testing is currently underway. Rather than answer
your numbered questions I thought I should take this opportunity
to briefly explain the current arrangements that apply for BPL
trials in Australia.
As you are no doubt aware the ACMA is currently examining the
need or potential for regulatory action in respect of BPL
services. ACMA is doing this in close consultation with both the
companies trialling BPL and organisations that are potentially
affected by BPL deployments including the amateur community. To
that end we have put in place the website with which you are
familiar and the trial guidelines for both Access and In-House
BPL.
In broad terms, persons conducting trials of BPL equipment where
services are supplied to end users are required to seek a 'trial
certificate' fromACMA before commencing a trial unless that
person holds a carrier licence.
In issuing
the trial certificate ACMA make compliance with the relevant
guideline a requirement. The applicant is required to ensure
that specific details in relation to the trial are included on
the ACMA website. Where the person conducting the trial is a
telecommunications carrier the guidelines are not mandatory. A
carrier conducting a trial is not bound to either include its
details on the website or to notify ACMA of the progress of the
trial.
There is no requirement or mechanism for the ACMA to 'give
permission' for a trial to a telecommunications carrier licence
holder. Silk Telecom as a carrier was not required to seek
permission from ACMA prior to conducting the trial. An
electricity company that was not a carrier that intended to
conduct a trial that involved supply of services to end users
would need to discuss the trial with ACMA.
Irrespective of whether the person conducting a trial is a
carrier or not, all trials are subject to the ACMA regulations
and laws concerning radiocommunications interference.
In regard to the mentioned Melbourne trial my understanding from
discussions with Silk Telecom is that this trial has not gone
ahead and at this stage is unlikely to happen. However following
your letter of concern we have taken the opportunity to contact
the relevant parties and reinforce the value of the BPL
guideline and the necessity for cooperation in the conduct of
trials.
Again thankyou for bringing this issue to our attention, I hope
this answers your questions.
Gary Smith
Manager
BPL Projects Team
Regulation and Compliance Branch
Inputs to Industry Division
Australian Communications and Media Authority
New Important Developments on BPL
BPL
INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES - WIA DIRECTOR PHIL WAIT:-
From WIANEWS 12 March 2006
After a
fairly quiet Christmas there have been a few recent developments
on the BPL front:
On the morning of 22 February 2006, ABC Goulburn Murray radio
(rural Victoria) ran several segments on how broadband over
powerlines (BPL) will bring the Internet to every home.
Aurora Energy extolled BPL's features and benefits, followed by
industry analyst Paul Budde, who proceeded to bag radio amateurs
and the Wireless Institute of Australia for their opposition to
BPL. Budde was clearly antagonised and frustrated by radio
amateurs continued opposition to BPL and incredulously claimed
RF interference from BPL just isn't an issue anymore.
I was able to respond to Budde's comments on-air and say that is
well documented that wherever BPL is installed worldwide it
still causes very high levels of radiated emission.
-----------------
There
appears to be a world war brewing over standards for in-house
BPL.
Europe's BPL Research Alliance (OPERA) have announced their
first global specification for Powerline Communications based
largely on technology from Spain's DS2.
However, the US based HomePlug Powerline Alliance is aiming at
exactly the same world-standard designation. The standard being
proposed by OPERA and the HomePlug specifications are
incompatible.
The stage is set for a world war to determine which standard
becomes dominant for in-house applications. The HomePlug
specification and the OPERA specification are incompatible and
each causes interference to the other.
Netgear have decided to go with the DS2 standard. This week
NETGEAR announced that they are to offer in-home BPL equipment
capable of transmitting high definition in-home video streaming.
We believe a proliferation of these devices in the community
could be very damaging for HF radiocommunications. We hope ACMA
is watching this development closely.
-----------------
PC World, reported this
week that Canberra telecommunications provider TransACT is to
commence a trial of BPL in its own head office in Canberra.
TransACT CIO and general manager Carsten Larsen said the
company is looking at delivering the Broadband over Power
Lines (BPL) service to office buildings. Larsen said. "The
engineering is being drawn up. If we go from here to a
connected environment, we can take the lessons from here to a
live site".
Should the trial prove successful, TransACT propose a
commercial rollout of BPL later this year.
For more information on these BPL stories please visit the WIA
website at www.wia.org.au
And remember if you hear anything on the media concerning BPL,
if you can record it, and in any case please let the WIA know.
WIA response to Paul Budde (Utilitel) comments on Radio Amateurs on ABC Regional Radio.
26 February 2006
Budde Bags Radio Amateurs on ABC Regional Radio (Wia Responds)
WIA response from Phil Wait (5533 Kb MP3)
Recent ABC Radio programme on BPL gets interesting!
from Ashley Geelan VK3HAG 22 February 2006
Ashley was listening to ABC Local Radio Goulburn-Murray (Victoria, Australia) and heard some Public Relations spokesperson from both Aurora Energy and communications analyst Mr. Paul Budde of the "Utilitel"consortium (whose members include Aurora Energy, Country Energy, Energy Australia, ETSA & others), which is promoting BPL.
Here is Ashley's recording of the ABC interview in two parts. One with Aurora and the other with Mr. Budde.
Interview with Aurora Energy spokesperson. (364 Kb MP3)
Interview with Paul Budde Utilitel spokesperson. (437 Kb MP3)
Comment from Roger Harrison |
Aurora engineer denies there is BPL interference at Burnie, Tasmania
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES - VK4BAT ReportsFrom WIANEWS 25 December 2005 Edition
Tasmania, and we have
already had reports from the Burnie area that strong
interference has been heard along Malonga Drive and amateurs
are keeping a close ear and eye on activities.
Conrad, VK7HCK even invited technical representatives from
Aurora Energy in to his home to experience first hand the
level of interference he has to put up with.
Conrad demonstrated to the Aurora engineer and technician the
interference across the HF amateur bands showing them the S9+
noise level experienced.
To prove it was BPL, Conrad also showed them the spectrogram
of the interference using the Spectran which showed the
regular carrier pattern across the spectrum being monitored.
What was their reaction, I hear you ask?
The Aurora engineer denied that the interference was
caused by BPL
even after being shown the spectrogram of regular carriers.
Suffice to say, the meeting ended abruptly after this!
The matter was put in the hands of the ACMA and it is
understood that a representative from the ACMA took another
round of measurements a day after the Aurora meeting.
(via Justin, VK7TW)
Tasmanian BPL has "Substantial Technical Issues!"
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUESFrom WIANEWS 11 December 2005 Edition
Radio and Electronics
Association of Southern Tasmania understand that the ACMA has
been taking BPL measurements over the past weeks in the Mt
Nelson area following the BPL system being switched back on.
Reports are that there are substantial technical issues being
experienced with the deployment at Tolmans Hill.
I encourage every amateur and 11m CB operator with
mobile/portable equipment to head up to Mt Nelson or North
Hobart and take a listen at what BPL sounds like and what it
is doing to the HF spectrum. It is currently affecting the
upper HF bands and is easily detected from the top of the
bends through to Olinda Grove and beyond and Federal Street
between Argyle and Letitia Streets.
Sydney BPL November 2005 Conference
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUESFrom WIANEWS 4 December 2005 Edition
WIA DIRECTOR Phil Wait VK2DKN Reports
Follows a
transcript of interview between WIA Director Phil Wait and WIA
News Presenter Graham Kemp
Phil
what was the Sydney BPL conference all about?
An opportunity for everyone interested in BPL (for and against)
to hear the latest developments, market trends, ACMA's thoughts
about interference management, and what the operators have to
say about their trials so far.
Why
was it important for the WIA to attend?
Graham the WIA is an important stakeholder in the BPL debate and
has influence on a number of fronts. ACMA were presenting an
update on their views on how to manage interference from BPL
systems. We needed to keep abreast of the latest developments
that could adversely affect radio amateurs.
What
did you learn about the current state of BPL technology?
There was little new information presented which we were not
already aware of. Following the recent announcement by Telstra
to provide “Fibre to the Home”, BPL is now mostly only seen as a
commercially viable solution for fringe area and rural area
broadband access.
BPL is now not seen as commercially attractive in large cities
where the large telco's will focus their broadband investment.
The marketplace for BPL equipment is also changing. Niche
markets are emerging for local area BPL systems in industry,
housing estates, retirement villages, hotels, high rise
buildings, marinas etc and these markets may emerge as the major
BPL application.
What
about the trials?
Trials continue in Queanbeyan and Hobart.
Aurora Energy have made some improvements to the emission level
of the system in Hobart compared to older technology trials in
Queanbeyan and Moruya, but the 10 dB or so improvement falls far
short of the 50-60 dB necessary to prevent interference to HF
radio communications.Aurora are still working on improving the
technology.
Aurora have announced an further trials in Hobart and Bernie,
and Country Energy have announced further trials next year in
NSW.
What
is ACMA currently doing, in general and in relation to the
Aurora trial?
ACMA have announced a review of the BPL Trial Guidelines. The
review will take into account public comments received to their
Discussion Paper, and their experience gained over the past
year. The WIA will be working with ACMA in the development of
the new guidelines.
The whole ACMA process is likely to take some time before a
comprehensive management regime is in place.
Before ACMA can finalise their position on BPL they will need to
take emission measurements on the new technology Aurora system
in Hobart. They will wait until that BPL technology is stable
before taking measurements.
The WIA is also waiting for a stable technical environment
before taking measurements.
Phil we have heard reports quite critical of the WIA not attending some BPL conferences, can you tell us what that was about?
The WIA does not wish to
enter into debate about what we should and should not do. Over
the last couple of years we have attended 3 paid Buddecomm
conferences and several industry demonstrations of the
technology.
We have met with ACMA representatives and politicians, and
visited BPL trial sites.
We are more than willing to co-operate with the BPL industry
if that co-operation will result in an improved outcome for
our members.
However conferences are not cheap, and we are using members
money here, and the WIA will make it's own decisions based on
what we see as the benefits.
More BPL Commercial Trials planned for Tasmania
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUESFrom WIANEWS 20 November
2005 Edition
WIA DIRECTOR Phil
Wait VK2DKN Reports
This week the Australian Communications & Media Authority
(ACMA) announced further BPL commercial trials by Aurora
energy in Tasmania.
The new areas affected are: Burnie, (Postcode 7320) and Hobart
(Postcode 7000).
These trials are in addition to the existing commercial trial
at Hobart suburbs, Mount Nelson and Tolmans Hill, (Postcode
7007).
The new trials will involve up to 500 users, and the timeframe
stated is 9-12 months.
The frequency band of operation is stated as 3 - 34 MHz, but
it remains to be seen what particular frequencies within this
range will be activated.
Aurora Energy is using its telecommunication arm, Tastel, to
sell and promote the broadband products that will be carried
by the BPL technology, including Voice over IP and data
services. The success or otherwise of the trial will be judged
on the number of subscribers that Tastel can attract.
However, reports are that Aurora may be experiencing a number
of technical difficulties with their current trial, especially
with the Voice over IP phone service.
Justin Giles-Clarke, VK7TW, Phil Thomson, VK7SS, and myself
met with Minister Brian Green MHA, his Advisors, and a
representative from Aurora early October to ensure the
Minister was aware of the interference issues with BPL. Will
Hodgman, the Shadow Minister for infrastructure was also
visited and brought up-to-date with our concerns.
In other BPL news, the WIA wrote to ACMA in August expressing
our concern that ACMA's own guidelines for Access BPL trials
were not being followed by BPL operators. The guidelines are
intended to notify licensed radio users of upcoming trials in
their area and to provide an interference resolution
procedure.
We are still awaiting ACMA's response to that letter.
The WIA is attending a Buddecomm BPL conference next week,
along with representatives from the ACMA and BPL proponents,
and may hear more about how ACMA intends to manage BPL
interference issues.
Australian "Silicon Chip" magazine slams BPL
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUESInformation via Amateur Radio Victoria News November 2005
Australia's electronics magazine Silicon Chip describes broadband over powerlines (BPL) as a flawed technology flying in the face of Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) regulations.
The cover
story "BPL is coming here …" in its November 2005 edition it has
a good look at the spectrum-polluting broadband enabling
technology delivered along mains power lines.
The article by staff technical writer, Ross Tester said that the
promise of delivering fast broadband without significantly
new (and costly) infrastructure, BPL has been a pipe dream for
years.
However, the wires to carry the broadband signals are stretched
in the air and make "magnificent antennas radiating
interference" right across the spectrum.
The article said, "Whether by fiendishly clever design or simply
dumb good luck (we'll leave you to make up your mind which) BPL
has avoided heavy use areas of the spectrum where there could be
huge public upcry."
The magazine's Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Leo Simpson in an
editorial said, "Just imagine every street in every major city
and town in Australia blanketed with BPL signals ranging from
just above the AM broadcast band to just below the FM band.
"This will play merry hell with all radio (and TV) services in
that range. In fact, it would mean the end of any useful radio
services in that range."
Mr Simpson posed the question, "So why have trials been
authorised, both here and overseas?"
His conclusion is that the relevant energy authorities have
lobbied very hard to be able to use their grids for something
else besides just carrying electricity.
"Even so, it is incredible that the trials have even started,
let along be permitted in the first place. It makes a huge
mockery of all of the EMC compliance regulations that all
electronic equipment must now meet," he said.
"Why have EMC compliance when the power authorities will be able
to blast interference out to everyone, completely unfettered by
past regulations? It just beggars the imagination."
Mr Simpson concluded: "BPL in its present form is a very bad
idea. It might at first appeal to the non-technical populace
but when the true ramifications take hold, there will be hell
to pay."
Comment on the Australian BPL push from New Zealand
26 September 2005 (Used with permission from Peter Ford ZL2VK)
I have
been following with interest the various discussions on BPL
for some time with much interest.
I have been a licensed ham for some 45 odd years, having held
calls in VK, ZL, C21 et al and have a background as an
engineer predominantly in electronics and communications
although most of my career has been in the computer industry
with a few years of inorganic chemistry to balance it!
Unfortunately there have been many spin doctors touting
benefits without looking at the wider pictures. This is
probably motivated by that all pervading evil, money. I must
agree that there are many benefits in making internet and
similar information readily available to the masses but there
are problems in the methods of delivery, or more correctly,
the carrier methodology.
More recently, I have been exposed to an excellent system here
in Wellington, NZ, where the central city is covered in a
fibre backbone to almost every commercial building. Clients in
each building tap off routers installed in that building and
links are available starting at 4MB/s and going through to
gigabit! The costs are very low for this grade of service,
comparable to ADSL and extremely reliable. The fibre rollout
is being extended to major suburban areas and is planned to go
much further. I would suspect there is little chance of BPL
surviving economically in such a climate.
More to the point of the note, my own personal experience with
small signal communications is that I have successfully made
good contacts over thousands of kilometres on HF using 1-2
milliwatts into very long (2+ Km) wire antennas. The BPL
signals are low level but they are fed to rather large
unbalanced line systems thus become radiating antennas. I am
sure you have observed the signals radiated! Also there are
many "transmitters" and the power / bandwidth figures also
become multiplied to the stage where the total signal in a
comparatively small section of HF bandwidth as used by a
single communication channel becomes even more significant.
The point I raise that I have not seen elsewhere is that as
currently, the radiated signals are generated and fall within
the HF spectrum, i.e. 1-30 Mhz, this frequency arena is where
the longer distance communications occur. So then, one would
reasonable expect that the BPL signals may well, under
suitable ionospheric conditions, have an effect well away from
the immediate BPL generated area, and can affect
communications in other countries.
I raise the question as to whether Australia, the ACMA, the
BPL operators etc, have acknowledged the fact that they are
part of a larger world and must recognise communications users
of the HF spectrum in other countries. The situation is
somewhat akin to the Indonesian farmers burning off large
scale and causing climatic problems within the southern
hemisphere.
Without sounding emotional, I really wonder if the backers of
BPL are sufficiently well funded against possible lawsuits
where BPL HF band interference is responsible for
communications failures in a disaster situation of the scale
of the recent tsunami or Katrina episodes. I am sure that
there are lawyers around in the world who would take it on,
after all, other major companies have been brought to their
knees.
As an alternative technology, perhaps we should be looking at
providing power over the existing telephone lines. I am sure
the spin doctors could be convinced of the advantages to be
gained there.
Tasmanian Jason Reilly looks at the "BPL" Spin
25 September 2005 (Used with permission from Jason Reilly)
Just to
give you an insight into how the trial BPL operator in Tasmania
is thinking:
'The Examiner' newspaper, Saturday 17th September, page 22: Mr
Peroni said that "Amateur radio users caused pollution as well".
Note the more emotive use of the word 'pollution' rather than
'interference'.
Well Mr BPL operator, the difference between your BPL operations
and amateur radio operators / radio hobbyists in general is that
we take our responsibilities with regard to interference
seriously. If interference is drawn to our attention, we stop
operations, and attempt to resolve the interference.
On the other hand, BPL
operators don't want to take responsibility for the pollution
they make. Indeed, it would appear as if they want to seek
legal protection to be permitted to cause interference to
certain parties, rather than rectify problems ('Stateline' ABC
TV Tasmania, Friday 23rd September, comments by Mr Peroni
again).
Doing so would set a dangerous legal precedent: to place the
interests of commercial ventures ahead of the interests of
incumbent minority groups to the point where they are
decidedly disadvantaged.
Australian Large Scale PLC/BPL Trial in Hobart, Tasmania!!!
From Justin Giles-Clark, Sunday, 18 September, 2005
As heard on the VK7 Regional News Broadcast this morning the VK7
Aurora trial commenced last week!
It was launched on the 14th & 15th September 2005 with
newspaper articles, talk-back radio segments and much promotion
of this "technology to get broadband to the masses".
More info from https://vk5vka.neocities.org/tasbpl.htm
or
https://reast.asn.au/vk7bplwatch.php
Channel 7 Today Tonight: Phone calls on your power lines
From 15 September 2005 Broadcast
A power
company has begun offering discount telephone calls and
broadband Internet access using electrical wires to carry the
signal.
https://seven.com.au/todaytonight/story/?id=24604
ABC Radio National discusses Broadband Power (BPL)
From 14 September 2005 Broadcast
Tasmania
today becomes one of only three places in the world - and the
first in the southern hemisphere - to trial a revolutionary new
way to deliver broadband computer connections.
Tasmania's power company Aurora, telecommunications company
Tastel and Japan's Mitsubishi Electric have teamed up to deliver
broadband connection via powerlines.
The system promises faster, cheaper connection - and great
advances in electricity system management.
To find out more Fran spoke to Aurora Energy's business
development manager, Piero Peroni.
https://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/brkfast/stories/s1459829.htm
Real
Audio player required!
https://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/brkfast/stories/m1117924.ram
Western Australian Hams fight BPL propaganda!
BPL
INTERFERENCE - THE BATTLE CONTINUES
From WIANEWS 4 September 2005 Edition
Here in VK6, we have
proved the usefulness of WIA News. This news service has been
pushing the warnings on BPL for some time, and on Tuesday the
30th of August 2005, on ABC 720 AM (6WF in old speak) it was
announced that the subject of BPL would be discussed. A quick
and impromptu telephone tree alerted many. Those who could,
listened in, and tried to callback to the talkfest after. The
talk was by an American who works for a company which peddles
the equipment. Strongly favourable of course.
However good air time was given to Geoff VK6NX who managed to
get some words of wisdom on the callbacks, and at least two
items of e-mail were addressed to the presenter of the
program. A sound file was captured, and whilst we cannot play
that over air - for legal reasons - we can keep it for
posterity. We do wonder if the presenter was even aware of the
submission the ABC made to the BPL discussions....
BPL kills HF Operators hobby in Tasmania, Australia
BPL INTERFERENCE - THE
BATTLE CONTINUES
From WIANEWS 28 August 2005 Edition
Today we speak with Conrad Kley VK7HCK probably the first VK
Amateur directly dis-advantaged by a BPL system in his area.
Main points from the audio interview are:
Has been living in the Mount Nelson area for a few years.
An active amateur and has been a very keen HF Listener.
Noise levels were previously quite low in the area. Since
access BPL switched on noise levels are now +40 over 9 on 80
and over S9 on 40/20/15.
VK7HCK can now no longer operate on HF and has effectively
been put out of business in HF amateur radio.
Has made an interference complaint to the ACMA through the
ACMA website andthe local Hobart office. Also made a complaint
to Aurora Energy.
Made the complaint himself as soon as BPL switched on without
any contact with WIA. The WIA has since offered to assist
Conrad in his efforts.
Conrad is also involved in a local community FM radio station
......and has been on the receiving end of interference
complaints??????....says that if he causes interference to
others he is quickly shut down but....with BPL interference
caused to him, no action seems to be taken against the
interferer.
Summary of BPL Submissions
From WIA News 14 August 2005 via Phil Wait (VK2DKN) WIA Director.
The ACMA
have published 275 submissions to their BPL Discussion Paper,
with the majority showing a high level of concern regarding BPL
interference and its management.
There are some very big names amongst the list in addition to
the 222 submissions from radio amateurs.
Air Services Australia, The ABC (Australian Broadcasting
Corporation), and Defence, are concerned about the interference
potential to their radio communications services.
Optus recommend a "cautious approach", and are concerned over
potential interference to their cable services.
Likewise, Telstra expresses serious concerns about interference
to their Broadband cable, ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL and HF radio
services.
Telstra state: "ubiquitous BPL could have serious consequences
for cable modem networks" and "It is clear that if BPL is
permitted at the ETSI levels, there will be significant
degradation of VDSL in cases where power and telecommunications
lines are in close proximity".
In a strongly worded statement - medical alarm providers through
their industry association the Personal Emergency Response
Services Association (PERSA) conclude: "Electromagnetic
interference from BPL is potentially severe, and is continuous
and widespread. BPL interference could prevent a call for
assistance in a life threatening situation, resulting in death
or injury."
The ABC express the fear that BPL interference is: "highly
likely in some circumstances to annihilate broadcasting
services."
The BPL industry's submissions are more favourable towards BPL and recommend less onerous management techniques.
Bytecan is a member of
the Wommera Consortium operator of the Morouya BPL trial in
NSW.
Bytecan is the first from any entity involved in the promotion
of BPL to acknowledge the impact of BPL interference on radio
communications services. They essentially say that BPL works
only at levels high enough to cause interference to
radiocommunications services - and if the BPL signal is
"notched" enough to avoid that interference then there is
insufficient bandwidth remaining for the BPL system to
operate.
A link to the full list of submissions - including those from
CB Radio, Model Aircraft enthusiasts, Outback Radio users, and
Equipment Suppliers is on the WIA website at www.wia.org.au or visit https://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.2163012:::pc=PC_9240
ACMA launches Official BPL submissions page
The ACMA have launched an official BPL discussion paper submissions page as of 1 August 2005. Over 200 submissions were received from Individuals, Businesses, Non Government Organisations and Government departments in response to a "BPL Discussion Paper" released in April 2005. You can visit this page at
https://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.2163012:::pc=PC_9240
The ABC comments on BPL interference
From WIA News 24 July 2005, Jim Linton VK3PC reports.
The ABC has
told the Australian Communications Media Authority that it
believes that "BPL is highly likely to cause interference to and
result in the loss of broadcasting signals in rural areas, and,
under worse case conditions, in suburban areas."
The ABC submission to the ACA discussion paper on the Management
of Interference from Broadband over Power Line Applications,
said "Broadcasting is a protected service," and BPL operators
should be obliged to alert the public that interference may
occur."
The bottom line according to the ABC is that the needs of
radiocommunications services should take precedence over BPL
with its unplanned by-product emissions.
This submission from the ABC is now available from the ACMA web page.
Australia's first VoIP phone call using powerline broadband
Press Release: 16 June 2005 (Thanks to Gordon Smith VK2DJG for this info)
Sydney, Australia – Broadband over Powerline (BPL) technology
has passed a major milestone with Australia’s first successful
delivery of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) across a BPL
network.
The VoIP calls have successfully linked to land line and mobile
phones as part of a trial being carried out in Queanbeyan by
leading Australian energy services business Country Energy and
Australian broadband phone company Engin.
The BPL trials are
expected to continue for another 18 months.
Country Energy’s Manager Telecommunications Enterprises, Geoff
Fietz, said the successful trial clearly demonstrates the
maturing of BPL and the potential of the technology.
“BPL technology has
the potential to provide affordable broadband access to rural
and regional Australia without reliance on existing service
delivery options,” he said.
“It also offers Country Energy another way of improving customer
service as it gives us faster and more cost-effective ways to
manage, monitor and control the network, and read household
meters.”
The trial VoIP calls using BPL were made through engin’s Voice
Box technology which was connected to an analogue telephone and
a Mitsubishi BPL modem. The modem was plugged into a standard
powerpoint.
“This demonstrates
the enormous potential of the technology – every powerpoint
becomes a broadband delivery point,” stated Mr Fietz.
Engin Chief Executive Officer Ilkka Tales said VoIP over BPL has
massive potential as a last mile solution.
“Engin
Voice Box has proved its ability to deliver high quality calls
to land lines and mobile phones over BPL and has adapted
perfectly to this new environment.
“Combining BPL technology with engin can create an affordable
last mile solution to consumers and businesses,” added Tales.
The Engin Voice Box
allows people to make and receive calls from any land line or
mobile phone over their broadband Internet connection using VoIP
technology. It can deliver savings of up to 40* per cent on
phone bills.
[*] Savings as demonstrated by consumer trials.
Further Information:
Country Energy
Angela Fiumara
Group
Manager Corporate Affairs
(02) 6338 3566 / 0418 668 085
Engin
Guy Downes or Claire Hulbert
Howorth Communications
(02) 8281 3810
guyathoworth.com.au
Claireathoworth.com.au
BPL/PLT/PLC Field Strength Measurement Software!
BPL - AT THE WARFRONT
From WIA News 15 May 2005
Owen Duffy (VK1OD), has developed BPL/PLT/PLC Field Strength Measurement Software.
FSM (for Field Strength
Meter) is a software application that extends a conventional
SSB receiver to allow measurement and calculation of field
strength of radio signals or interference.
FSM has its origins in a method devised by Ed Hare (W1RFI) of
the ARRL for making reasonable measurements of radiated field
strength using conventional receivers and commonly available
test equipment, and described in an article published on the
ARRL web site in August 2004. Ed Hare is to be congratulated
for his innovation and continuing hard work in the struggle
against BPL interference. Ed also devised software known as
ARIAMAN to automate some of the measurement and calculation. I
contributed a suite of improvements to ARIAMAN, but
regrettably, the ARRL restricts its use to personal use only.
In the belief that it is in Amateur Radio's best interest that
tools that we use are open and verifiable, I have developed
FSM to implement the method in Ed Hare's paper. Though FSM
uses improvements that I wrote and contributed to
ARIAMAN, FSM does not use any of the ARRL's code, which allows
me to release FSM as free, open source software.
FSM relies on the fact that the audio output from an SSB
receiver is linearly related to the RF input power, from about
the receiver noise floor to the onset of AGC gain compression,
typically about 20 odd dB above the receiver noise floor.
By keeping the measured
signal within that range, with a known external attenuator,
and allowing for the attenuator, we can measure the received
power with respect to the receiver noise floor, which can
itself be easily determined to calibrate the system.
Additionally, given the antenna system gain, FSM will
calculate the field strength in dBuV/m.
So, FSM is a Windows application that automates a substantial
part of the measurement process. It measures the receiver
audio output power, performs the associated calculations in a
reliable and consistent way, and documents the measurement
results. The measurement results can be saved locally in a
file, appended to a file of results, sent by email, and filed
on a central statistics server.
You can read more about FSM on my website, go to www.vk1od.net, you will find a prominent link on the home page. FSM will run on Win98SE or later, and can be downloaded from the website.
NOISE FLOOR DATABASE to fight BPL Invasion!
BPL - AT THE WARFRONT
From WIA News 27
February 2005
Owen Duffy joins
us with a quick update on BPL activity.
As you know, the Radiocommunications Act makes it an offence
to recklessly engage in conduct that causes substantial
interference to radiocommunications services. Some people have
peddled notions that amateurs are not protected from
interference, but aside from the specific provisions in the
current LCD regarding LIPD interference, the
Radiocommunications Act does protect amateurs from
"substantial" interference.
It may become incumbent on us to build a convincing case of
what constitutes "substantial" interference.
To that end, some of us are considering the feasibility of a
survey of ambient noise levels, particularly on the lower HF
bands. Such a survey will provide us with current knowledge of
background noise levels in the Australian context, a baseline
for arguing cases of "substantial" interference, and a
"before" observation in a "before and after" scenario where
interference sources such as BPL, inverter air conditioners
etc., are installed.
This is a significant challenge, as we don't have, and can't
afford laboratory EMI receivers and antennas for a full CISPR
compliant measurement. However, amateurs are known for
innovation, improvisation, and achieving results with limited
equipment.
Ed Hare (W1RFI) and myself have been collaborating on
development of a software tool to assist in the task of making
measurements, calculating the results, and consolidation of
the results from measuring stations on a central database.
Phil Wait (VK2DKN)
and I have been working on tools for calibration of receiver
bandwidth and noise floor, and calibration of the software of
which I have spoken. I hope to bring you news of this project
in the next week or two.
Meanwhile, we expect that the ACMA is on the ground in
Queanbeyan, NSW where Country Energy is conducting a trial of
Mitsubishi 45Mb DS2 based equipment. We look forward to
publication by the ACMA of those measurements on their BPL
Portal, hopefully in the coming weeks.
In VK7 Aurora Energy are planning another "Major Commercial
Trial", this around mid year using the 200 Mbit chip
technology from DS2 in Spain. Justin VK7TW says in Aurora's
Annual report for 2004 claims are made that the trial
conducted in April was described as "highly successful".
"Highly Successful"?
Well it did only target their office and 4 homes.
This new trial we understand will involve about 1000 homes.
A sound recording of the BPL interference that Eric, VK7TAS
recorded during the first Aurora BPL trial to give people an
idea of the type of interference that may be experienced
exists, this at https://reast.asn.au/soundfiles/kirkswaybpl.wav
ACREM (Australian Citizens Radio Emergency Monitors) uncovers BPL interference loophole!
From Martin Howells, VK2UMJ ACREM-NSW
February 2005
Will your radiocommunications service be protected from interference by BPL? Maybe not!!!
Just when we thought the ACMA would offer protection to all radiocommunications services if they suffer interference from BPL, we learn the truth! What many people don't realise is that many radiocommunications services operate on a "no interference, no protection" basis, which means that if BPL causes interference it's "tough luck".
During recent contact with the ACMA over the BPL concerns and the new requirement for BPL providers to advise licensee's of trials, ACREM-NSW raised some concerns for those that hold licences for services such as "Land Mobile - Ambulatory System" that covers area much larger than just the licensee's postcode/address (which would show up on an ACMA database search). However, the response received from ACMA on this was:
"In relation to the land mobile ambulatory system licence, a condition of the licence is that there is no protection from interference and interference must not be caused (the "no interference, no protection" clause)."
So, how many other services will be exempt from interference protection under this clause? Although I can understand the "no interference, no protection" applying with regard to interference from other radiocommunications users, I would have thought that interference from BPL would be treated differently and all licensed radio services would receive protection - but apparently not!
How many other services that think they will be protected fall under this? I believe CB may also be "no protection, no interference", as is Amateur Radio on those bands where amateur is not the Primary service, so will this be the response from ACMA when complaints come about interference to secondary bands?
Also, if interference is actually caused to the BPL system (as has been a concern) then it could be YOU that is closed down by the ACMA and not the BPL system!!
The full details of the correspondence to and from the ACMA on this matter will be placed on the ACREM website BPL pages soon, so you can read the entire message in context. It will be placed at:
https://www.acremnsw.org.au/bpl/index.php?ID=replies
If you have thoughts or
comments, feel free to contact ACREM, contact details can be
found on the above website.
Australian Government launches official BPL Web Site!
January 2005
Australian Government Official BPL Page
BPL Juggernaut and Money Grab Rolls along!!!!
From WIA News 21
November 2004
BPL - AT THE WAR FRONT
There are strong indications that the introduction of
broadband over powerlines, BPL, is getting closer in
Australia. The technology could be available to consumers in
Tasmania within a few months, and two companies are trialling
it in New South Wales. With the very latest, here is Jim
Linton VK3PC.
Tasmania's electricity distribution and retail company, Aurora
Energy has announced it will have a major commercial trial of
BPL by mid-2005.
It has hailed as a success Australia's first pilot trial of
the technology conducted in May this year that involved four
houses and part of the company's office building in Hobart.
In its annual report, Aurora Energy claims very competitive
Internet data rates for the technology accessed via power
points when compared to that available through the
telecommunications network.
Meanwhile an industry newsletter reports that another company,
Energy Australia, ran a BPL trial in Newcastle, making it
Australia's second serious trial of the technology.
A third power company, Country Energy is expected to run a
trial in Queanbeyan, near Canberra, before the end of this
month.
The power industry believes that BPL is ready and now only
awaits a decision by the Australian Communications Authority.
The ACMA's current review of its "Regulatory Philosophy and
Compliance Policy" and recent work through the Radio
Consultative Committee, are all moving towards an announcement
on Australia's regulatory approach to BPL.
In breaking news, WIA's Phil Wait VK2DKN and Barry White
VK2AAB were invited to a demonstration of that BPL technology
in Queanbeyan.
A three person team from the UK Open University (Power Line
Communications Group) lead by Professor John Newbury discussed
the development of international standards and stressed the
variability of the power network, the importance of measuring
the interference risks, and the need for developing
technologies which allow a range of solutions to different
field situations. In particular they stressed the variations
in the power distribution network, the interference issue, and
the signal attenuation variation between old and new houses.
They also mentioned possibility of ionospheric propagation.
The equipment used in the test saw levels of interference is
so severe (S9 + 50db outside the premises) that filtering or
notching out by only 20 - 30dB will have little effect on
reducing its interference potential.
In Phil Wait's opinion it will be hard to see how cooperation
and goodwill between US amateurs and the BPL industry (as
recommended by the FCC) will be possible as the interference
levels are just so high and so widespread. Amateur operation
in urban areas with BPL access will be impossible.
BPL Interference Evaluation Tool (Calculator) by VK1OD
This text from WIANEWS 10 October 2004 Edition
Owen
Duffy, VK1OD has developed a very useful tool to assist in
evaluating the effects of BPL on a radio receiving
installation. The tool allows you to determine (using your own
antenna and receiver installation parameters) the effect that
BPL might have on your installation.
Broadband over Power Lines is technology for carriage of high
speed data, principally for Internet Access, over the existing
power line network.
Current BPL technology works by conduction of signals in the
radio frequency spectrum up to about 100 MHz. Existing power
lines networks are not ideal RF transmission networks, they
will radiate radio frequency energy causing interference to
radiocommunications services, and they will be susceptible to
interference from nearby transmitters (radio or otherwise).
The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation,
CENELEC, are developing a standard for "Electromagnetic
emissions from access powerline communications networks".
Access powerline communications networks are commonly termed
Broadband over Power Lines or BPL.
The proposed CENELEC standard does not automatically apply
globally, though countries like Australia draw heavily on
international standards, such as CENELEC's for their own
jurisdiction.
This proposed standard would set limits for the conducted
energy and radiated energy of BPL systems. The radiation limit
is specified for example as a field strength in dBuA/m in a
measurement bandwidth at a specified distance on particular
frequency, and its impact will not be immediately apparent to
most radio users.
Do you know what the impact of +4dBuA/m in 9KHz at 3m is on
your receiver?
The BPL Interference Evaluation Tool allows evaluation of the
impact of BPL interference under the proposed CENELEC standard
given a set of location / application specific parameters.
Go to the BPL Interference Evaluation Tool at www.vk1od.net/bpl and enter the
details for your site and discover the impact.
If you understand the potential impact, you will understand
that BPL is the most serious risk that faces Amateur Radio and
HF Radio Communications today. We, as a community seem
absorbed with local level issues and small minded parochial
thinking when a concerted national and international level
approach is needed, and needed now.
Australian National 4WD (VKS-737) Radio Network Inc
The Australian National 4WD (VKS-737) Radio Network Inc has created this excellent Press Release to aid in the fight against BPL.
It's been sent to all of its 6000 members. Download Here (81 Kb pdf)
This file has been zipped up to conserve disk space. You will require software to un-zip (Press Release used with permission from Steve Johnston).
VKS737 AUSTRALIA'S HF RADIO NETWORK HOME PAGE
Australian Citizens Radio Emergency Monitors (ACREM)
ACREM have created these excellent letters to aid in the fight against BPL.
They have been sent to high ranking government and political leaders in Australia. Download Letter One Here (32 Kb pdf) or Download Letter Two Here (28 Kb pdf). Replies to these letters can be viewed here. Documents has been zipped up to conserve disk space. You will require software to un-zip (Letters used with permission from Martin Howells).
AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS RADIO EMERGENCY MONITORS BPL PAGE
Taxpayer Money wasted on Pro-BPL Report (1478 Kb pdf)
This so called independent report claims there is NO interference from BPL!!! Yeah Right and Pigs can fly too!!!!!
https://www.dcita.gov.au/Article/0,,0_1-2_3-4_119354,00.html
Australian "CommsWorld" questions Pro-BPL government report!
More Bad News for Australian HF Users!
THE ACMA SHOWS IT'S TRUE COLOURS
Large in-building BPL network gets ACMA Approval!!!!!
https://www.skynetglobal.com/default.asp?objectID=233
It was reported in "Communications Day" that
SkyNetGlobal claim to have gained approval from the Australian
Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) for their
in-building powerline communications networks. The company
currently has exclusive powerline access agreements with 51
buildings covering more than 10,000 residences. With the ACMA
permission, their plan is to achieve national coverage of 500
buildings over the next 24 months covering approximately
100,000 apartments.
With subscriber uptake of about 20% per building SkyNetGlobal
expects to sign up 200,000 subscribers by 2006. Additionally
they plan to offer VoIP and Video on demand services over the
powerline. Following the announcement SkyNetGlobal shares
jumped 12.8%, ("Communications Day" Friday, 2nd July).
Quote of the Century from an e-mail sent on 21 May 2004 by the ACMA to a concerned citizen. "At this stage, there are no firm plans to commercially deploy BPL technology in Australia."
Hey ACMA, you move fast when a dollar is involved don't you. Where was the consultation with the Amateur and HF community? Where are the test results to show there is NO interference with shortwave reception? Have you read the ITU radio regulations recently!!!!!
The following links
will take you to web sites featuring excerpts from current
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) radio
regulations. Please visit NASWA, and DXING.COM, as well as references
in documents for BPL interference submissions to the FCC in the United States of
America.
So you think BPL will not be used in Australia!! Well, read this!!!!
The FTA
(Free Trade Agreement) between the USA and Australia is likely
to be or already law by the time you read this. Here is a
section from the telecommunications chapter of the agreement.
If you read it carefully, you could drive a road train (ie
truck) through it. Here comes BPL!!!!!
https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/negotiations/us_fta/final-text/chapter_12.html
Article
12.15
: Flexibility In The Choice Of Technology
Neither Party may prevent suppliers of public
telecommunications services or suppliers of value-added
services from choosing the technologies they wish to use to
supply their services, including packet-based services and
commercial mobile wireless services, subject to requirements
necessary to satisfy legitimate public policy interests.
ABC-TV Tasmania "Stateline" programme transcript on BPL interference
ACMA issues trial certificate for SP Ausnet in Mt Beauty, Victoria
ACMA Official BPL submissions page (Over 200 individual pdf's)
ACMA to go easy on regulation to appease BPL lobby!
Adelaide and Melbourne getting or had Secret BPL trials
Age Newspaper Inbox: Comment on BPL in Australia
Age News Story: "New role for old power lines"
Age News Story: Telephony trial over powerlines successful
ACBRO (Australian Citizens Band Radio Organisation) fights against BPL!
ACREM (Australian Citizens Radio Emergency Monitors) fights against BPL!
ACREM BPL submissions to Federal Government!
ACMA taking BPL review the next step!
Are you ready for BPL enablement of your home and neighbourhood!
Aurora defends dumping BPL/PLC Trial
Aurora Energy keen to start BPL!
Aurora Energy to drop BPL/PLC in Tasmania. (VK7)
Aurora moves ahead with next phase towards BPL commercialisation!
Aurora wants to light the way with BPL!
Australian BPL discussed on DSL Reports.com
Australian Business queries economies of BPL Push!
Australian "CommsWorld" questions Pro-BPL government report!
Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) Brochure on BPL (126 Kb pdf)
Australian Government Official BPL Page
Australian Government Official BPL Trial Guide-lines (41 Kb pdf)
Australian Pro-BPL Lobbyist and Spin Doctor is at it again!
Australian Taxpayer funded Pro-BPL report (1478 Kb pdf)
BPL Conference report by VK2DKN
BPL Country trials generate new opposition! (Australian PC World Magazine)
BPL discussion paper from ACMA: April 2005 (164 Kb pdf)
BPL Down Under: A view from DSL Reports
BPL Interference Evaluation Tool (Calculator) by VK1OD
BPL now used in Brisbane Casino! (Computerworld)
BPL Podcast by Sophie Gleitzman
BPL spin doctor at work again (Australian PC World Magazine)
BPL trial slows down due to skills shortage
BPL Trial Switched on in Mount Beauty, Victoria!
BPL threatens marine distress and safety services in Australia!
BPL virtual tour released on DVD and YouTube!
Broadband over Powerlines info goes on-line
Broadband over Power Lines trial in Hobart nears commercialisation despite interference claims!
Broadband Trial to moves to Burnie, Tasmania
Budde Bags Radio Amateurs on
ABC Regional Radio (WIA responds)
Country Energy gears up for another commercial BPL trial
Electricity Utilities unite for broadband services
EFTel is leading the way in Tasmania: Broadband over Power Lines
Field Strength Measurement Software for BPL/PLC/PLT (from VK1OD)
Jerrabomberra gets BPL trial and it creates interference!
Latest Tasmanian BPL measurements confirm Interference Potential!
Making sense of the power-line push
Mount Beauty BPL Trial Interference (November 2006) Report (921 Kb pdf)
NE Asia Online: Aurora Launches Commercial Trial of BPL
Plug in and Play net trial- smh.com.au
Powerline Broadband:12 Mbps Trial Unveiled in Tasmania- Slashdot
Powerline Internet access coming to Canberra (Computerworld)
Powerlines to deliver the Internet (Courier-Mail, Brisbane)
Queanbeyan BPL trial latest info and sound sample! (It's Bad!!!!)
Queanbeyan, Country Energy BPL Trial, Nov 2004 to March 2005 Analysis
Regional NSW BPL pilot to smash city broadband speeds
Savant Corporation (BPL Spin doctor)
Silicon Chip Magazine editorial on BPL
Skynetglobal gets approval for BPL in Australia. ACMA caves in!
Sparks fly over power line Internet trials (Australian PC World)
Study: Powerline broadband set to grow in 2005 (Australian PC World)
Tasmanian BPL operator "Buries" interference!
Tasmania (VK7) REAST (BPL-PLC-PLT) Watch Page
Telstra's Fibre to kickstart BPL
Trial plugs fast net into power (The AustralianIT)
VK3 (Victorian) Hams launch BPL Watch Web Site
VKS-737 BPL Brochure: The Australian HF Community fights back! (70 Kb pdf)
VKS-737 submission to ACMA re BPL! (442 Kb pdf)
What Australian Political Parties have to say on BPL/PLC!
Wireless Institute of Australia BPL Interference Advisory Service
Wireless Institute of Australia "Powerpoint" presentation at the IIR conference: BPL in Australia
WIA issues major paper on BPL/PLC in Australia (281 Kb pdf)
WIA releases Official Response to BPL Discussion Paper
WIA receives reply from ACMA on BPL!!
WIA summing up of November 2005 BPL conference
Wireless Institute of Australia Official BPL/PLC Page!
Whirlpool Discussion: ACMA launches BPL/PLC website!
Whirlpool Discussion: BPL providers seek legal changes!!!
Whirlpool Discussion: Large-scale BPL trial begins in Tasmania!!!
ZDNet: Tasmanian BPL Powers Up
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