US House Committee Okays Telecoms Bill with BPL-Interference Study Amendment

The US House Energy and Commerce Committee's version of the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement (COPE) Act of 2006 includes an amendment requiring the FCC to study the interference potential of BPL systems. After spending two days marking up (the Ross amendment is No 25) the measure, the panel voted April 26 to send the much-talked-about "telecoms rewrite" bill to the full House for its consideration. "Outstanding news!" was the reaction of ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ.

PARA]US Rep Mike Ross, WD5DVR, (D-AR) "This is a major victory for the ARRL," he exulted, noting that the amendment "received significant opposition" from utility companies. Rep Mike Ross, WD5DVR (D-AR), proposed the amendment, and, with the support of Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX), the committee agreed by voice vote to include it in the bill. A year ago, Ross sponsored House Resolution 230 (H Res 230), which calls on the FCC to "reconsider and revise rules governing broadband over power line systems based on a comprehensive evaluation of the interference potential of those systems to public safety services and other licensed radio services."

The non-binding resolution has six cosponsors. "Hundreds of ARRL members who wrote their congressional representatives in support of Rep Ross's H Res 230 helped to achieve this week's success with the COPE Act amendment," Sumner observed. A more-widely reported Internet "network neutrality" amendment to the COPE Act bill was defeated. The measure will get a number next week. A statement released by Ross's office notes that his amendment, which received unanimous committee support, "would guarantee that valuable public safety communications and Amateur Radio operators are not subject to interference." One of two radio amateurs in the US House, Ross said infrastructure-free Amateur Radio, "often overlooked in favor of flashier means of communication," can maintain communication in disasters that bring more vulnerable technology to its knees. Ham radio operators "are often the only means of communication attainable in a devastated area," Ross said. "I believe it is imperative that the interference potential [of BPL] is thoroughly examined and comprehensively evaluated to ensure that deployment of BPL, which I do support, does not cause radio interference for Amateur Radio operators and first responders who serve our communities," Ross added.

The COPE Act BPL amendment adds a section (under Title V) to the proposed legislation that would require the FCC to study and report on the interference potential of BPL systems within 90 days of the bill's enactment. The Commission would have to submit its report to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. "This puts the House Energy and Commerce Committee on record as having concerns about BPL interference," Sumner said. "If we are vigilant in protecting it against deletion on the House floor--assuming the bill is approved by the House--the BPL language will be included in the legislation that goes on to the Senate."

From the ARRL

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