POWELL SAYS FCC NEARING KEY BPL ORDER

“I can’t imagine a better breakthrough for universal broadband service than if every power outlet in America was capable of providing broadband by just plugging something in,” Powell said. “I think it’s been moving very, very quickly. I think people have waited to see whether the government encourages or discourages this, and I think we've encouraged it.”

Powell said venture capital is being invested in BPL. He also said electric utilities will have a natural interest in BPL: “This has enormous potential for the improvement of the grid itself… They don’t even know necessarily when the power is out in your neighborhood unless somebody calls them.”

Edmond Thomas, chief of the Office of Engineering & Technology, said several power companies and others who want to deploy BPL are anxiously awaiting the order: “Bankers have been talking to us and they're all waiting for our rules. There is a carload of power companies that is waiting to see what our rules are before they make a commitment.”

The FCC’s responsibility is to clarify technological issues so that more companies can deploy BPL systems, Thomas added. “We don’t do business plans. We don’t pick winners and losers,” he said. “We plant a lot of seeds and hope we get some flowers. I know power companies are taking a very serious look at this. Where we are we want to make sure if this technology as we believe creates no harm. In terms of our rules, it’s on a par with DSL and cable modems.”

Thomas warned that companies that deploy equipment before the order are at risk since it may not meet interference guidelines. Reply comments are due at the FCC next week. Amateur radio operators in particular have vociferously weighed in against permitting broader use of BPL.

Powell was at the lab to officially open a new testing facility -- a $750,000 anechoic measurement chamber and control room that allows FCC engineers to more accurately test a wide range of equipment for interference problems. The chamber is part of a program Powell has promoted to add new equipment to the lab. Congress has approved $750,000 per year for equipment purchases at the lab the past 3 years, compared to $50,000 per year in preceding years.

Powell said independent testing by the lab is critical to Commissioners as they make policy calls on complicated issues involving the spectrum. “The battle at the Commission is over harmful interference, or at least that is at least a major argument being made about why some new service shouldn’t come into being or why they should be exceeding limits,” he said: “The danger is that protects their commercial self-interests. That’s not always the same as the public interest. If we don’t have an independent capability to do some of our own testing, have our own independent verification of things, we're sort of at the mercy of a political and adversary process to get to the bottom of really difficult technical questions.”

Powell said the work of the lab is increasingly important, given the complexity of the issues the FCC must unravel. “You guys ask me every time I come off the podium, oh, how are you doing on 800 MHz?” he told reporters: “I'm a lawyer. What do I know? How does Comr. Abernathy know? We have a first class technical operation.”

At this point the FCC lab has the equipment and technology it needs to support the Commission, Thomas said. “But unfortunately in the area of technology Moore’s Law operates and you have to continually upgrade.”