The FCC’s approach to broadband over power lines (BPL) represents...

the European power line communications (PLC) industry said Tues. Unlike the FCC - - which recently set technical and administrative standards for BPL, known as power line communications (PLC) in Europe) -- the EC must wait for the European Telecom Standards Institute (ETSI) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) to act, said Bernd Wirth, mgr.-strategy & regulation for Germany-based Power Plus Communications. PLC providers are “comfortable” with current regulations, but the radio community has been pressing for tighter anti-interference requirements more than 5 years, Wirth said. Uncertainty about what new standards ETSI and CENELEC might publish is making would-be PLC providers nervous, he said. The EC is working on a proposal aimed at easing regulatory barriers to PLC, but that recommendation would provide merely a framework for regulation, not the actual technical standards, Wirth said. Because telecom companies participate in ETSI and CENELEC discussions, it’s not likely there will be tougher standards, he said. But energy companies and utilities remain concerned about the EC recommendation being waylaid by the standards organizations, he said, and that concern may be contributing to PLC’s current lack of success in Europe despite commercial rollouts by “a few brave companies” in Austria, Germany and Spain. ETSI and CENELEC have tried 3-4 years to craft PLC standards but have failed to agree, Wirth said. They're now looking at a new approach, he said, but it’s difficult to say whether it will be adopted.