Transcript BPL and Radio Services - American Radio Relay League

Broadband over
Power line
and its effect on
emergency services
Ron LaPedis, CBCP, CISSP, ISSMP, ISSAP
Radio Amateur Extra N6QGK
When All Else Fails . . . Amateur Radio
18 July 2015
Attribution
• The material in this presentation comes from
USA and Canadian sources. However, BPL is
being proposed with similar specifications in
many countries.
• Radio waves do not stop at city, state,
provincial, nor country boundaries.
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
Background
• Hertz – Basic unit of frequency in cycles per second
– Humans can hear frequencies from 20-20,000
Hertz
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MHz – 1 million Hertz
High Frequency (HF) – 3-30 MHz
Very High Frequency (VHF) – 30-300 MHz
Ultra High Frequency (UHF) – 300-3000 MHz
• Wavelength (λ) – The distance between one peak of
a wave and the next.
• λ = c / f where c = 299792458 m/s (speed of light in a
vacuum)
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
Background
• The lower the frequency, the longer the antenna
needed to send and receive it
• All things being equal, lower frequencies (longer
wavelengths) travel longer distances but do not
penetrate buildings as well as higher frequencies.
• HF needs little infrastructure for extended distance
communications
• It is also easier to transmit lower frequencies at
higher power
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
Background
• Radio amateurs talk about ‘frequency bands’
by wavelength, not by frequency, hence 20
meter band, 40 meter band and so on.
• F = (299792458 m/s)/20m = 14.9 MHz
• Actual is 14.0-14.35 MHz
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Background
One cycle
One λ
One Second = 4 Hertz
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
Background
• Many public safety radios use VHF
• Trunking radios use UHF (800 MHz)
• California Highway Patrol uses HF (29 MHz)
• Aeronautics/Marine use HF + VHF
• ‘Shortwave radio’ uses HF
• HF communication makes use of the most important
property of the frequencies between 2MHz and
30MHz; the ability to establish and maintain
communications over great distances without any
intervening man made infrastructure.
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
Background
• Don’t power companies send data over power
lines already?
• Yes, Power Line Carrier (PLC) is used for
command and control but it is narrow-band low
frequency (100 to 180 kHz) and low speed.
• Current BPL is wide-band and uses 2.46 to 38
MHz. It offers 1-3 mBits/sec to the end point.
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Broadband over Powerline
diagram
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Broadband over Powerline
interference paths
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
BPL INTERFERENCE PATHS
• Near field component
• Less than 10 wavelength distance (~70-1200 m)
• Can only be reduced by shielding
• Radiated component
• More than 10 wavelength distance
• Can be reduced by good transmission line
technique (but power distribution lines are NOT
good transmission lines).
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RADIATED FIELD
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HF/VHF Users
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HF Users
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Broadcast
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Aviation
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Amateur Radio Service
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Marine and Land Mobile
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FCC Notice of Inquiry
• On April 28, 2003, the FCC released an NOI
requesting comments and reply comments on
primarily technical issues regarding BPL. The
FCC sought information and data on the
relevant technology.
• In addition, the FCC sought comment on
whether it should change the part 15 rules, 47
CFR § 15, to allow for the legal and feasible
deployment of BPL.
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
American Public Power Association
• ‘Given the tremendous potential of BPL to
provide an advanced technology that utilizes
additional facilities based mechanisms for
providing services the burden should be
imposed on challengers to BPL to
demonstrate interference in a fact based,
empirical proof.’
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
APPA (cont.)
• Further, to the extent that interference is
demonstrated, there should be an attempt to
accommodate BPL, even if it means that
existing communications providers may
have to share or transfer bandwidth.'
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
BPL Is Regulated by FCC
Part 15
• Carrier-current must meet limits for
intentional emitters
• Non-interference stipulated in part 15
• Manufacturer responsible for FCC
authorization and maximum limits
• Operator responsible for harmful interference
• Both are important to mitigate possible
harmful interference
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
Harmful Interference
• Defined as the repeated disruption of radio
communications or any disruption of certain
emergency communications services
• From broadband device (BPL) will interfere
with entire band(s)!
• Will occur for entire length of line in areas
where access BPL is deployed!
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Potential Spectrum Loss
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BPL Could Interfere With:
• Emergency
management
• National Guard
• US Coast Guard
• U.S. Military
• Fire Departments
• Law Enforcement
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CAP
FAA
FEMA
NASA
Voice of America
TV stations
Low Power FM
Broadcast Stations
Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
BPL Could Also Interfere With:
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Radio astronomy
Amateur Radio services
Disaster communication networks
Land, fixed, mobile services
Military Affiliate Radio Systems (Army,
Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force)
• Citizens band
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A power line and an antenna
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
Worldwide Problem
• BPL was extensively studied in Japan and
rejected
• Trials continue in Europe
• Multiple interference complaints have been
documented
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Organizations Voicing Concern
About BPL Interference
• US Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA)
• US National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA)
• National short-wave listener associations
• Short-wave broadcasters
• Electronic-equipment manufacturers
• GE Medical
• Aeronautical
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
The Consumer
• Consumers probably will not be aware of the
documented interference potential
• Early subscribers may be subjected to
needless system problems due to the
deployment of technology that has yet to be
properly tested
• Hams and emergency communications at risk
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA)
Comment
“Notwithstanding BPL’S Potential Benefits, The
Commission Must Ensure That Other
Communications Services, Especially Federal
Government Operations, Are Adequately
Protected From Unacceptable Interference.”
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NTIA’s Latest Filings
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Rejects the idea of BPL ID
Excludes some freqs for aeronautics
Coastal station exclusion zones
Coordination areas around National Radio
Quiet Zones
• No other protections are mentioned!
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Canadian Magazine TCA
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BPL Interference compared to other
Broadband access technologies
• DSL: Tightly-coupled differential transmission line
minimizes radiation.
• Coax: Fully shielded transmission line minimizes
radiation,
• Fiber: Completely optical, ZERO radiation
• Wireless: Uses dedicated microwave frequencies not
shared with other licensed services—interference
minimal
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
Future of BPL
• Limited bandwidth, further constrained by chopping
out slices due to interference
• The spectrum is what it is, can’t grow more
spectrum. Power lines will not sustain microwave
transmission, so BPL has finite, limited BW
• Cable, wireless and particularly fiber have far greater
bandwidth growth opportunity, without interference
to other licensed services.
• Interference both IN and OUT will lead to a lot of
unpredictable service calls
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
How you Can Help
• If you are a radio amateur
• Join your country’s radio society if you are not
currently a member
• If you are a public safety official
• Make contact with your national disaster
management and radio licensing commissions
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Radio Amateurs (hams) help
recovery efforts
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9/11
Hurricanes
Tsunamis
Earthquakes
Chemical leaks
Train derailments
Blackouts
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
How hard is it to get a ham license?
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
What can hams do?
• Communications relating to
• Health and Welfare
• Property
• We cannot communicate about anything
relating to business
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What can hams do?
• Business
• Turn your security radios over to the business and
fill in with amateurs
• Public safety
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Augment your communications with amateurs
Many PS systems are not interoperable
Infrastructure could be down
Hospitals, shelters, other deployments
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK
More Information
• http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/
• http://www.rac.ca/regulatory/plc.htm
• http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/part15.html
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Video
Ed Hare is the Lab Manager for the
ARRL. Ed drove to BPL trial areas in
New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland
and Virginia to document possible
interference from BPL. This video is
available on the ARRL web site.
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Ron LaPedis, N6QGK