FCC: NTIA REPORT CONFIRMS FCC BPL RULES ARE EFFECTIVE

This month, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released its BPL Phase II report, which generally confirms that the FCC technical rules do protect federal government operations from harmful interference. NTIA used NEC modeling to predict the RF emissions from BPL systems, and concluded that "the peak field strength seen in close proximity to a BPL-energized overhead power line will occur at various heights, and often near the height of the power line." Furthermore, NTIA concluded that measurements of the 80th percentile of emissions from BPL systems effectively estimate their true interference potential, thereby eliminating localized peaks that are "unlikely to be encountered by a radio receiver randomly located in close proximity to an Access BPL power line." Finally, the NTIA report affirmed the accuracy of using a 5 dB correction factor to measure BPL emissions above 30 MHz when measuring at a height of 1 meter above ground. It also generally affirmed the accuracy of the FCC's extrapolation factor for measuring emissions at distances different from those prescribed by the emission limits. While it did find that the FCC extrapolation factor may underestimate emissions below 6 MHz, the extrapolation factor "show[ed] good agreement" with the rate that NTIA estimated that field strength actually decays generally below 30 MHz. In response, the FCC sent a copy of the NTIA Phase II report to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which will hear oral arguments this month in the ARRL's appeal of the FCC's BPL technical rules. The FCC told the court that the NTIA report supports the FCC's findings in its Report and Order that the interference potential from BPL is low and that the NTIA's findings are consistent with the FCC's extrapolation factor, which the ARRL challenges on appeal. The NTIA Phase II report also helps to rebut a recent report by NATO, which expressed concerns about BPL interference to military operations. For more information, contact [4] the UPLC Legal/Regulatory Department.

---

INDUSTRY: HOMEPLUG/PANASONIC MERGE ACCESS/IN-HOME
BPL STANDARDS PROPOSALS

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance and Panasonic merged their proposals for a BPL standard that will be considered at the meeting of the IEEE P1901 group this week in Boston. The merger is a major
development, and according to HomePlug, the submission "offers the efficiency of a single MAC and the flexibility to support both the HD-PLC and HomePlug AV PHYs." As a result, future products based on the merged P1901 proposal can be fully interoperable with existing HomePlug AV and Panasonic HD-PLC products. Mikio Mizutani, executive vice president of Panasonic communications Co. Ltd. stated that "We are convinced that this joint submission with the HomePlug Alliance represents a significant step forward toward the important goal of achieving a unified power line standard." For the merged proposal, the HomePlug Alliance and its member companies agreed to team up with Panasonic to develop both In-home and Access proposals and to provide an integrated solution based on their combined efforts.

UPLC is attending the IEEE P1901 meeting this week, and already there has been intense discussion about the merged proposal. The group voted to approve the agenda for the meeting, but there was vigorous debate about whether there should be a vote on the standard at this time. Ultimately, the group agreed that an elimination vote should take place, but that the confirmation vote should occur at the next IEEE meeting in San Diego. The group also decided to wait until Thursday to conduct the elimination vote in order to provide additional time for technical discussion about the merged standard proposal. For more information about the merged proposal or the IEEE meeting, contact [5] the UPLC Legal/Regulatory Department.

---

INDUSTRY: HOMEPLUG RATIFIES COMMAND & CONTROL 1.0 SPECIFICATION AT TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

UPLC was on hand last week at the HomePlug Technology Conference in Santa Clara, CA, which featured the ratification of the HomePlug Command and Control (C&C) 1.0 specification. The specification is now available to HomePlug members. Additionally, the C&C 1.0 Protocol specification is being developed by the C&C specification working group. HomePlug also reported that it is in the planning stages of a comprehensive compliance and interoperability (C&I) product certification program for Command and Control applications, which includes a product certification "Plugfest," where products are tested for seamless compatibility with other HomePlug technologies and ultimately granted the HomePlug certification mark.

"The new HomePlug Command and Control technology platform will usher in a new era of home automation and create a wide variety of innovative solutions that improve the quality of peoples' lives," said Pete Griffin, director of corporate technology for RadioShack Corporation, who serves as chairman of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. "Through an open process, we tested a wide variety of existing Command and Control solutions and selected the best baseline technology available. Now that there's been significant study and input from our international team and the specification has been completed, consumers can expect to see a breadth of solutions, including advanced energy management and whole-house control of lighting, appliances, climate control, security and other devices."

HomePlug C&C technology was built with contributions from companies worldwide that worked as part of the Alliance's specification working group (SWG). The SWG further developed a baseline
technology that was based on contributions submitted by Ariane Controls, Corporate Systems Engineering, GE, Huawei, LG Electronics, RadioShack, Simply Automated and Yitran.

---

INDUSTRY: ARKADOS AND MAINNET TEAM TO ENABLE
"GREEN ENTERTAINMENT"

Arkados and MainNet Communications announced this week that they have entered into a strategic collaboration to create commercial hardware and software solutions for Smart-Grid applications.
The two companies plan to develop applications jointly to improve the reliability and efficiency of electrical grids, connect consumer electronic devices over power lines, enable energy-saving initiatives, and deliver Broadband content to homes and offices.

"MainNet found in Arkados a strong technology partner with the same vision of what powerline communications technology can achieve," said Joe Marsilii, CEO of MainNet. "Using Arkados'
HomePlug chips with our BPL smart repetition mechanism, utility companies will get a future proof, easy to install, cost effective and secured Smart-Grid system. Concurrently, this scenario enables easy ways for consumers to access on-demand broadband services, which will help to further realize the vision of the connected home."

The details of the collaboration include a financial arrangement that gives MainNet incentives to purchase 600,000 Arkados 200 megabit per second chipsets (HomePlug AV) over the next three years. Subject to the terms of the agreement and the completion of certain milestones, MainNet is expected to pre-pay up to $500,000 for the delivery of Arkados solutions in calendar year 2008. According to the press release, the combination of MainNet's unique layer 2 system with Arkados core technology will offer easy and seamless access to Internet-based services for the consumer over the existing electrical grid, while also acting as a window into energy savings by offering command and control energy applications. These applications help to save operational costs through energy conservation, and could contribute to a greener environment.

---

INDUSTRY: IBEC ANNOUNCES GO AHEAD WITH FCC
CERTIFIED EQUIPMENT

International Broadband Electric Communications Inc. (IBEC) said last week that it will begin deploying broadband Internet service to rural areas within the next month, now that the FCC has certified its Regenerator Unit and Customer Service Unit equipment. According to IBEC, initially it will begin installing the devices for three rural electric cooperatives in Alabama, Indiana and Virginia, providing broadband service for some 105,000 customers.

"IBEC's focus since its inception has been to provide BPL services to rural electric utilities and the underserved residents of rural America - those citizens who are often neglected but who have the same need for broadband services as those living in urban and suburban America," said Scott E. Lee, CEO of IBEC. "IBEC's BPL equipment, coupled with the USDA funding, will allow IBEC to begin building the broadband networks necessary to serve rural America and close the Digital Divide," Lee added. IBEC received a $19.2 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utility Service to make the technology available to underserved areas.

---