Broadband access over powerline

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Access Broadband Over Power Line
Anh Wride Senior Engineer Policy and Rules
Division Presented to International Civil
Aviation Organization Regional Preparatory Group
(RPG) Meeting for World Radiocommunication
Conference 2007 (WRC-2007), ACP Working Group B
and F and NSP SSG Meetings. Bangkok, Thailand,
21-25 February 2005 by Marcus Wolf, Senior
Engineer, International Bureau
Office of Engineering and Technology FEDERAL
COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
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Outline

• Evolution of Communication Technologies over
  Power lines
• Benefits of Access BPL and Access BPL Rulemaking
• What are Access BPL requirements?
• Mitigation Responsibility/Interference Complaint
  Procedure

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Communication over Power Lines

• Carrier current systems have been around for many
  years
• Some examples
• Campus radio systems
• Lamp/thermostat controllers
• Until recently, general characteristics of
  carrier current systems were
• Low frequency
• Low speed
• Narrow frequency/spectrum bands
• Used inside buildings/controlled environments
  (campus)

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Broadband over Power lines

• NEW Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) operations
  are different
• Advanced digital processing and modulation
  techniques
• Multiple carriers
• Wide spectrum bandwidths (e.g., 2-80 MHz)
• Two General Applications
• In-Home or in-building operations (HomePlug)
• Access systems Internet/broadband to
  neighborhood using medium voltage lines

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Two Types of BPL

• In-Home Computer Networking, Or Link Between
  Access BPL Home
• Low Voltage (120/240 VAC)

• Broadband Internet Service
• Medium Voltage (e.g. 10kV)

In-House BPL
Access BPL
Access BPL connects to computers in the home
byin-house BPL or by WiFi (wireless)
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Outline

• Evolution of Communication Technologies over
  Power lines
• Benefits of Access BPL and Access BPL Rulemaking
• What are Access BPL requirements?
• Mitigation Responsibility/Interference Complaint
  Procedure

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Benefits of BPL

• Last Mile solution potential 3rd Pipe ( DSL
  Cable) to bring broadband services to the home
• Internet and high speed broadband access to wider
  areas of the country
• Promote redundancy of communications systems
• Improve utilities management of electric grid
• remote power outage notification, security
  monitoring, traffic control, remote meter
  reading, instant Wi-Fi Hot Spot installation
• Enhance national security of energy distribution
  systems
• Foster development of smart appliances and
  resource sharing (home networking)

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Access BPL Rule Making

• Notice of Inquiry April 2003
• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) February
  2004
• Report and Order - adopted October 14, 2004,
  released October 28, 2004
• ET Docket 04-37, FCC 04-245
• http//hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/
  FCC-04-245A1.doc

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Objectives

• Remove regulatory uncertainty to encourage
  investments in BPL
• Promote development of Access BPL technology to
  allow consumers to reap its benefits
• Ensure protection of licensed radio services
• Ensure that compliance measurements are made in a
  consistent manner with repeatable results

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Outline

• Evolution of Communication Technologies over
  Power lines
• Benefits of Access BPL and Access BPL Rulemaking
• What are Access BPL requirements?
• Mitigation Responsibility

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Access BPL Rules I

• Access BPL remains under Part 15 unlicensed
  device rules (new Subpart G)
• No change in existing Part 15 emission levels
  (low power unlicensed operation)
• Access BPL operations cannot cause harmful
  interference and must accept any interference (47
  C.F.R 15.5)

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Access BPL Rules II

• Access BPL must include adaptive interference
  mitigation capabilities to respond to local and
  site-specific interference, e.g.
• Exclude or notch any specific frequency or band
• Remotely shut off any BPL device

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Access BPL Rules III

• BPL cannot operate on certain excluded frequency
  bands
• Specifically, the following 12 Aeronautical (R)
  frequencies (communications restricted to safety
  and regularity of flight and an ILS component)

2850-3025 kHz 3400-3500 kHz 4650-4700 kHz
5450-5680 kHz 6525-6685 kHz 8815-8965 kHz
10005-10100 kHz 11275-11400 kHz 13260-13360 kHz
17900-17970 kHz 21924-22000 kHz 74.8-75.2 MHz
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Access BPL Rules IV

• Establishes exclusion zones within which Access
  BPL must avoid operating on certain frequencies
• Access BPL must avoid using 2182 kHz (2173.5-
  2190.5 kHz) within 1 km of a U.S. Coast Guard or
  maritime public coast station
• Access BPL using overhead power lines must avoid
  using 73-74.6 MHz within 29 km of ten radio
  astronomy sites (Very Long Baseline Array
  facilities)
• Access BPL using underground power lines or
  overhead low voltage power lines must avoid using
  73-74.6 MHz within 11 km of certain radio
  astronomy sites

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Access BPL Rules V

• Establishes consultation requirements for BPL
  with public safety, and certain sensitive federal
  and aeronautical stations
• Establishes a good faith process to ensure that
  
• Access BPL systems do not cause interference and
• Any restrictions by licensees on BPL are only
  those necessary to avoid interference

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Access BPL Rules VI

• Requires industry to establish a publicly
  accessible database for Access BPL systems
  containing
• Access BPL Provider Name
• Access BPL deployment by zip code
• Frequency bands of operation
• Type of equipment (FCC ID)
• Contact Information (phone number and email
  address) to facilitate interference resolution
• Proposed or Actual date of Access BPL operation

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Database Requirements

• The industry will select the database
  administrator and must inform the Commission
  within 180 days of publication of Report and
  Order in the Federal Register
• The Commission will issue a Public Notice
  announcing the identity of the database
  administrator

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Access BPL Rules VII

• Changes equipment authorization requirements for
  Access BPL devices from Verification to FCC
  Certification
• Certification is an equipment authorization
  issued by the FCC and requires manufacturers to
  submit testing and measurement data to the FCC
• Under Verification, the manufacturer determines
  the equipment is compliant and no data is
  submitted to the FCC unless requested

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Access BPL Certification
Submit Application to TCB new technology, not
permitted
F C C G R A N T
Label Product
Prepare Test Report and Application
Submit Application to FCC
Market Product
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Access BPL Rules VIII

• Provides new measurement procedures and
  guidelines to ensure that testing of Access BPL
  and other carrier current devices is performed in
  a more consistent and repeatable manner
• Recommends that BPL operators perform testing
  during initial installation and periodically to
  ensure compliance

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Outline

• Evolution of Communication Technologies over
  Power lines
• Benefits of Access BPL and Access BPL Rulemaking
• What are Access BPL requirements?
• Mitigation Responsibility

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Mitigation Responsibility

• Protection of Licensed Radio Services is provided
  by
• the emissions limits for Access BPL systems (low
  Part 15 levels)
• the provisions for consultation areas, excluded
  bands, and exclusion zones and
• the requirement that Access BPL systems not cause
  interference.
• The mitigation requirements are intended to
  ensure that Access BPL systems are designed with
  features that support interference mitigation
• during initial installation, if sensitive local
  communications systems are identified in advance
  and
• after installation, the newly required
  operational capabilities will allow Access BPL
  system operators to expeditiously resolve any
  instances of interference that may occur, without
  the need to cease operations and thereby disrupt
  the broadband data services they provide to their
  subscribers.

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Next Steps/Further Information

• Transition time
• 18 months from publication of BPL Report and
  Order in Federal Register
• For more information
• www.fcc.gov