Why are Amateur Radio operators, also known as Hams, in an uproar over Broadband Over Powerline or BPL?
BPL is a system that is being tested to provide broadband Internet service via powerlines. The system uses radio frequencies that do radiate into the air. They can cause interference to licensed services including Amateur Radio. This interference has been seen and documented in most of the BPL trial areas. BPL experimental licenses have been issued allowing some systems to operate between 2 and 80 MHz (megahertz). This particular band of frequencies are generally known as HF (which is actually 3 – 30 Mhz) or “shortwave” frequencies. This part of the radio spectrum has very special properties not found elsewhere. With this band, one can communicate around the world with very low power levels, without the need for any equipment in between, such as satellites or repeaters. This is due to the fact that radio waves in this band can bounce off the ionosphere multiple times to get to the destination. Other portions of the radio spectrum are essentially line-of-sight.
