FCC: CHAIRMAN MARTIN HIGHLIGHTS BPL DURING SENATE TESTIMONY; FCC STATISTICS SHOW BPL GROWTH

FCC: CHAIRMAN MARTIN HIGHLIGHTS BPL DURING SENATE TESTIMONY; FCC STATISTICS SHOW BPL GROWTH
February 20, 2007


FCC Chairman Martin recognized BPL during his testimony before the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee early this month. Chairman Martin said that "BPL is a potentially significant player in the developing broadband world". Martin's testimony drew the ire of the ARRL, which previously had criticized the Chairman for making similar public statements supporting BPL during a speech at Georgetown University. Clearly, Chairman Martin is not backing down. In his Senate testimony, Martin explained that BPL can "more easily provide broadband to rural areas," due to power lines' ubiquitous reach; and he cited to the United Power Line Council for information on the number of deployments nationwide. (To see the updated UPLC deployment map, click here.) In a related story, the latest statistics from the FCC indicate that the number of BPL subscribers increased to 5,208 as of June 30, 2006; up from 4,571 reported for the end of 2005. Although the number of subscribers increased, BPL still is last on the list of broadband technologies in the FCC's report, far behind fixed and mobile wireless, as well as satellite and fiber.

Finally, as an additional reminder to previous articles in the UPLC PowerLine newsletter, all broadband Internet access service providers, including BPL providers, must file their CALEA System Security and Integrity Reports on March 12, 2007. For more information on CALEA and its requirements as they apply to BPL, contact the UPLC Legal/Regulatory Department.