As an amateur radio operator for 45 years and an R/C'er for 20 or so, I am not overly concerned about BPL's potential for interference, especially to R/C. I'll stick my neck out a bit here and predict that BPL will not enjoy widespread implementation for a number of technical and economic reasons and will probably die a quick death. That does not mean, however that we should stop pressure against BPL and give the industry carte blance to pollute the airwaves while we await the wake.

I believe BPL will be one of those technologies that gets leapfrogged and quickly supplanted by an emerging technology which provides more bang for the buck. Many here (most?) are familar with WiFi (IEEE 802.11) which provides wireless networking in the workplace, the home, hotels, airports, etc over a limited area. A new technology known as WiMax (IEEE 802.16) is being rolled out which will provide wireless broadband internet access over large areas (up to 30 miles line of sight) without need for fiber optics, copper cable, or satellite link. WiMax operates at frequencies well above those of interest to R/C'ers and most amateurs. A good overview, obviously from Intel's industry perspective, can be found at: http://www.intel.com/netcomms/bbw/index.htm for those interested interested in the technical details.

Steve Kerrin