*Pages 1--3 from Microsoft Word - 49222.doc* PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S. W. Washington, D. C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418- 0500 Internet: http:// www. fcc. gov TTY: 1- 888- 835- 5322 DA 05- 1637 Released: June 9, 2005 OET SEEKS COMMENT ON PROPOSAL BY UNITED TELECOM COUNCIL TO SERVE AS DATABASE MANAGER FOR ACCESS BROADBAND OVER POWER LINE SYSTEMS (ET Docket No. 04- 37) Comment Date: June 27, 2005 Reply Comment Date: July 5, 2005 By this Public Notice, the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) seeks comment on a letter submitted by the United Telecom Council (UTC) in which it proposes to serve as the Access Broadband over Power Line (Access BPL) database manager, pursuant to Section 15.615( a)-( e) of the Commission’s rules. Background information. On October 14, 2004, the Commission adopted a Report and Order in the above proceeding, amending Part 15 of the rules to establish specific interference mitigation requirements for Access BPL systems. 1 Access BPL systems use existing electrical power lines as a transmission medium to convey information by coupling radio frequency (RF) energy onto the medium voltage delivery power lines. Because Access BPL equipment injects RF into unshielded, unpaired medium voltage lines, the technology raises concerns of potential interference with incumbent users of the spectrum, and heightens the need for agile and timely interference mitigation techniques. The Commission adopted, inter alia, a framework that requires the BPL industry to establish within 180 days from publication of the Report and Order in the Federal Register a centralized publicly accessible Access BPL notification database. The Commission directed that the database manager would be chosen by the BPL industry. On May 17, 2005, the UTC submitted a letter notifying the Commission that it has designed and implemented a database that will enable Access BPL operators to comply with the notification requirements of Section 15.615( a)-( e) of the Commission’s rules. UTC stated that it has beta- tested the database with BPL operators that are members of UTC. UTC attached to its letter a petition signed by thirty- five Access BPL companies indicating their support for UTC to serve as the Access BPL database manager. 2 1 See Amendment of Part 15 regarding new requirements and measurement guidelines for Access Broadband over Power Line Systems and In the Matter of Carrier Current Systems, including Broadband over Power Line Systems, Report and Order in ET Docket Nos. 04- 37 and 03- 104, 19 FCC Rcd 21265 (2004), 70 FR 1360, January 7, 2005. 2 See Letter from Bill Moroney, UTC, to Ed Thomas, Chief of the Commission’s Office of Engineering and Technology, filed May 17, 2005. 1 2 Database Manager Duties and Responsibilities. Pursuant to the Report and Order, the BPL industry must establish, within 180 days from publication of the item in the Federal Register, a centralized publicly accessible notification database. 3 The Database Manager is required to: 1) Maintain complete, accurate and timely records of FCC- mandated information. The mandated information that Access BPL operators must provide the BPL industry- sponsored database manager include: a. the name of the Access BPL provider; b. the frequencies of the Access BPL operation; c. the postal zip codes served by the specific Access BPL operation; d. the manufacturer and type of Access BPL equipment being deployed (i. e., FCC ID); e. point of contact information (both telephone and e- mail address) for interference inquiries and resolution; and f. the proposed/ or actual date of Access BPL operation 2) Enter the above information received from Access BPL operators into the database within 3 business days of receipt. 3) Provide the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA), the Commission and any member of the public access to the database free of charge and at all times. Comments. Pursuant to Sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules, 47 C. F. R. §§ 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments on or before June 27, 2005, and reply comments on or before July 5, 2005. Comments may be filed using the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper copies. See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg. 24121 (1998). For ex parte purposes, this proceeding will be treated as a "permit- but- disclose" proceeding, in accordance with Section 1.1200( a) of the Commission's rules, and is subject to the requirements under Section 1.1206( b) of the rules. All comments will be available for public inspection. Comments filed through the ECFS can be sent as an electronic file via the Internet to http:// www. fcc. gov/ e- file/ ecfs. html. Generally, only one copy of an electronic submission must be filed. In completing the transmittal screen, commenters should include their full name, U. S. Postal Service mailing address, and the applicable docket [ET Docket No. 04- 37]. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e- mail. To get filing instructions for e- mail comments, commenters should send an e- mail to ecfs@ fcc. gov, and should include the following words in the body of the message, "get form