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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 
 Re:  Carrier  Current  Systems,  including  Broadband  over  Power  Line  Systems;  ET  Docket  No.  03-  104;  Amendment  of  Part  15  Regarding  New  Requirements  and  Measurement  Guidelines  for  Access  Broadband 
 over  Power  Line  Systems;  ET  Docket  No.  04-  37,  Notice  of  Proposed  Rule  Making 
 I  recently  had  the  opportunity  to  visit  the  demonstration  of  a  Broadband  over  Power  Line  (BPL)  system  and  was  impressed  by  its  potential.  I  believe  that  the  Commission  must  do  what  it  can  to  extend  the 
 benefits  of  the  latest  broadband  technologies  –  such  as  broadband  over  power  line  –  to  all  Americans,  no  matter  where  they  live.  I  support  our  consideration  of  proposed  changes  to  certain  of  our  Part  15  rules  to 
 promote  future  BPL  deployments.  This  is  an  important  look  at  the  technical  issues  and  challenges  posed  by  BPL.  And  I  am  encouraged  by  some  of  the  proposals  set  forth  in  the  NPRM  to  ensure  that  BPL  systems  do 
 not  cause  harmful  interference  to  existing  services. 
 I  have  outlined  an  approach  to  spectrum  management  that  promotes  continued  industry  development  and  recognizes  the  unique  traits  of  the  electromagnetic  radio  spectrum  as  a  national  resource. 
 It  also  reflects  my  belief  that,  in  dealing  with  spectrum,  the  Commission  has  a  responsibility  to  establish  ground  rules  for  issues  such  as  interference  and  availability.  Though  power  line  broadband  may  not  fall 
 within  the  traditional  scope  of  spectrum  management,  BPL  systems  use  existing  electrical  power  lines  as  a  transmission  medium  to  provide  communications  by  coupling  RF  energy  onto  the  power  line. 


 While  we  must  be  mindful  of  harmful  interference,  we  cannot  let  unsupported  claims  stand  in  the  way  of  such  an  innovation  as  BPL  systems.  Provided  that  the  engineering  bears  out,  I  believe  that  we  need 
 to  push  the  boundaries  to  accommodate  new  technologies.  A  little  noticed  provision  of  the  Communications  Act,  Section  157,  reads  that  “[  i]  t  shall  be  the  policy  of  the  United  States  to  encourage  the 
 provision  of  new  technologies  and  services  to  the  public.”  I  am  fully  committed  to  that  mission  to  promote  new  technologies,  and  to  provide  a  framework  for  innovation  so  they  can  succeed.  In  order  to  do  so,  we 
 must  first  resolve  the  technical  interference  issues  addressed  in  this  NPRM. 
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