The FCC’s ongoing project to approve the use of powerlines as data infrastructure grinds on, and the initial public comment period on this rulemaking ends next Tuesday. It would’ve closed months ago if not for a short extension of time (granted at the request of the Amherst Alliance and National Antenna Consortium) to digest the latest technical studies on the plan, released just three weeks ago.
BPL technology sounds wonderful but is a massive interference generator, literally wiping out several amateur and shortwave frequency-swaths. Yet the FCC seems relatively determined to bring it on regardless.
In somewhat related news, the FCC last month released a 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking asking for input on a proposal to open up unused segments of the analog TV spectrum to unlicensed use by wireless (not broadcast) devices. REC Networks asked the FCC more than a year ago to consider a portion of this same spectrum for an expansion of the FM dial; the agency ignored the idea.
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