Wake Up and Smell the Coffee: Why Shortwave Broadcasters Should Be Doing More to Fight BPL

This commentary piece reports that shortwave radio was a vital communication tool in Sri Lanka in the first 48 hours after the December 26 2004 tsunami struck. The island's Amateur Radio Union, led by Media Network collaborator Victor Goonetilleke, moved in to the Prime Minister's office and worked to ensure that communications could be maintained even in difficult reception conditions. Some of Victor's friends went to the devastated area and set up shortwave transmitters on the amateur radio bands, conserving battery power.

However, according to trends detailed in this article, the noise level on Sri Lanka's shortwave could soon increase by several decibels - meaning that the transmitter power that Victor and his friends relied on during the tsunami disaster may no longer be sufficient for communications. Author Andy Sennitt suggests that the problem lies in the plans for Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) that have been approved by the United States' Federal Communications Commission, and that are set to be approved by governments in other industrialised countries (where the technology is sometimes known as Power Line Communications, or PLC). One of several technologies that can provide broadband Internet services, BPL (or PLC) uses ordinary electric power cables to carry digital communications. In light of the fact that this technology will use amateur radio and international broadcast bands (frequencies between 2 and 30 MHz), Sennitt worries that "The cumulative effect of hundreds of these systems could be catastrophic for shortwave users worldwide, far worse than in the days of deliberate jamming during the Cold War."

Sennitt concludes that "During the several years that BPL/PLC has been under development, other forms of broadband provision have become cheaper to implement, so it's now market forces that are going to determine the use of this particular technology." However the use of this technology develops, he urges broadcasters to do more to raise public awareness of the possible threat that it poses to the shortwave system, stating that "amateur radio organisations have been much more proactive than the broadcasters in making a cogent case against the widespread introduction of BPL technology. They will continue their lobbying, and indeed one hopes that the governments of countries affected by the tsunami disaster will get behind them, having seen what a vital role shortwave can still play in dealing with disasters..."