News & Info

15/08/2021 Site optimised for mobile devices.

21/03/2014 German radio amateur Karl Fischer DJ5IL (and guest author of Ban PLT), has complained to the Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding about the polluting powerline standard EN 50561-1. Read his open letter here (via Google Translate).

24/01/2014 Radio Amateur, Nige G7CNF, has published a letter on his blog from a professional in the EMC industry. They, and the EMCIA, are seriously disappointed with the UK's and EU's approach to EMC enforcement and their willingness to sit back and allow junk electronics to flood the market all so business can make quick money.

20/01/2014 News has reached us from Australia with a report from their equivalent of Ofcom, the ACMA. Their Radiofrequency interference complaints 2012-13 report, table 3, shows PLT is becoming a major problem for interference. HF radio is very important for such a large continent, so this must be of great concern.

03/01/2014 Not content with starting the destruction of the radio spectrum by supplying Comtrend PLT with their Vision product, British Telecom have now launched their own branded PLT.

28/11/2013 Internet Service Provider, Zen Internet, has today called upon the Government to get tough on the causes of Repetitive Electric Impulse Noise (REIN), which references a type of electrical interference that can disrupt the performance and stability of consumer broadband services (e.g. ADSL and FTTC lines). Read the full story over at ISPreview. Ironically, this is Ofcom's job - one which they are not bothering to do!

20/11/2013 A victory for common sense: Norway has banned the sale of two PLT devices, citing a failure to pass the standardised test EN55022:2010 and CISPR22:2008; and this is despite Norway not being part of the EU. The banned devices are: TP-LINK TL-PA511 (via Google Translate) and Netgear XAVB5004 (via Google Translate).

26/10/2013 * SECURITY WARNING * We hate to be the one to say "We told you so!", but when we countered the claims of the PLT industry and demonstrated the ability to link two houses with PLT devices, people scoffed and stated it was a fake. We were correct and people are now finding their PLT devices are connecting to any other device they can hear - and that means they can and will connect to the PLT units in a neighbouring house. You can read of people's experiences on these forums:

https://nodpi.org/forum/index.php/topic,5992.0.html

http://community.bt.com/t5/BB-Speed-Connection-Issues/My-BT-broadband-has-changed-to-TalkTalk/td-p/459067

Ban PLT Security Tips: As with the war-driving Wi-Fi days, you could be held legally responsible for material that has been downloaded via your Internet connection, even if you did not download it. The most secure network is a wired network using Cat5E or Cat6 connections between your router and your computers. PLT should be avoided like the plague, and Wi-Fi should always be secured with WPA/WPA2 encryption and a long complex pass-phrase. And remember, your traffic can still be "slurped" if you fail to use a secure connection to your email/social networking sites. Always make use of the https:// connections to ensure your passwords are not sent in the clear!

23/10/13 ETSI have released a study into how PLT affects VDSL (marketed in the UK as "Lightspeed" by BT - also known as Fibre to the Cabinet): ETSI-on-PLT-interference-to-VDSL.pdf

21/10/2013 A sad day for radiocommunications: On October 9th, 2013, the CENELEC Technical Board (BT) ratified FprEN 50561-1:2012. It has been asked of the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre (CCMC) to offer the standard to the European Commission (EC) for citation in the Official Journal (OJEU) under the EMC Directive and R&TTE Directive. If this grotesque excuse for a standard makes it to the OJEU, you can kiss goodbye to your radios ever working again!

27/09/2013 A document has reached us which details Ofcom's stance on measuring interference for Radio Amateurs and Shortwave Radio Listeners. Thanks to poor writing, we are unable to ascertain the correct date for this document, or if the approach is still in effect; but it does demonstrate the lengths our public regulator will go to in order to avoid helping people with interference issues. Download and read: Initial_assessment_of_complaints_of_interference_to_amateur_radio.pdf

24/08/2013 CENELEC Working Group 11 members are yet again trying to push their flawed "standard" FprEN50516-1 on an un-suspecting public by releasing propaganda suggesting a large number of organisations, under the umbrella of DIGITAL EUROPE, would benefit from making PLT legal. The document's author is Jean-Luc Detrez, Acting Secretary for Working Group 11, so not exactly un-biased! The list of companies on page 8 makes it easier to boycott companies who support PLT.

23/08/2013 Freedom of Information: Ofcom's methodology with respect to determining the level of received interference at amateur radio stations.

15/06/2013 Industry Canada has just posted contact information to report Power Line Radio Interference. This information covers all the major Power Line companies in Canada.

The posting can be found at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf10641.html. The information is provided with the cooperation of the Canadian Electricity Association and its member power utilities.

Radio Amateurs in Canada are encouraged to use this contact and report information when confronted with suspected power line interference.

Radio Amateurs of Canada is pleased to see the release of this information which is the culmination of ongoing discussion at meetings of the Canadian Amateur Radio Advisory Board (CARAB) between RAC and Industry Canada.

17/01/2013 Check out the videos from Radio Amateur, Nigel G7CNF, demonstrating HPA-based PLT wiping out shortwave broadcast radio stations and DAB radio, and how to link your house and your neighbour's house via PLT.

19/12/2012 It has been brought to our attention that Talk Talk are insisting people purchase and use PLT devices with their YouView installation if their router is more than 3 metres away from their television. One person, who had requested a visit from Talk Talk to install the YouView box, commented: "The need to purchase these devices was made within 10 mins of being in the house." This is gross mis-selling on the part of Talk Talk! A Cat5e/Cat6 patch-lead is available in sizes ranging from 0.5 metres up to 20 metres, and at a fraction of the cost [of PLT] - and they do not radiate interference across the neighbourhood, or break the law! If you do not wish to run a cable, there are plenty of Wi-Fi "Ethernet bridge" solutions available.

Ban PLT recommends you boycott Talk Talk - there are far superior ISPs out there! And boycott YouView - as they failed to include a Wi-Fi network adapter in their design!

12/11/2012 The Radio Society of Great Britain explain the issues over prEN50561-1:2012.

07/11/2012 In what can only be described as a disaster for all radio services, the heavily stacked pro-PLT CENELEC Working Group 11 have voted in favour of prEN50561. This calls the whole standards setting system in to question, as WG11 ignored advice from top EMC professionals to push their own pro-PLT, anti-radio agenda. It also brings disrepute to anything CENELEC is now involved in and opens the door to all manufacturers, who do not want to play by existing rules, to demand their own low-quality, high-noise generating testing-standard. We urge all readers to contact their MEPs to raise this issue and ensure prEN50561-1:2012 does not become an accepted standard. The correct function of your radios and mains-connected electronic devices depend on this. The EMC directive cannot be subverted for a small group of money-grabbers!

28/09/2012 The European Parliament have two questions from MEPs Syed Kamall (ECR) and Sir Graham Watson (ALDE) to answer on prEN50561-1 and its breach of the EMC Directive 2004/108/EC.

26/09/2012 A new page on prEN50561-1, the proposed "standard" for PLT. We will endeavour to update this page as and when information is available. The PLT lobby are trying to keep this as quiet as possible and information is hard to come by.

22/08/2012 The Radio Society of Great Britain writes to The Register to correct errors of fact.

German ADDX Group expresses its opposition to the proposed PLT standard

21/08/2012 The chair of the EU committee on powerline networking has responded to the Radio Society's call to arms, claiming that every minute of filibustering pollutes the radio spectrum more. Read the full story on The Register.

So who is the chairperson and why are they so annoyed? German radio amateur, Karl Fischer DJ5IL, also asked the same question. His own investigation into the CISPR project team (the same people trying to push the "standard" prEN50561-1 through CENELEC) found 22 of the panel members are from the PLT industry. Not biased in favour of PLT at all then?!

15/08/2012 Please watch the fantastic new video by Radio Amateur Nidge G0NIG for a clear demonstration of the destructive power of the UPA-style Comtrend PG902 PLT units (as supplied by BT Vision) on the shortwave broadcast bands.

01/08/2012 The RSGB's EMC committee has released a statement on the pending "standard" prEN50561-1 Please take a moment to read the statement and lobby your MEP to stop the PLT industry from riding roughshod over radio users' needs.

03/07/2012 We have learned the new IPTV platform YouView has taken a leaf out of BT Vision's book on "How to destroy the radio spectrum." by supplying Devolo 85Mbps PLT units with the Humax DVR kit. We urge all radio users (you all use radio!) to boycott YouView (and BT Vision) until these companies learn that they cannot make a quick "buck" at the expense of everyone else!

06/05/2012 We have just added Google Translate to the website for our International visitors. Please use the pull-down on the right. IE8 users may not see the option due to the browser being broken!

27/04/2012 Ofcom have published a consultation on draft regulations to create the Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 2012 to control interference from apparatus during the 2012 London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The consultation Wireless Telegraphy (Control of Interference from Apparatus) (the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) Regulations 2012 is open until the 28th May 2012.

Ofcom propose to make regulations under section 54(1) of the Act which prescribe a requirement imposed on the use of apparatus after it has already been placed on the market or put into service. Note the word after. In other words, for the period of the Olympics and the Paralympics, Ofcom will actually do their job as required by the EMC Directive and by statutory law. As soon as the games are over they will return to their old ways of ignoring interference complaints and ignoring the law. Oh, and do not think you can complain if you live far away from an Olympic venue - Ofcom will only do their job around the games venues. The rest of the UK is irrelevant!

16/03/2012 BBC highlight problems with PLT.

16/01/2012 A new peddler of PLT products 'Power Ethernet' (see our Shame page) wants to pollute hospitals and schools with Radio Frequency Interference.

03/01/2012 ARRL News: BPL Provider IBEC Announces Shutdown.

02/01/2012 Check out Mark Demeuleneere's (ON4WW) page all about his troubles in tracking down radio interference problems and how the Belgian telecomms regulator actually do their job!

30/12/2011 In-house BPL product is withdrawn

18/11/2011 Our friends over at Southgate Amateur Radio Club detail Dave M0TAZ's problems with PLT and his dealings with Ofcom.

16/10/2011 Our new page Shame on you! names and shames the peddlers of interference generating devices; and not just PLT!

04/10/2011 Surprise, surprise, the EMCIA have been completely ignored by HM government and BIS. Read all about it in the EMC Journal Issue 96

03/10/2011 A video from LX3KR demonstrating the need for a QRM eliminator to remove PLT noise from neighbouring houses. 10MHz (and 5MHz) is an international Amateur Radio band and is clearly wiped by PLT!

05/09/2011 A separate frequency allocation for PLT? The IARU Region 1 EMC working group discussed PLT at its meeting in Sun City on August 13, 2011.

The minutes say:

There are plans to use (and may be even allocate) the frequency range of 30 - 80 MHz to PLT, for several reasons. One is that the frequency range is not used as intensive and the amount of possible interference is expected to be less. The working group tasks the chair to go forward in this direction.

Recommendation: To support a separate frequency allocation for PLT equipment.

Download the minutes of the IARU Region 1 EMC working group, August 13, 2011.

10/08/2011 Talk on PLT with MEP Birgit Sippel

08/08/2011 Freedom of Information: Electrical devices and relevance of EN55022 in considering Mr Prisk's recent statement

08/08/2011 We have received another letter from a concerned radio user who has been attempting to enlighten BIS in their mis-reading of 2005/292/EC and their mis-understanding of how EN55022 is supposed to apply to PLT. BIS think differently and have declared "The Regulations do not require products to comply with a standard" and that "compliance with EN55022 is irrelevant." BIS also feel that "enforcement action would not be proportionate, and is unlikely to be considered as non-discriminatory". Discrimination against users of radio is perfectly acceptable then?! You can read it here for yourself and draw your own conclusions: BIS Letter 08-08-11 .

26/07/2011 We have received a letter from a concerned radio user who has been attempting to rectify issues of PLT interference with BIS. Their response is to tell the radio community to go away and hold up several EU documents as reason; whilst failing to notice all along that the documents still require PLT to conform to the EMC Directive. You can read it here for yourself and draw your own conclusions: BIS Letter 20-07-11 .

10/07/2011 Freedom of Information: Enforcement of HF Spectrum Abuse

23/06/2011 Daily Mail: Snouts in the trough: 'Independent' media regulator costs taxpayer millions and holds Middle England in contempt.

07/06/2011 Just when you thought it was safe to listen to the radio, Broadband over Power Line (BPL) rears its ugly head again! We hope the good people of Shap in Cumbria do not want to use their radios for anything important! The local electricity supplier has failed to learn from all of the other failed BPL deployments and is instead pushing ahead with a pilot project to obliterate the radio spectrum in Cumbria.

02/06/2011 The EMCIA have written an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron regarding Ofcom's latest PLT statement. Download Issue 94 and read all about PLT!

27/05/2011 ITU Forum on Technical Compatibility between Power Line Telecommunication systems (PLT) and Radiocommunication Services, Geneva, 27 May 2011.

23/05/2011 A new video on Understanding the New Requirements of EN55022:2006+A1:2007

22/05/2011 Transcript of MP Mark Lancaster's House of Commons PLT adjournment debate with annotations and comments from Ban PLT.

18/05/2011 Mark Lancaster MP warns that technology meant to spread broadband access could jeopardise national security, as it endangers the radio spectrum.

18/05/2011 Articles on The Register and PC Pro and PCR-Online about GCHQ and PLT.

17/05/2011 PLT is a threat to national security! Do not believe us? Read it for yourselves.

15/05/2011 Ofcom recently released a collection of documents to strengthen its case for PLT being OK. Unfortunately for them, it appears to be digging them into a larger hole!

13/05/2011 Freedom of Information: Ofcom published documentation associated with PLT - BT commissioned Blackwood report

04/05/2011 Hansard: Telecommunications Culture Media and Sport Written answers and statements, 27 April 2011.

08/05/2011 Freedom of Information: Why are you favouring PLT companies over all others?

04/05/2011 The Register: Powerline networking pops up in parliament.

04/05/2011 Slightly old news from the RSGB: Ofcom forced to release PLT test report.

03/05/2011 Freedom of Information: Poweline Network Adaptors - ERA report 2008-578

29/04/2011 Powerline Technology is the future of digital

28/04/2011 Ofcom have released an updated statement regarding PLT: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/enforcement/spectrum-enforcement/plt/ If you have visions of a dog chasing its own tail, you are not alone! If it was not for us pesky radio users, PLT would not have a problem!

24/04/2011 Freedom of Information: Powerline Network Technology (PLT /PLA Report by BIS referred to in Ofcom / PA Consulting Minutes

11/04/2011 BBC Research & Development release their latest White Paper 195 : VHF emissions from PLT devices - First investigation of potential interference to broadcast reception.

01/04/2011 The City of Clearlake, California has stopped the installation of Smart Meters on the grounds of interference to Radio Amateurs and Emergency Services.

01/04/2011 Ban PLT in the news on The Register!

31/03/2011 Freedom of Information: Why has Ofcom mislead the public, MPs and many others regarding PLT interference?

30/03/2011 Ofcom are liars and suppressors of the truth!

01/03/2011 Freedom of Information: Why is Ofcom failing in its statutory duty to protect the radio spectrum from abuse?

28/02/2011 Freedom of Information: Ofcom planning for hand over of interference complaints handling to the BBC

24/02/2011 Freedom of Information: Request for information on PLT equipment left in service by Ofcom following radio interference complaints

05/02/2011 PLT will affect your ADSL speeds!

04/02/2011 A new video on our videos page showing interference to Citizens' Band.

04/02/2011 IEEE EMC Society SDCom Votes to Withdraw as Co-Sponsor of IEEE BPL EMC Standard

27/01/2011 Radio Amateur reports added to the tests page.

10/01/2011 Freedom of Information: Interference From BT Vision Powerline Network Adaptors, Comtrend 9020

20/12/2010 Freedom of Information: Power Line Technology (PLT)