David Shpigler, president of the Shpigler Group of New York addresses concerns of local and state public safety services and representatives and from a number of amateur radio operators whose radio communications depend on portions of the high frequency radio spectrum. 

The Broadband over Power Line (BPL) [Also PLC] proposal for Grand Ledge to be offered by The Shpigler Group and Consumer's Energy was the topic of a recent public discussion. The meeting was mainly attended by representatives of the public safety and amateur radio communities.

Bazella Rainey, Chief Radio Officer (CRO), and Geoffrey Richardson, Assistant Radio Officer (ARO) for Training and Technology, of the Delta Township Auxiliary Communications Service (DTACS) organized the meeting. The DTACS Chief Radio Officer is appointed by the Township Emergency Management Division. The remaining officers are elected by the DTACS membership. In support of their role as volunteer first responders and as amateur radio operators providing emergency and disaster communication for the Township and surrounding communities, DTACS has a vested interest and concern.

In some instances, the transmission of radio frequencies over power lines has been known to create significant radio frequency interference (RFI). In prior implementations around the world, there have been reports of such interference to critical services such as the military, aircraft, short-wave, commercial AM broadcasts and amateur radio operations. In considering these many reports and the current signal delivery technologies, DTACS believed the concern to be important enough to bring together the critical users of regional radio frequency spectrum. The goal was to purposely initiate early and ongoing cooperative discussion with the BPL provider. A major objective is to avoid the potential for any interference by initiating these early discussions and baseline testing before interference could be experienced. DTACS is hopeful this meeting sets the stage for mutual cooperation between all potentially affected agencies and the service provider.

Represented: David Shpigler. President of the Shpigler Group, Consumer's Power Company, Delta Township Auxiliary Communications Service & Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, the tri-county Central Dispatch Directors, APCO, MPSFAC, DIT/MPSCS, Grand Ledge Police Chief, Delta Township Fire Department, Grand Ledge Schools, Ingham County Sheriff, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Central Michigan Amateur Radio Club, Clinton County Amateur Radio Club, Lansing Civil Defense Repeater Association and the Amateur Radio Relay League.