Of aircraft and the Archers
An extensive study by Ofcom has concluded that power line networking could interfere with Radio 4 and bring down aircraft, but reassuringly says that a solution to the problem will "probably" be found before that happens.
Power line networking technology is a way of using the mains cables already installed in your building as a network cable. It has been around for some time but has become more popular in recent years as it is being bundled with the ADSL offerings of a number of major broadband suppliers. The biggest drawback of the technology is that it generates a lot of radio interference. Previously this has been a concern mainly to ham radio operators but as it becomes more widely deployed the interference it generates will become more pronounced and more problematical.
Presumably the problems will arise first with Long Wave but given that the government and Ofcom have a long term plan to migrate us all to DAB radio, I expect that this is what is meant by the solution to the problem. However, at least part of the reason for shifting us to DAB is to free up valuable radio spectrum. If that spectrum is polluted by domestic power line interference then its market value will drop sharply. As for the widely-reported claim that it could bring down aircraft, I suspect this might have been journalistic hype.
Perhaps of more concern should be a NASA report predicting high levels of solar activity in 2013. Richard Fisher, the head of NASA's Heliophysics Division, said "We know it is coming but we don’t know how bad it is going to be. It will disrupt communication devices such as satellites and car navigations, air travel, the banking system, our computers, everything that is electronic. It will cause major problems for the world."
Is he exaggerating? In 1859 a solar storm shorted out telegraph wires in both the US and Europe leading to fires. A solar storm in 1921 induced ground currents which disrupted the New York metro. As recently as 1989 a solar storm was blamed after the Quebec power grid was knocked out causing a blackout which affected six million people.
23rd July 2010
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