107791 - DIRECTORS - YOUR ATTENTION REQUIRED

I'm not certain that I have adequate information to decide at this
time, and request the following:

1) Does ARRL have any record of appealing FCC decisions to courts? If
so, have these been successful?

  2) I would like to be personally convinced that the arguments that
will be made will win. In all honesty, reading what has been presented
leads me to predict a second-place finish. The concept of having a
very-likely technically-unsophisticated judge rule favorably on the
appropriateness of a 40 dB per decade extrapolation factor seems
unlikely. Can someone outline the planned arguments better at this
point?

3) What remedy will we ask for? If we win a ruling that proper
procedures were not followed, will the FCC then simply conduct a
kangaroo rehearing, and reaffirm their findings? Will the FCC go to
congress and ask that rules be changed? What do we expect to win?

4) It appears that the desired outcome of the appeal is introduction
of possibly more uncertainty and delay. If this is a significant
component, cannot our General Counsel do an adequate job himself at a
much lower cost to the League? Are our best interests served by hiring
a law firm that is housed in a "new, palatial, office building?"

  My overall view of BPL is that little is likely to be gained from
interaction with those responsible for establishing BPL rules.
However, BPL is a poorly-engineered design to perform a job that is
better performed by several other systems. Power companies are more
likely to recognize this than are government bureaucrats or
politicians.

73,

Dick Norton, N6AA

On 9/6/06, Joel Harrison  wrote:
>
> Please see the attached memo regarding a judicial appeal of the FCC's action
> regarding BPL.
>
> Your action is required in this matter.
>
> If you have any questions, please ask.