On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 19:35:09 GMT, "AK" wrote:

|The Sunday paper claims FCC Chairman Powell is paid $142,500. I wonder how
|much he would be worth if he understood anything technical about
|communications? Andy
|

TRICO, my power company (and ISP) is a co-op that supplies mostly
rural customers. When I've had power line noise they have tried to
find it but were totally ill-equiped and finally at my suggestion,
called in the expert from Tucson Electric Power (the major supplier in
the area).

During some telephone conversations with my supplier's VP of new
technology we discussed their efforts to use low-speed data
transmission on their lines, just to read the meters once a month.
They couldn't even reliably do that and yet (some) power companies
believe that they can transmit high speed data on the same kinds of
lines. They're nuts and so is the FCC. A company that can't find
power line noise is not going to have the expertise to run a BPL
system and I've pointedly told mine so.

I'm sure that Powell is a fine fellow, but let's face it, his was a
politically correct appointment and it didn't hurt that Daddy is
Secretary of State.