An American smart grid specialist that names Google and Goldman Sachs as investors has alleged that Australia is breaching its World Trade Organisation commitments by adopting an obscure technical regulation that will effectively ban the use of broadband over power lines in Australia.

Maryland-based smart grid and powerline specialist Current Group has told the peak Office of the US Trade Representative that the adoption by Australia and Europe of technical regulations developed by the International Special Committee on Radio Interference amount to a trade barrier against powerline broadband. The regulations drastically cut the allowable emissions by communications devices using power mains by 700-fold on previous norms, according to Current. “These RF emissions limits are so low that, in order to comply with them, the corresponding operating power levels for BPL/PLC devices will need to be well below that which is required to produce a commercially viable signal,” Current alleges in a submission to the USTR.

Current further claims that because powerline broadband technology is the only communications technology that operates through power mains, the technical limits adopted by Australia and Europe are “are designed to prohibit only BPL/PLC products from being used in competition with established telecommunications media.” Current says that while equipment can still be certified under the older more lenient emissions standard, the new regulations will apply from October next year.

NO JUSTIFICATION? The firm’s submission further charges that the International Special Committee on Radio Interference and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation regulations — which have been apparently adopted by the Australian Communications and Media Authority — never “provided any discussion or analysis as to why they were so dramatically reducing the BPL/PLC emissions limits or as to what the expected impact such limits would have on BPL/PLC technology. These issues were even ignored when objections were formally raised as to why the change had been made to the “mains” port RF emissions limits.” Current says no technical justification or reason has subsequently been made to justify the drastically reduced RF limits mandated by the standard and even alleges it may have stemmed from a misreading of a flow chart!

Australian adoption of the emissions limits violates the World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services and the Free Trade Agreement between the US and Australia, according to Current.

“Australia effectively excludes BPL/PLC technology from the Australian market to the benefit of existing telecommunications and smart grid technologies and therefore has failed to satisfy its commitments under the Australia FTA,” says Current Group’s Jay L. Birnbaum.

Current is asking the US Trade Representative to take action in its annual Section 1377 Review of international compliance with international telecom trade agreements—a process which has previously seen Australia criticised for practices seen as favouring Telstra over access seekers.

With the Australian government actively seeking to build its own majority-owned FTTH network — partly with smart grid applications in mind– allegations that it has effectively outlawed a competing technology via an obscure technical regulation could prove embarrassing.

Current Group claims a number of smart grid installations and trials in locations such as Colorado, Texas and Europe. Investors include Liberty Associated Partners, EnerTech Capital, Google and Goldman Sachs & Co—the last of which has been retained by the Australian NBN as a financial adviser. Current’s website says it has company representation in Australia without providing details.