Emission Characteristics and Interference Constraint of Overhead Medium-Voltage Broadband Power Line (BPL) Systems

We investigate the measurement, interference and capacity issues of the overhead medium-voltage (MV) broadband over power line (BPL) systems operating between 1.7 and 80 MHz. The MV power lines are modeled as a 3-phase set of parallel wires with infinite length and above a lossy earth. Electric field strength is calculated. Two important parameter settings are addressed for the measurement of BPL emission field, namely, the measurement height and the extrapolation factor. The latter is defined as the falloff of field strength, in dB/decade, with lateral distance from the power line. BPL interference is evaluated in terms of the 3-dB critical distance, i.e., the lateral distance at which the total noise into a radio receiver is increased by 3 dB. Using this metric, we explore the relationship between capacity and BPL interference potential.