Like Losing An Arm

"The National Weather Service calls ham radio operators its eyes and ears -- volunteers with federally licensed radio transmitters in their vehicles who provide "ground truth" about severe weather that the forecasters can see only on their radar and computer screens. So weather service meteorologists -- particularly those at the Austin and San Antonio forecast center in New Braunfels, who regularly deal with severe storms, floods and tornadoes -- worry about a new threat to ham radio operators.

'They tell us whether warnings need to be extended or allowed to expire,' weather service meteorologist Larry Eblen said. 'It'd be like losing an arm.'

The threat is an experimental technology called broadband over power line, which would use electric power lines to transmit digital data. It would give electricity customers high-speed Internet access comparable with that offered by cable television and phone companies. But power line access would offer the additional convenience of being available at any wall plug."