[Bloat] Another comment re FTC and weather radar from /.

[David Collier-Brown]

 From tlkingan at 
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=8141531&cid=50686561


And that's what the FCC really wants The problem the FCC is seeing right 
now is the modified firmware allows access to frequencies that aren't 
allowed to be used for WiFI in the US. This is more than just channels 
12 and 13 on 2.4GHz, but also on the complex 5GHz band.

The FCC has many complaints already from airports and other entities 
whose radar is being interfered with by 5GHz WiFi (the band plan is 
complex enough that channels are "locked out" because they're used by 
higher priority services like radar).

And you really can't blame the open firmware guys either - mostly 
because they don't know any better and they only build one binary that 
works for all devices worldwide. (the available channels on 5GHz vary 
per country - depending on the radar in use).

All the FCC really wants (and they've clarified it in the Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking) is the steps wifi manufacturers are taking to 
prevent people from loading on firmware that does not comply with FCC 
regulations - i.e., allows transmissions on frequencies they are not 
allowed to transmit on.

It can either take place as hardware (filters blocking out the 
frequencies), or software that cannot be modified by the open firmware 
(e.g., firmware on wifi chip reads a EEPROM or something and locks out 
those frequencies).

The thing it cannot be is rely on "goodwill" or firmware that respects 
the band plan - i.e., you cannot rely on "blessed" open firmware that 
only uses the right frequencies (because anyone can modify it to interfere).

The FCC has all the powers to enforce compliance right now - users of 
open firmware who are caught creating interference with higher priority 
services can already be fined, equipment seized and all that stuff (and 
that would not include just the WiFi router - any WiFi device like PCs 
can be seized if they attach to that network). That's the heavy handed 
legal approach they have. However, they don't want to do that, because 
most users probably don't realize the problem, and the FCC really 
doesn't want to destroy all that stuff. So instead, the FCC is working 
with manufacturers to fix the issue at the source.

The problem lies in the fact that most manufacturers are cheap and will 
not spend a penny more, so instead of locking out the radio from 
interfering, they'll lock out the entire firmware.

The FCC mentions DD-WRT and all that by name because their 
investigations revealed that when they investigate interference, the 
offending routers run that firmware (and which doesn't lock out 
frequencies that they aren't supposed to transmit on).



-- 
David Collier-Brown,         | Always do right. This will gratify
System Programmer and Author | some people and astonish the rest
davecb at spamcop.net           |                      -- Mark Twain

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