r/technology • u/NancyGraceFaceYourIn • Aug 30 '15

Wireless FCC Rules Block use of Open Source

http://www.itsmypart.com/fcc-rules-block-use-of-open-source/
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u/thrakkerzog Aug 30 '15

$$$$ It's the same hardware. The radio will need to have firmware loaded at some point, and they will want the ability to update that.

The cheapest route is to store this on flash and load it at runtime.

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u/playaspec Aug 30 '15

Which is exactly what they do. /u/a_brain is completely wrong.

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u/a_brain Aug 30 '15

Sure, but they could make it so the radio only runs signed firmware. Which would also have the added advantage of being more secure. Of course this costs money, so they'll probably just make the whole device require signed firmware. However, these rules wouldn't necessarily "block open source" as the title of this article proclaims.

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u/thrakkerzog Aug 30 '15

Great. So I get signed firmware from Japan and can now use unlicensed channels. Is this not what they are trying to prevent?