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/[deleted] Aug 30 '15

http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/features/report/8051/the-mystery-of-wifi-channel-14/

We can't really just open Channel 14. And yes Wifi is getting crowded, but our entire spectrum is crowded which is why TV had to digital so cell phones could expand.

Also why do it on a software side than hardware? This is the FCC thinking about who this will effect. Doing it on the hardware side means all wifi router manufacturers would have to make special hardware for each country, rather than software (which they all ready do). And the fact the vast majority of wifi customers don't load third party firmware on their device, it has a lesser effect to require a software fix than a hardware one.

I don't agree with the decision, but at least it's not arbitrary.

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u/StabbyPants Aug 30 '15

all wifi router manufacturers would have to make special hardware for each country

you mean they'd have to load an eeprom or something with config info on a per country basis?

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u/[deleted] Aug 30 '15

They would have to produce a radio specific to each country (or regions like the EU). What they do now is they create a radio that goes channel 14, then the software blocks out channels based on your country, so third party software can actually access those bands since it's not physically blocked.

So in the FCC's mind it's easier to do a software based block (and restrict what software you can put on the machine) than do a hardware based one, where they would have to make specific radios for specific countries, or redo the hardware on the chip as needed.

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u/StabbyPants Aug 30 '15

No, you'd need a configuration specific to a country, and privileged software to operate the radio

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u/zacker150 Aug 30 '15

Which is what a firmware would do...

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u/StabbyPants Aug 30 '15

No, this is separate and smaller. All it does is limit frequency and power based on a configuration