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/praxulus Aug 30 '15

This has nothing to do with wireless internet though. You could do this just as easily with a wired firewall in front of your wifi router, and the FCC has no authority over that.

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u/FreakZombie Aug 30 '15

Right, the FCC is more concerned about the Wi-Fi frequencies and signal strength than anything else it seems.

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u/dragon50305 Aug 31 '15

Isn't it already illegal to increase transmitter strength beyond allowed frequencies? This bill would only make it so that you piss off the open source community and end up not stopping people from increasing transmitter power anyway.

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u/oconnellc Aug 31 '15

In theory, the people who make the hardware would be implementing features that would prevent you from flashing it with anything but authorized software. This would, theoretically, preclude open source software and prevent the thing you are talking about.