The FCC Might Ban Specific Operating Systems
1–10 of 140 posts
Re: The FCC Might Ban Specific Operating Systems
#2Conjunctive mode verb ("might") in the title -> bullshit.
Re: The FCC Might Ban Specific Operating Systems
#3What I don't get it is, why make the software enforce certain frequencies? If the hardware should never be able to broadcast on a certain frequency, why not build the hardware with that limitation?
Re: The FCC Might Ban Specific Operating Systems
#4Conjunctive mode verb ("might") in the title -> bullshit.
Did you read the article or are you just deciding it's bullshit because of the title?
Re: The FCC Might Ban Specific Operating Systems
#5What I don't get it is, why make the software enforce certain frequencies? If the hardware should never be able to broadcast on a certain frequency, why not build the hardware with that limitation?
Perhaps because that's more costly? Sometimes the disallowed frequencies exist within a range of allowed frequencies. A hardware limitation would involve filter stages that would add cost.
Re: The FCC Might Ban Specific Operating Systems
#6What I don't get it is, why make the software enforce certain frequencies? If the hardware should never be able to broadcast on a certain frequency, why not build the hardware with that limitation?
You can't. RF hardware and signal processing don't work that way... at least not for free.
Re: The FCC Might Ban Specific Operating Systems
#7Conjunctive mode verb ("might") in the title -> bullshit.
Did you read the article or are you just deciding it's bullshit because of the title?
Quite true under the current rules you can get done for exceeding the regs ie mod your equipment to emit more than the permitted maximums.
I have a 200mw wifi card that with a the right antenna would massively exceed the permitted power.
Re: The FCC Might Ban Specific Operating Systems
#8What I don't get it is, why make the software enforce certain frequencies? If the hardware should never be able to broadcast on a certain frequency, why not build the hardware with that limitation?
In addition to the other answers, allowed frequencies differ in different countries/jurisdictions, so it's probably cheapest to make a single piece of hardware that can handle all frequencies in all jurisdictions, and then impose region-specific restrictions in software.
Re: The FCC Might Ban Specific Operating Systems
#9This title is kind of click-bait - they aren't prohibiting operating systems, they _might_ be prohibiting installation of operating systems that are not approved on certain types of devices that allow software defined radio - that is, transceivers that can be tweaked easily by software.
That is not at all the same thing as banning an operating system.
This is already present insofar as hardware requirements in radios - radios cannot be permitted to listen on frequencies reserved for cell phones, and must not be restricted in such way as they can be easily modified to enable it (e.g., a header/jumper). This really just extends this requirement that it is non-trivial to enable illegal broadcasting or reception on software defined radios.
Now - insofar as if this should impact open source operating systems, we have a good question. I don't think it does that - my interpretation, potentially wrong of course, just as the article's could be wrong, is that you would have to restrict the actual firmware in question to a blob that communicates with the hardware in a secure way. This would prevent open/free components insofar as the actual driver, but would not permit the operating system itself from being installed. They mention this, but only at the end of the article.
I also doubt the impact of this for non software-defined/modular radio systems. I don't see a way this would really impact everyday wifi or non-modular systems in a way most people would care about. That isn't to say it isn't _bad_ but once again, it just seems super misleading and alarmist.
Whether or not the FCC should or shouldn't do this is a different question, but the link's title seems intentionally misleading.
Re: The FCC Might Ban Specific Operating Systems
#10What I don't get it is, why make the software enforce certain frequencies? If the hardware should never be able to broadcast on a certain frequency, why not build the hardware with that limitation?
You can't. RF hardware and signal processing don't work that way... at least not for free.
You can make it difficult and very hard in practice through antenna and component design in the case of small internal radios - in radios with external antennas it becomes a great deal harder though, and in radios that are open for modifications it becomes even more difficult.
That being said though - this is meant to apply to software defined/modular radios - that is systems wherein the entire point is that it does what the software tells it instead of having hardwired components meant only to receive certain frequencies.