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FCC Petitioned to Restrict 2.4GHz Band

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the death-of-a-thousand-cuts dept.

Mean_Nishka writes: "Internet News is reporting that satellite radio provider Sirius is petitioning the FCC to regulate and hinder providers of 802.11b based networks. Sirius claims their radios operate at frequencies only 55mhz lower than wifi's range, and fear that Wifi users could interfere (especially mobile and internet service providers). This could effectively kill free networks nationwide..."

1 of 242 comments (clear)

  1. The FCC is no longer relevant by b.foster · · Score: 1, Troll
    The question on most peoples' minds after reading this article is, "should the FCC regulate the 2.4Ghz spectrum?" On the contrary, I challenge you to ask yourself, "does it even matter if the FCC regulates the 2.4Ghz spectrum?"

    Back in simpler times, when the airwaves were not filled with 1800CDMA and 900TDMA conversations, RC controllers, garage door openers, and 2000 channels of premium television services, the FCC had a fairly easy job enforcing their rules on spectrum use. They could enumerate every single transmitter within a major city, because the number of transmitters could be counted on one hand. Nowadays, however, the FCC has no idea what traverses the airwaves, doesn't care to locate rogue or illegal transmitters, and wouldn't have the resources it needs to find them even if it did care.

    To support this claim, allow me just a few examples:

    • My employer purchased about two dozen commercial UHF two-way radios several years ago. The FCC regulations require that a $75 license fee be paid to use these radios. My employer and several other companies I know of have never been forced to pay this fee; it is merely a "sucker tax."
    • The last three PCs I have purchased were from hole-in-the-wall vendors who used several critical components that were not licensed for FCC Class B or Class A use; in order words, these devices are illegal because they give off way too much RF radiation. Does the FCC care? Hell no. The chink I bought the PCs from told me that a dissatisfied customer once threatened to report him to the FCC; the FCC called him, asked if he was in compliance, and closed the case when he said "yes."
    • One of my friends built his own spark-gap based police radar jammer, which he installed in his car. The jammer makes it very difficult for any RF device at all (including FM radios and TVs) to work within about a 250-ft radius. Has the FCC shown up on his doorstep? Certainly not.
    • There are millions of 802.11b devices out there. Nobody will bother to get a license, because nobody cares about intricacies of the law in this country. There are so many criminal offenses that knowing about them all, much less enforcing them, is close to impossible.
    Just my 2c.

    Bill