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DOD vs. 802.11b

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the objections-after-the-fact dept.

goombah99 writes "The NY times (reg required) reports that "The Defense Department, arguing that an increasingly popular form of wireless Internet access could interfere with military radar, is seeking new limits on the technology". It would seem they have a good point; radar is an essential for both defense and civilian aviation as well as ship navigation in tight quarters. Critics of the restrictions contend technology can limit the interference, but what proof is there to these assertions? Sure we all want wireless internet but maybe there should be more careful review of its consequences."

7 of 343 comments (clear)

  1. Why not just use cell towers for radar? by guacamolefoo · · Score: 5, Funny

    Recently in the ex-Yugoslav mess, I believe that there were reports of the use of cell towers to track the "stealth" bomber, so who needs radar? Besides, is the DOD planning on bombing Starbucks? One can only hope!

    GF

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  2. Interference? by wiredog · · Score: 5, Funny
    Don't wifi/802.whatever/etc have power outputs in the milliwatts? Military radars work with hundreds of watts.

    And if these technologies do jam radars, is there an application in the field of speeding ticket avoidance?

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  3. In a war room near you... by Kredal · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Sir, there's a wireless access point at 30,000 feet, coming straight for us! The good news is, we can anonymously surf pr0n for the next 15 minutes... the bad news is that the access point is loaded with 50 megatons worth of bombs!"

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  4. Re:I can hear it now... by yack0 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Mr McKittrick, after very careful consideration, Sir, I've come to the conclusion that your new Wifi network sucks.

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  5. Re:I can hear it now... by volsung · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd piss on a sparkplug if I thought it would help me check my email!

  6. make them stop! by six11 · · Score: 4, Funny
    "Hello, is this the Bad Guys? This is Col. Sanders of the US Army. Listen, do you think you could tell your advancing armies to please stop jamming our systems with those pesky wireless networking signals? It's really making it difficult to prevent you from invading us. What's that you say? We should have thought of this? Well, yeah, we did, but we dealt with it by telling our citizens to knock it off. Hey, it worked for them, why should it be any different with you?"
  7. Re:FCC should take care of this by Qzukk · · Score: 5, Funny
    What is the military complaining about, doesn't their equipment have the FCC stamp on it?

    The military version of the FCC stamp reads "This device must accept all interference, and is permitted to fire missiles back."

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