'Economist' Calls For Open WiFi Specs

DavidNWelton writes "An interesting and well thought-out call for Wifi manufacturers to open up their specs, at least partially, written by The Economist. 'So it is hard to see what the problem is beyond a dog-in-the-mangerish desire not to give anything away. Time to open it up, boys.'"

Comments

Re:don't make no sense

[yaff]

The FCC certainly does have a say-so in this. WiFi operates in the 15.247 unlicensed ISM bands, and there are very specific rules that your transmitter must pass to sell equipment for those bands.

Certainly, the ultimate resposibility lies with the operator, but the FCC demands that you make it difficult for the user to break the rules. For example, many pieces of ISM gear have either integrated antennas or really funny antenna connectors. That's not an accident. If you sell ISM gear to the general public, the FCC mandates that they can't easily strip off your antenna and mount a 12-foot dish.

HAM gear is just as subject to FCC rules. Most of the commercial HAM gear for sale today is "locked out" (at least by software) from transmitting outside of the HAM bands. Yes, most radios are modifiable, but they can't be shipped from the factory as open boxes.

Re:don't make no sense

[Nate B.]

Actually, the FCC does indeed have rules covering the sale of transmitters in the U.S.A. It was at one time known as 'Type Acceptance' and a manufacturer had to submit a sample of the unit to the FCC so the FCC engineers could verify that it met the rules. The system has since been modified and renamed slightly, but the fact remains that a good way to attract unwanted FCC attention is to start selling non Type Accepted transmitters.

The rules for Amateur Radio are different, however, the manufacturers must submit their models to the FCC for approval for sale. Even Part 97 limits the number of RF amplifiers an amateur radio operator may build or modify that operate from 25 to 30 MHz. There have been petitions asking for elimination of these rules in recent years.

The ham rigs that you assert will broadcast on any frequency do require internal modification to do so. Why do they transmit outside the amateur bands? Because the radios are also used for MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System) and CAP (Civil Air Patrol) which use frequencies outside the ham bands.

Part 15 devices, which WiFi cards operate under, must meet the Part 15 rules plus the FCC specifies in its rules that Part 15 devices not be modifiable in any way by the user. So, the manufacturers are very much correct in their assertion that the interface to modern WiFi cards remain closed.

Don't believe me? Just manufacture and sell cards that violate Part 15. Eventually you will attract notice from the FCC.