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FCC Orders a Brooklyn Man To Turn Off His Bitcoin Miner Because It Was Interfering With T-Mobile's Wireless Network (arstechnica.com)

Posted by msmash on from the not-the-onion dept.

A New York City resident was ordered to turn off his bitcoin miner after the Federal Communications Commission discovered that it was interfering with T-Mobile's wireless network. From a report: After receiving a complaint from T-Mobile about interference to its 700MHz LTE network in Brooklyn, New York, FCC agents in November 2017 determined that radio emissions in the 700MHz band were coming from the residence of a man named Victor Rosario. "When the interfering device was turned off the interference ceased," the FCC's enforcement bureau told Rosario in a "Notification of Harmful Interference" yesterday. "You identified the device as an Antminer S5 Bitcoin Miner. The device was generating spurious emissions on frequencies assigned to T-Mobile's broadband network and causing harmful interference." The FCC told Rosario that continued interference with T-Mobile's network while operating the device would be a violation of federal laws "and could subject the operator to severe penalties, including, but not limited to, substantial monetary fines, in rem arrest action to seize the offending radio equipment, and criminal sanctions including imprisonment."

5 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Meh. by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 4, Informative

    The letter states he can operate it if he fixes the interference. TFS makes it sound like the FCC won't let him mine bitcoin at all.

    1. Re:Meh. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 5, Informative

      Faraday cages aren't magic interference stoppers. The emission here was most likely via the power supply cables (or, less likely, data), and those would have to pass through the cage.

      Here's how you fix it:
      1. Read an article on noise surpression, choke design, capacitive coupling in inductors, choke self-resonance and core material selection.
      2. Go ask your nearest ham to build you a noise filter.

  2. Re:No FCC ID by BenFranske · · Score: 4, Informative

    Pretty much all commercially sold electronic equipment needs to be FCC certified for sale in the US specifically because they can cause interference like this. See https://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/rfd... specifically the sections on unintentional and incidental radiators.

  3. Re:Why by BenFranske · · Score: 4, Informative

    Pretty much anything electronic can create RF emissions. See unintentional and incidental radiators at https://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/rfd...

  4. Re:Fear uncle Charlie by rahvin112 · · Score: 5, Informative

    All the devices you list are part 15, they are required to accept all interference and that guy on the CB is protected unless you can show he's interfering with protected services. That 700mhz band in the story, it's a protected band and subject to the interference rules.