Not anymore. Hams can conduct personal business on amateur radio as well as make personal sales of amateur equipment. What they can't do is run their small business on it nor telecommute to their employer using it.
This change is often described as "You can now order a pizza using the autopatch"
The only thing missing from making this the next killer application is allowing them to run encryption, which a rule change may be in the works for.
You need to re-read the article because it says nothing of the sort. The hams are trying to get primary access to I believe 2mhz of the band, which is next to nothing, and in any case, has nothing to do with their 802.11b efforts (it is for narrowband satellites).
By and large, what they (The HSMM) is GOOD NEWS for part 15 hackers, who are now operating in a gray area. They (the part 15 hackers) have much in common with the roots of ham radio. I think this is a very good thing.
And it is not much of a problem for a real WISP, because the population density is so small in the rural areas a real WISP would operate in. The only time a part 15 user has to defer to a ham is if they cause interfernce to communications on a ongoing base, and the times this has happened can be counted on one hand.
The sky is not falling.
One has to question, because for the last 5 years they have been trying to do exactly what you suggest. They recently gave up their effort to produce a Spread Spectrum radio because of the fact their volunteers could not work fast enough to keep up with the parts obsoleting themselves.
Bottom line, it is an expensive task to produce a spread spectrum radio. This is not a TNC2. A spread spectrum radio is both a radio and computer. This is further complicated by the fact that ham's, as well as most hobbyists are limited in budget.
Hence, leveraging existing 802.11b technology makes perfect sense.
It is either that or sit on their collective hands and do nothing.
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Ahhh......sure. And your point is?
Further, unless your 802.11b card can implement automatic power control, you are limited to 1 watt,
I repeat, The sky is not falling
Not anymore. Hams can conduct personal business on amateur radio as well as make personal sales of amateur equipment. What they can't do is run their small business on it nor telecommute to their employer using it.
This change is often described as "You can now order a pizza using the autopatch"
The only thing missing from making this the next killer application is allowing them to run encryption, which a rule change may be in the works for.
You need to re-read the article because it says nothing of the sort. The hams are trying to get primary access to I believe 2mhz of the band, which is next to nothing, and in any case, has nothing to do with their 802.11b efforts (it is for narrowband satellites). By and large, what they (The HSMM) is GOOD NEWS for part 15 hackers, who are now operating in a gray area. They (the part 15 hackers) have much in common with the roots of ham radio. I think this is a very good thing. And it is not much of a problem for a real WISP, because the population density is so small in the rural areas a real WISP would operate in. The only time a part 15 user has to defer to a ham is if they cause interfernce to communications on a ongoing base, and the times this has happened can be counted on one hand. The sky is not falling.
Hmmmm...... are you a TAPR member?
One has to question, because for the last 5 years they have been trying to do exactly what you suggest. They recently gave up their effort to produce a Spread Spectrum radio because of the fact their volunteers could not work fast enough to keep up with the parts obsoleting themselves.
Bottom line, it is an expensive task to produce a spread spectrum radio. This is not a TNC2. A spread spectrum radio is both a radio and computer. This is further complicated by the fact that ham's, as well as most hobbyists are limited in budget.
Hence, leveraging existing 802.11b technology makes perfect sense.
It is either that or sit on their collective hands and do nothing.