[Battlemesh] FCC Contacts about Wifi Regulations

Paul Gardner-Stephen paul at servalproject.org
Fri Aug 5 09:52:56 CEST 2016


Hello,

On Fri, Aug 5, 2016 at 5:02 PM, Benjamin Henrion <zoobab at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Fri, Aug 5, 2016 at 9:24 AM, Paul Gardner-Stephen
> <paul at servalproject.org> wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > On Fri, Aug 5, 2016 at 3:42 PM, Jonathan Morton <chromatix99 at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> > We need to be able to have Mesh Extenders imported into practically
> any
> >> > country at short notice, e.g., if we succeed in having the Red
> >> > Cross/Crescent movement adopt them.
> >> >
> >> > Where it gets complicated is if we have the <insert random small
> >> > pacific, african, european, south american, middle-eastern or other
> country
> >> > here> regulator and customs people want a rapid assurance that the
> devices
> >> > cannot be operated except on some band (which they might authorise
> for us at
> >> > short notice to meet a humanitarian need).
> >>
> >> “Complicated” isn’t the word.  “Fundamentally incompatible requirements”
> >> is.
> >>
> >> On the one hand, you need to be able to “rapidly reconfigure” your
> >> hardware for a different frequency band, at short notice, from generic
> >> stock, and without making actual hardware changes.
> >>
> >> On the other hand, you anticipate needing to be able to show that the
> >> preceding action *cannot* be done to these same devices once deployed
> in the
> >> field.
> >>
> >> You have a big problem here.  Something has to give.
> >
> > Agreed in general.
> >
> >>
> >>
> >> As a related problem, consumer-grade APs are already easy to physically
> >> transport between Europe, America and Asia.  I’ve literally done that
> myself
> >> on occasion while visiting; I have a habit of bringing a reasonably
> complete
> >> computing environment with me wherever I go.
> >>
> >> But my European AP is not FCC-compliant, because it is trivially capable
> >> of transmitting on frequencies that are not permitted in the USA (eg.
> 2.4GHz
> >> channels 12 & 13).  What’s more, it cannot be made FCC-compliant, even
> >> temporarily, because the firmware is locked down so that I can only
> select
> >> from European regulatory domains.  I suspect there’s a jumper somewhere
> >> enforcing this.
> >>
> >> I think the correct solution is as follows:
> >>
> >> 1: Allow software-level reconfiguration of the radios.  Make it as easy
> as
> >> possible to select the correct regulatory domain, using geolocation if
> >> practical.  Before selling/deploying hardware, set it up correctly for
> its
> >> intended region, or for a failsafe composite region which is compliant
> in
> >> all of the most common domains.
> >
> >
> > Unfortunately we know from the TP-LINK case just now, that the FCC
> doesn't
> > like this, and experience from RC and others, is that the staff on the
> > border during disasters also get cagey about any purely software option.
>
> Unfortunately, people travel and cross borders more and more,
> especially with wifi-equipped devices.
>

Indeed.


> Why they would not be allowed to use channel 14 if they travel to
> Japan with their FCC certified device?
>

Also agreed.

Paul.


>
> --
> Benjamin Henrion <bhenrion at ffii.org>
> FFII Brussels - +32-484-566109 - +32-2-3500762
> "In July 2005, after several failed attempts to legalise software
> patents in Europe, the patent establishment changed its strategy.
> Instead of explicitly seeking to sanction the patentability of
> software, they are now seeking to create a central European patent
> court, which would establish and enforce patentability rules in their
> favor, without any possibility of correction by competing courts or
> democratically elected legislators."
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