America's crackdown on open-source Wi-Fi router firmware – THE TRUTH (new FCC regulations)

The Register ^ | Sep 5, 2015 | Kieren McCarthy

[dayglored]

Analysis America's broadband watchdog is suffering a backlash over plans to control software updates to Wi-Fi routers, smartphones, and even laptops.

In a proposed update [PDF] to the regulator's rules over radiofrequency equipment, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would oblige manufacturers to "specify which parties will be authorized to make software changes."

In addition, it proposes that "modifications by third parties should not be permitted unless the third party receives its own certification."

While the intent is to make the FCC's certification of the next generation of wireless equipment faster and more flexible, open source advocates were quick to notice that the rules would effectively force manufacturers to lock down their equipment and so remove the ability to modify software without formal approval from the US government. Such an approach goes directly against the open source ethos.

As a result, many are unhappy about the plans. The proposals, which are not yet set in stone, were approved for public comment in July, formally published at the start of August, and had a planned comment deadline of next week – 8 September.

[The Antiyuppie]

“Running DD-WRT on my E3000 right now. “

Well, if they are using Linux, that part of the source would have to be “open” AFAIK. They could do a closed-source driver but it’s functionality would eventually be reverse-engineered.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Except that reverse-engineering would probably be made illegal and categorized under “terrorism.”

For the children.

[ThunderSleeps]

WiFi router firmware regulations, could they impact smartphones? — ANDROID PING!
Android Ping! If you want on or off the Android Ping List, Freepmail me.

[Still Thinking]

I’ve never really seen the necessity to change my router firmware, but if the DC goobers think they have the authority to tell me I can’t do what I will with hardware I purchased, then I feel obligated to do so.

[Bobalu]

I wonder how this will impact the use of SDR (software defined radio) gear.

It has become simple and cheap to dabble in radio using inexpensive SDR equipment. The cheapest units are receive only and don’t operate above 2Ghz but any hardware hacker worth his salt can whip up a transceiver solution for 2.5Ghz

There are SDR transceivers contained inside single SM chips.... used by various entities. :-)

Check out the SDR USB rx dongles on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=sdr%20usb&clk_rvr_id=894226844698&mfe=search

[LoneStar42]

The Chinese tried this with WAPI in 2004. It required major coordination with large corporations and USTR to push back on it. They blinked.

Now our “betters” want to do it here???

[Bobalu]

Get together a cheap ARM processor, a cheap SDR chip and perhaps a cheap FPGA along with several talented geeks and soon you would have an open-source router that would also operate as a useful SDR transceiver for 25Mhz - 3Ghz.

And if it was open-hardware as well then cheap Chinese clones would soon appear on ebay :-)

I know a few rf engineers that could do this...there probably are a few here among us on FR. I’m mostly software.. with a touch of hardware dabbler thrown in.

This has all become pretty routine and thus cheap. The el cheapo Ham Radio handie-talkies like the Baofeng are built upon a single SDR transceiver chip that costs less than a dollar...that chip can operate from the AM radio band to 1.4Ghz+ it can be coaxed to become many things..i.e. a simple GPS jammer can be built.

[DCBryan1]

There goes my HSMM-MESH

[rarestia]

These new FCC regulations make it effectively impossible for open source folks to use commercialretail hardware for their wifi.

Fixed it for you. The open source community is primarily interested in retail routers and switches. I don't know of any open source community who, for instance, hacks commercial Cisco gear such as Catalyst switches.

While this is yet another infringement on our freedoms by an overbearing government agency, it doesn't signal the death of these efforts. As evidenced by everyday news, when someone or something tries to close a door, there are legions of techies who start pounding on that door to find a way in. The open source community won't die.

[rarestia]

Running DD-WRT on my E3000 right now.

I ran DD-WRT on my E3000 for years before I picked up some gigabit Cisco hardware. If founds out the E3000 was the bottleneck in my network, and once it was out of the picture, I was hitting crazy speeds from my provider, which I was paying for the whole time.

[rarestia]

You mean like Ham Radio today?

While you have to be licensed to use the airwaves, that wouldn't stop anyone from picking up the hardware and broadcasting or otherwise using the airwaves for their own communication purposes. There's a risk of being fined if you're caught, but there are no requirements for licensing to purchase or use the hardware.

The same will go for routers and switches. A black market for legacy hardware will open up, and "gray hat" hackers will figure out how to compromise the new firmware. It's been going that way for decades. Aside from the bald-faced attack on our liberty by an unelected bureaucracy, this is much ado about nothing.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I just have ADSL, so I don’t have to worry about crazy speeds.

Actually, my providers says I should be getting 3MBPS and I’m getting about 9.

[rarestia]

I’m surprised there are still ADSL providers out there. Wow.

I’ve got Bright House cable internet and get ~170 Mbps (~20 MBps). When I was using the E3000 with DD-WRT, I only got up to 30 Mbps. The E3000 hardware just couldn’t manage the throughput.

I do miss DD-WRT, but I’m using PFSense now for routing/firewall; and I love it!