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

The Register ^ | Sep 5, 2015 | Kieren McCarthy

[dayglored]

These new FCC regulations make it effectively impossible for open source folks to use commercial hardware for their wifi. And building your own wifi hardware is non-trivial.

This is basically a somewhat well-intentioned but ultimately very misguided way of shutting down open source wireless.

[dayglored]

Possible interest for your ping lists...

[dayglored]

Heavy hand of the FCC smacks down open source router firmware ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

[arthurus]

The FCC intends to make the internet much more expensive to use. Look for users to be “certified” eventually.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Running DD-WRT on my E3000 right now.

I don't believe it's well-intentioned. It's meant to make sure the feral government has a back-door to EVERYTHING.

[Vendome]

The lobbyists win again.

Those manufacturers want to dominate your machine and the marketplace, by removing your ability to tinker with it...

[Fiddlstix]

Well this SUX!

[GraceG]

Most Firmware on routers bytes and is horrible, the Open source wireless router firmware works great, Open WRT, DD-WRT, etc...

[bigbob]

Other way round...every router or cable modem is built on open source code, much of it GNU. The EFF is a mess, but I don’t see good intentions here.

[Rebelbase]

“The FCC intends to make the internet much more expensive to use. Look for users to be “certified” eventually.”

You mean like Ham Radio today?

[dfwgator]

Government is afraid they won’t be able to snoop.

[GraceG]

I can lock down my router more with Open source firmware than i can with the Junk D-Link loads on it from the default.

No doubt fed gov HATES this thing

All their Factory Back Doors are potentially at risk.

[rockrr]

Since computer WiFi adapters can run in ad-hoc mode couldn’t an argument be made that they are subject to the same restrictions? Can you imagine the havoc if computer hobbyists had to be certified to reinstall Ubuntu?

[867V309]

Computer operating systems are not the keys to the internet castle: router software is.

[dayglored]

Excellent point!

[dayglored]

> Government is afraid they won’t be able to snoop.

They're lazy, too, so they look for the least-effort way to make it easy to snoop.

[arthurus]

That would be the precedent.

[Hostage]

As of just a few months ago the FCC had no business in our internet. Now they are making it their business.

I think one of the first order items of a Trump-Cruz Administration should be to roll back FCC involvement in our internet.

[ShadowAce]

[The Antiyuppie]

“I don’t believe it’s well-intentioned. It’s meant to make sure the feral government has a back-door to EVERYTHING.”

Yep.