[Discuss] Fwd: Hey FCC, Don't Lock Down Our Wi-Fi Routers | WIRED

[Rich Pieri]

On 10/1/2015 11:01 PM, Shirley Márquez Dúlcey wrote:
> This story is far from nothing. The FCC could enact rules that would
> lock out the ability to load alternative firmware in a router - say,

blah-blah-blah.

The FCC could have enacted rules to do the same thing with smart phones, 
tablets, slates, notebooks, 2.4GHz access points, etc., all of which and 
more are covered under power and frequency regulations just like the 
proposed 5GHz access point power and frequency regulations.

They didn't.

They won't start now.

The FCC don't tell manufacturers how to make their products. The FCC 
tell manufacturers what their products are allowed to do and what they 
are not allowed to do. The FCC publish guidelines, documents which 
describe some of the ways manufactures can ensure that their products 
comply with the rules. Manufactures are free to follow or ignore the 
FCC's guidelines as long as their products comply with the FCC's rules.

All of this hype about locked routers and outlawed firmware and the 
death of "free" software the sky falling is based on one paragraph from 
one guideline document.

Yes, it really is a lot of hype about nothing.

-- 
Rich P.