Stefanik Gábor wrote: > > Another question: is this legal in the US? AFAIK this might conflict > with FCC regulations. (Not sure about EU.) >
Although I don't claim to be a lawyer, I found this information from http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2007/fcc-sdr-whitepaper.html, which is a translation of the FCC's rules regarding software defined radios (including 802.11 chips). Snippet 1: The rules require any manufacturer certifying a device under the new process to take steps to prevent “unauthorized” changes to the software on the device that might alter its radio frequency and power parameters in a way that takes it out of compliance with the regulations known as FCC Part 15 regulations.2 The specific technology implemented to accomplish this task is left to the manufacturers seeking certification, although the FCC suggests several possible mechanisms that can serve as such “security measures.”3 Snippet 2: Since software is a representation of a mathematical algorithm, it is not a “device”, “home electronic equipment” or a “home electronic ... system.”17 Further, there is no precedent for applying the device certification rules to software except as installed as a component of a specific hardware device. Indeed, the FCC has explicitly limited the certification requirements to “hardware-based device[s].”18 Both of these facts make it clear that the FCC rules do not apply to software by itself, but only to hardware-based devices. What I get out of this, and out of poking in the legal babble, is that as long as our firmware doesn't cause the hardware itself to violate FCC specs, we're in the clear. According to Snippet 1, it shouldn't even be possible to violate the specifications, but we all know how good manufacturers are at stuff like that ;P. -Andrew/Zappacky (IANAL, Proceed at your own risk, etc) _______________________________________________ Bcm43xx-dev mailing list Bcm43xx-dev@lists.berlios.de https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/bcm43xx-dev
