On Tue, May 21, 2002 at 12:07:44PM -0400, Andy Oram wrote:
> I was so busy last week I didn't even notice that my weblog
> was slashdotted! Thanks for letting me know. Damn, now I'll
> have to read at least some of the comments.
>
> And Tim, I liked your talk. The next day I posted the
> following in my final weblog about the conference
> (http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/1421). I think
> the difference in attitude that I talk about below is
> relevant: one attitude while trying to make a living and
> another to prepare the ground for the next generation of
> services. We had Dewayne Hendricks as well as David Reed at
> our Wednesday night BOF, and we got the impression the FCC
> is sympathetic but just isn't going to take the next
> necessary steps.
Likely not with this administration. Of course I can't blame the
Republicans for this problems. The Democrats were the ones to pass
the Telecom Act of 1996 that de-regulated the broadcast industry
into the mess it is today.
> Exploring my interest in wireless policy, I attended Tim
> Pozar's talk, "FCC Rules and Regulations on 802.11." Only
> about 30 people attended, which I found surprising because
> Pozar laid out elegantly the various important regulations
> concerning wattage, equipment certification, interference,
> and exposure to radiation. The only thing I found lacking in
> his talk was that it treated the FCC as God.
Interesting. On a regulatory talk, they are, but...
> This may be the
> only feasible attitude to take when trying to set up a
> business in the current climate, but I would like people
> also to recognize that the rules are flawed and sometimes
> both arbitrary and unfair. While working within the existing
> rules, we must also work to change them.
That was one of my four conclusions at the end of the talk (last
slide) which were...
* Building a biz on 802.11 can be risky as you have no
rights or priorities.
* Coordinate with other users.
* A properly designed network will survive longer.
* Other issues can affect you like FCC Rules changes or
pressure to get the FCC to enforce. Be active in watching
and changing the FCC's Rules!
Perhaps I could have added a section on how to change or introduce
new rules but the session would have gone on for another hour or
so. :-)
Tim
--
Snail: Tim Pozar / LNS / 1978 45th Ave / San Francisco CA 94116 / USA
POTS: +1 415 665 3790 Radio: KC6GNJ / KAE6247
"It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word."
- Andrew Jackson
"What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out,
which is the exact opposite." - Bertrand Russell, "Skeptical_Essays"
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