[GTALUG] FCC "forces" TP-Link to enable open source on their router(s)

[William Park]

I read it, and I also don't get it.  It's not about open/closed
software.  It's about TP-Link router emitting RF power above
FCC limit using TP-Link's own firmware/software.  Hmm... free PR for
TP-Link.
-- 
William

On Mon, Aug 01, 2016 at 05:27:48PM -0400, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
> <http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/08/fcc-forces-tp-link-to-support-open-source-firmware-on-routers/>
> 
> I don't quite get it.
> 
> The FCC made a rule that was easy to comply with 
> if the manufacturers prevented loading of third party firmware.
> (The rule: don't let you user set the router to use too much signal strength.)
> 
> TP-Link's new firmware "could not" be replaced by 3rd party firmware.
> 
> That firmware also allowed out-of-spec signal strength.
> 
> As a settlement, FCC required TP-Link to pay a fine, to allow third
> party software, and to update the firmware to not allow the user to
> specify (through the GUI) too much signal strength.
> 
> So the original problem remains: how can TP-Link prevent existing
> hardware from generating too strong signals if it cannot control the
> firmware?
> ---
> Talk Mailing List
> talk at gtalug.org
> https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk