EFF this week filed comments (PDF) in the FCC's "Cognitive Radio" proceeding (ET Docket No. 03108) asking the Commission to answer empirically the question of what spectrum is actually in use (as opposed to simply allocated to a licensee), and to uphold its duty under the First Amendment by creating opportunities for flexible, software-defined radios to thrive on open hardware and in open systems.
"Radios built on PCs present unique enforcement challenges for the Commission," said Cory Doctorow, EFF's European Affairs Coordinator. "But retarding innovation in the hope that its enforcement tools will remain effective is the wrong way to meet these challenges. Instead, the Commission should assume
that our computers will be the basis of open, frequency-agile radios, then determine how best to address the problem of radios that harmfully interfere."
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