FCC Should Clean Up Potential Amateur Radio Problems, NYU Professor Says
The FCC should act on proposed amateur radio rules to ensure amateur operators aren’t improperly using encrypted transmissions, said Ted Rappaport, founder of NYU Wireless at New York University School of Engineering. Rappaport defended his stance last week in a…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
filing in docket RM-11831 and the school issued a news release. “Many stations are improperly using effectively encrypted transmissions, essentially turning the public airwaves of ham radio into a private point-to-point email system, in violation of many FCC rules,” Rappaport said. "The FCC has recently recognized a major problem that has existed for decades in ham radio, and in the past few days took steps to institute vital new rules that will grow the hobby by reiterating the fundamental requirement that all radio communications are open, so that the public may listen in." But Ron Kolarik, the amateur operator who sought rules, slammed the recent release of the docket. “RM-11831 is a half-assed attempt to prevent the use of certain proprietary digital modes, specifically Pactor,” he wrote: “This is because the mode in question is not readily accessible to most amateurs because of the proprietary nature.”