> that you can't carry the internet over ham radio is one of the main reasons for its lack of popularity This isn't exactly true; misleading at best. Internet

> that you can't carry the internet over ham radio is one of the main reasons for its lack of popularity This isn't exactly true; misleading at best. Internet via ham radio isn't really that much "fun" whilst the scope of amateur radio is incredibly broad. You can buy COTS 802.11 networking gear, update their firmware to operate on ham radio channels, and transport TCP/IP at 1500 watts of power all day long (sans encryption), but part 15 devices perform this service admirably. In fact, it's a part of the amateur service to not use amateur spectrum if the communication can be reasonably furnished with another service. A majority of ham radio happens at VHF and below, where data transmission speeds are very slow for TCP/IP communication, but fine for voice, other forms of data like ASCII text or digital voice via FSK/BPSK/MFSK/GMSK/QAM etc modulations. At HF, spectrum is very limited and shared, so wide-band modulations are frowned upon or disallowed, but the phenomena of worldwide propagation via ionospheric refraction is the main allure. There are numerous forms of ham radio internet, like HamWAN, HamNET, BBHN, AREDN, and adhoc mesh systems out there, that transport all kinds of (unencrypted) data useful to the radio amateur, but there are far more Part 15 systems that deliver the Internet and other encrypted information to its users. Allowing encryption on ham radio opens doors to illicit and commercial use of amateur spectrum. The fact you can't use encryption isn't killing ham radio's popularity, it's that it's practitioners and organizations are having trouble keeping ham radio relevant for the 21st century, and advertising/marketing the hobby to a new generation of prospective hams.