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Ham Radio Enthusiasts Battle High-Frequency Traders for the Airwaves
- archo 3y agohttps://archive.is/otzoG https://archive.is/otzoG
- Crunchified 3y agoAs a long-time ham, I can attest to the problems with interference. In my experience, worldwide military radar systems and shortwave broadcasters have been the worst problems in the past. This new system incorporates digital modulation techniques that generate square waves. Such square waves contain harmonic overtones that will reach far outside the assigned frequencies at levels that will cause interference (as is apparent from the FCC applicant's system description). Hams use digital modulation methods, too, but at power levels and bandwidths that tend to keep the problems under control. Also, I am not quite sure why the FCC seems to have such global authority here - hams across the planet (especially in the highly financialized northern hemisphere) will have to deal with this, not just Americans. I expect this will also have to pass muster with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) before it has a chance to operate globally. The need for this system has such limited public benefit that it's hard to justify how such inherently scarce open RF spectrum should be allocated to already wealthy financial institutions for private profit-seeking ventures that produce virtually nothing of public value. I understand why they want it, but this should be a hard NO as I see it right now.
- mattpr 3y agoIf this is just about latency (speed of light in air vs glass/fiber), then hollow-core fiber may be here before this gets approved. I guess the second aspect could be signal path length (point to point vs whatever route the fiber takes through a city's infrastructure)...but if this is about short-range links, then I would think microwave point to point would help. Is there some other aspect or key point why they want to do this?