EFF Decries 'Brazen Land-Grab' Attempt on 900 MHz 'Commons' Frequency Used By Amateur Radio (eff.org)
(Monday September 16, 2024 @03:34AM (EditorDavid)
from the network-effects dept.)
- Reference: 0175003551
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/09/16/0059226/eff-decries-brazen-land-grab-attempt-on-900-mhz-commons-frequency-used-by-amateur-radio
- Source link: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/09/nextnavs-callous-band-grab-privatize-900-mhz
An EFF article calls out a "brazen attempt to privatize" a wireless frequency band (900 MHz) which America's FCC's left " as a commons for all... for use by amateur radio operators, unlicensed consumer devices, and industrial, scientific, and medical equipment." The spectrum has also become "a hotbed for new technologies and community-driven projects. Millions of consumer devices also rely on the range, including baby monitors, cordless phones, IoT devices, garage door openers."
> But NextNav would rather claim these frequencies, fence them off, and lease them out to mobile service providers. This is just another land-grab by a corporate rent-seeker dressed up as innovation. [1]EFF and [2]hundreds of others have called on the FCC to decisively reject this proposal and protect the open spectrum as a commons that serves all.
>
> [3]NextNav [which sells a geolocation service] wants the FCC to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band to grant them exclusive rights to the majority of the spectrum... This proposal would not only give NextNav their own lane, but expanded operating region, increased broadcasting power, and more leeway for radio interference emanating from their portions of the band. All of this points to more power for NextNav at everyone else's expense.
>
> This land-grab is purportedly to implement a Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) network to serve as a US-specific backup of the Global Positioning System(GPS). This plan raises red flags off the bat. Dropping the "global" from GPS makes it far less useful for any alleged national security purposes, especially as it is likely susceptible to the same jamming and spoofing attacks as GPS. [4]NextNav itself admits there is also little commercial demand for PNT. GPS works, is free, and is widely supported by manufacturers. If Nextnav has a grand plan to implement a new and improved standard, it was left out of their FCC proposal. What NextNav did include however is its intent to resell their exclusive bandwidth access to mobile 5G networks. This isn't about national security or innovation; it's about a rent-seeker monopolizing access to a public resource. If NextNav truly believes in their GPS backup vision, they should look to parts of the spectrum already allocated for 5G.
>
> The open sections of the 900 MHz spectrum are vital for technologies that foster experimentation and grassroots innovation. Amateur radio operators, developers of new IoT devices, and small-scale operators rely on this band. One such project is [5]Meshtastic , a decentralized communication tool that allows users to send messages across a network without a central server. This new approach to networking offers resilient communication that can endure emergencies where current networks fail. This is the type of innovation that actually addresses crises raised by Nextnav, and it's happening in the part of the spectrum allocated for unlicensed devices while empowering communities instead of a powerful intermediary. Yet, this proposal threatens to crush such grassroots projects, leaving them without a commons in which they can grow and improve.
>
> This isn't just about a set of frequencies. We need an ecosystem which fosters grassroots collaboration, experimentation, and knowledge building. Not only do these commons empower communities, they avoid a [6]technology monoculture unable to adapt to new threats and changing needs as technology progresses. Invention belongs to the public, not just to those with the deepest pockets. The FCC should ensure it remains that way.
>
> NextNav's proposal is a direct threat to innovation, public safety, and community empowerment. While FCC comments on the proposal have closed, [7]replies remain open to the public until September 20th. The FCC must reject this corporate land-grab and uphold the integrity of the 900 MHz band as a commons.
[1] https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/1090486417581/1
[2] https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings/results?q=(proceedings.name:(%2224-240%22))&page=1&limit=100
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NextNav
[4] https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/10416238018537/1
[5] https://meshtastic.org/docs/introduction/
[6] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/07/crowdstrike-antitrust-and-digital-monoculture
[7] https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/standard?proceeding%5Bname%5D=24-240
> But NextNav would rather claim these frequencies, fence them off, and lease them out to mobile service providers. This is just another land-grab by a corporate rent-seeker dressed up as innovation. [1]EFF and [2]hundreds of others have called on the FCC to decisively reject this proposal and protect the open spectrum as a commons that serves all.
>
> [3]NextNav [which sells a geolocation service] wants the FCC to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band to grant them exclusive rights to the majority of the spectrum... This proposal would not only give NextNav their own lane, but expanded operating region, increased broadcasting power, and more leeway for radio interference emanating from their portions of the band. All of this points to more power for NextNav at everyone else's expense.
>
> This land-grab is purportedly to implement a Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) network to serve as a US-specific backup of the Global Positioning System(GPS). This plan raises red flags off the bat. Dropping the "global" from GPS makes it far less useful for any alleged national security purposes, especially as it is likely susceptible to the same jamming and spoofing attacks as GPS. [4]NextNav itself admits there is also little commercial demand for PNT. GPS works, is free, and is widely supported by manufacturers. If Nextnav has a grand plan to implement a new and improved standard, it was left out of their FCC proposal. What NextNav did include however is its intent to resell their exclusive bandwidth access to mobile 5G networks. This isn't about national security or innovation; it's about a rent-seeker monopolizing access to a public resource. If NextNav truly believes in their GPS backup vision, they should look to parts of the spectrum already allocated for 5G.
>
> The open sections of the 900 MHz spectrum are vital for technologies that foster experimentation and grassroots innovation. Amateur radio operators, developers of new IoT devices, and small-scale operators rely on this band. One such project is [5]Meshtastic , a decentralized communication tool that allows users to send messages across a network without a central server. This new approach to networking offers resilient communication that can endure emergencies where current networks fail. This is the type of innovation that actually addresses crises raised by Nextnav, and it's happening in the part of the spectrum allocated for unlicensed devices while empowering communities instead of a powerful intermediary. Yet, this proposal threatens to crush such grassroots projects, leaving them without a commons in which they can grow and improve.
>
> This isn't just about a set of frequencies. We need an ecosystem which fosters grassroots collaboration, experimentation, and knowledge building. Not only do these commons empower communities, they avoid a [6]technology monoculture unable to adapt to new threats and changing needs as technology progresses. Invention belongs to the public, not just to those with the deepest pockets. The FCC should ensure it remains that way.
>
> NextNav's proposal is a direct threat to innovation, public safety, and community empowerment. While FCC comments on the proposal have closed, [7]replies remain open to the public until September 20th. The FCC must reject this corporate land-grab and uphold the integrity of the 900 MHz band as a commons.
[1] https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/1090486417581/1
[2] https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings/results?q=(proceedings.name:(%2224-240%22))&page=1&limit=100
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NextNav
[4] https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/10416238018537/1
[5] https://meshtastic.org/docs/introduction/
[6] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/07/crowdstrike-antitrust-and-digital-monoculture
[7] https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/standard?proceeding%5Bname%5D=24-240
Make it unlicenced spectrum (Score:2)
by stooo ( 2202012 )
Make it unlicenced spectrum like 2.4GHz
NextNav might be shooting themselves in the foot. (Score:4, Informative)
by Sique ( 173459 )
I wonder how NextNav will sell their devices in other regions of the World, where 900 MHz is licensed to mobile providers, commonly known as D-band.
A legal agreement... (Score:3)
by Viol8 ( 599362 )
... won't make all these other devices magically disappear so any mobile operators that did use the spectrum would face a lot of interferance issues particularly if hams with high powered kit decided they'd still use the spectrum anyway.
I imagine FCC investigators and police have better things to do than chase down hams and mums with baby monitors on the frequencies.
Good luck with that (Score:3)
by flyingfsck ( 986395 )
There are millions of devices already using that spectrum and they are not going to stop. So unless this is a newfangled spread spectrum idea, which raises the noise floor for everybody, it wont fly at all.
Unnecessary (Score:2)
by qbast ( 1265706 )
There are already backups for GPS - Galileo, Glonass, Beidou. All of them global and free to use
They're Americans (Score:5, Insightful)
Land grabbing is in their DNA. We can't expect them to do otherwise...
Re: They're Americans (Score:3)
It's not land grab yet... at least until the big paleface chief at Washington says to hunt bison somewhere else.
Re: (Score:2)
The FCC link isn't working for me, but presumably they are not trying to grab that entire frequency range because there are large numbers of devices operating on the licence-free 915MHz band already, and they clearly aren't going to stop no matter what the FCC decides. Everything from car key fobs to burglar alarms to model aircraft.
To be fair, the summary does underplay the need for a backup to GPS for timing as a national security issue. There is a genuine need for it, because a lot of stuff relies on the
Re: They're Americans (Score:2)
EILIF: Why do we "need" a backup for GPS for precise time? What's wrong with accessing high precision time services via the Internet?
Re: (Score:2)
> Land grabbing is in their DNA. We can't expect them to do otherwise...
You gonna have to explain that this only happens in 'Murrica. I understand you hate us - but this is a place where people are supposed tro post with actual insight, not just Russian propaganda.
Re: (Score:2)
He's called Bruce, that means he's probably Australian.