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by rkagerer 1927 days ago
I use a wireless phone headset from Plantronics that operates in the 900 MHz range. It works so much better than Bluetooth since the range is farther (especially indoors) and the band is less crowded with interference.

The last thing I want to see is a bunch of new random consumer junk cluttering it up.
1 comments
lxgr 1927 days ago
> new random consumer junk

Like wireless phone headsets?

What makes your use of this public band more important than that of others?

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rkagerer 1927 days ago
In fairness, that headset is something I rely on every day, for hours of the day.

The article says Amazon began shipping this feature in its products secretly, so 'junk' in the sense that consumers didn't ask for the feature and it's crowding the medium mainly for Amazon's benefit.

(Ps. This was authored before you edited your comment)

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lxgr 1926 days ago
Arguably, being able to find a lost pet or wallet is not only Amazon's benefit. (Yes, it's a for-profit company selling the equipment, but isn't that true for headsets as well?)

As long as spectrum fairness is ensured (and I think there are pretty strict rules on duty cycles for the 900 MHz band, i.e. any given device can't be transmitting more than a few seconds every few minutes), I think it is up to the owners of the band to decide what's critical and what isn't: The public.

If you think about it, hours of phone calls every day are probably a more significant use of that spectrum than all lost cats and dogs of a city combined.

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