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by drcube 4594 days ago
The FCC already regulates who can broadcast what over the airwaves. And if you're not licensed for that part of the spectrum, the source code will do you a fat lot of good with your radio experimentation.

Nobody is asking for some sort of hacker radio anarchy, here. They're asking to see the source code for machines they own, machines that reside in their pockets, machines that are responsible for storing and communicating their most sensitive personal data.
1 comments
superuser2 4594 days ago
If you cause the device you own to operate according to your own will (i.e. the core concept of FOSS) instead of the will of the carrier, there is a strong likelihood it will cause a denial or degradation of service for everyone else.

Verizon has the right to transmit on spectrum allocated to it using consumer devices as its agents. It employs engineers and QA processes to make sure that any device transmitting on its spectrum plays well with others before it is allowed to leave RF-isolated testing facilities.

The public does not and should not have the right to transmit on Verizon's spectrum, even using devices they own which are legally and technically capable, except according to Verizon's carefully vetted programming. If they were able to run their own radio firmware, you'd have the situation described in the parent.

Cellular radios necessarily cannot be open source. The source could be released for inspection and audit, but it cannot be possible or permissible for you to run modified source on "your" radios.

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emhs 4593 days ago
> The source could be released for inspection and audit,

Dude, that's exactly what he asked for.

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superuser2 4593 days ago
Open source encompasses permission to modify and redistribute. Disclosed source != open source, which is what was advocated upthread.

Parent claimed that modifying the source wouldn't hurt anything since your phone can't transmit in ways you're not licensed to, but this is incorrect.

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emhs 4593 days ago
Open source != free (libre) baseband hardware that you can directly modify the software on. Being able to compile and modify is fine and has no impact on the network if you're not able to run it on the primary network.
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