[ NNSquad ] Re: [IP] ] re: cheap "femtocell"

[Rahul Tongia <tongia@cmu.edu>]

[sorry for the resend-gmail messed up my headers, so am resending from my CMU account]

Rahul

********
Dave/Lauren,

I, as an end-user, applaud the idea, without getting into the legality.

1)
The regulations DO vary by nation, but in the US, what was the norm for
which I can do low-power FM transmission, e.g., iPod to car radio?
Wouldn't the same apply here?
2) This is, in some sense, a positive example where the
citizen/end-user reclaims somethat that had been "sold" as "property"
and is now back in my domain.  In MY house, the signal of the carrier
doesn't reach well (or at all, in the basement), so either the carrier
makes a committment to upgrade the tower such that every basement in
the US gets good coverage, or they shut up and get out of the way.  

The subtlety is when I DO get good coverage but am making the switch based on economic grounds.  

Coming
back to the citizen/consumer centric model, perhaps we WANT the world
where the consumer can choose such a device (within their private
premises only) with the strict understanding they aren't to
demonstrably impact "public" access to said spectrum elsewhere.  What
this may require, in future iterations, is some SDR intelligence or
even simple power management intelligence to detect similar devices
"nearby" (could even be done by out-of-band signaling).

The last possibility running through my mind, perhaps more for
developing countries, is what would it take to extend this model to
provide REALLY CHEAP cellular service?  Note I said cellular, not
mobile, since this would be "portable" and not mobile (the latter adds
a lot of the cost).  From my understanding, the current design is only
for outgoing calls (?).   One would need an alternative numbering
schema or provider for incoming - perhaps Skype or Google Voice could
step up to the plate (I have some more detailed ideas on how this could
work, but won't bore the lists with that).

Rahul

On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 9:06 AM, Rahul Tongia <tongia.cmu@gmail.com> wrote:

On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 4:06 AM, Dave Farber <dave@farber.net> wrote:

Begin forwarded message:

From: Michael Slavitch <slavitch@gmail.com>
Date: January 8, 2010 5:32:18 PM EST
To: dave@farber.net, ip <ip@v2.listbox.com>
Subject: Re: [IP] re:  cheap "femtocell"
Reply-To: slavitch@gmail.com

They're getting a big prize called attention.

The branding value of the unpaid media that will result from getting banned will greatly outstrip the cost of development of this device.

Heads I win tails you lose.

ATT should of course co opt them and resell it under their own brand. They need all the help they can get.

M

Michael Slavitch

---

From: Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>

Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2010 17:24:29 -0500

To: ip<ip@v2.listbox.com>

Subject: [IP] re: cheap "femtocell"

Begin forwarded message:

From: Stefano Quintarelli <stefano@quintarelli.it>
Date: January 8, 2010 3:18:19 PM EST
To: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>
Cc: "nnsquad@nnsquad.org" <nnsquad@nnsquad.org>
Subject: [ NNSquad ] Re: MagicJack introducing cheap "femtocell"

as I understand from the article it's basically a femto with some sw hacks to allow handset registration.

its legality, from a patent perspective might be uncertain. It would seem strange to me if they were able to obtain licenses to the gsm  patent pools.

from the frequency usage perspective, it varies significantly depending on countries.

the uk have licensed separate usages for low power devices for indoor use to companies other than the usual telcos.

in some countries low power devices are allowed within strict limits with no specific exclusion of gsm low bands

in other countries it is clearly prohibited

in others, it is unclear

the reason is that the regulations are somewhat layered. first came a liberalization of srd (short range devices) then the regulations for gsm;  at those times, with the cost of bts, noone really thought that bts would eventually economically become srd.

I looked into it in some european countries in the past, asking to various NRAs and obtained different answers.

ciao, s.

 [ Another issue -- how easily could such devices be subverted
   to intercept calls inappropriately?  Hmm.

      -- Lauren Weinstein
         NNSquad Moderator ]

--
http://blog.quintarelli.it

Il giorno 08/gen/2010, alle ore 19.44, Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com> ha scritto:

MagicJack introducing cheap "femtocell"

http://bit.ly/7qiZou  (AP)

The actual legality of this particular device is not immediately clear

to me without digging into some details.  I'm wondering if it has

received FCC approval?  I didn't find obviously relevant references in

the FCC database during an initial search.

--Lauren--

NNSquad Moderator

Archives

Archives