Radio gaga: Techies fear EU directive to stop RF device tinkering will do more harm than good

From theregister.co.uk

Industry and free software folk alike condemn proposals

Digital illustration of an antenna sending signals to a mobile	- Illustration

EU plans to ban the sale of user-moddable radio frequency devices – like phones and routers – have provoked widespread condemnation from across the political bloc.

The controversy centres on Article 3(3)(i) of the EU Radio Equipment Directive, which was passed into law back in 2014.

However, an EU working group is now about to define precisely which devices will be subject to the directive – and academics, researchers, individual “makers” and software companies are worried that their activities and business models will be outlawed.

Article 3(3)(i) states that RF gear sold in the EU must support “certain features in order to ensure that software can only be loaded into the radio equipment where the compliance of the combination of the radio equipment and software has been demonstrated”.

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