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Comment by yellowbkpk | Hacker News Reader

Wifi operates in unlicensed spectrum and transmitters and receivers are required to handle interference in this space. Is it still jamming if it's not a licensed station doing the broadcasting?

</devilsadvocate>

...I suppose it does say "authorized" there, and 2.4 and 5Ghz transmitters are authorized.

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It always feels funny to me to refer to the ISM bands (the spectrum itself) as "unlicensed".

- Devices operating there have to be approved

- There are rules about how the devices work

- There are rules about how the _operator_ is allowed to operate the approved devices ("Operation is subject to the following conditions" sticker on most equipment).

(all of this under FCC part 15 rules)

In other bands, the operator in control of the transmitter generally needs to file paperwork with the FCC to get a license (in some systems like cellphones, the base station is in control so the subscribers don't need licenses, just approved equipment).

Understood you're playing devil's advocate, but the response would be: Why don't I stand outside with a WiFi antenna pointed at your house, doing the same thing, causing your WiFi devices to drop connections over and over, and then you tell me that I'm not jamming you.

Even further, denial of service attacks can be performed using totally valid and normal HTTP or HTTPS requests. In that case, it's the volume and the intent that matter.

"unlicensed" devices are still authorized by the FCC.

So your devil's advocate is unnecessary.

Yes its still jamming. Even though the devices are unlicensed, you are still not allowed to intentionally cause interference with other devices. You can think of it as the requirement to use the ISM bands is you have to be nice to other users of the band.

The requirement on receiving interference means that you don't get to gripe to the FCC about other users of the band that are otherwise being nice.

For added irony, the hospitality industry claims that allowing hotspots will "cause interference with their networks".

So?!?

That's not even implicit, but an explicit part of the use of the 2.4 and 5GHz spectrums. "There may be interference. Wear a helmet."

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