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From reading HN it seems like there needs to be open source radio hardware as well to break the dependency on qualcomm, broadcom and whomever else is supplying chips. At least if the idea is to have something auditable.

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From what I understand (someone correct me if I'm wrong) part of the problem is that baseband hardware and firmware requires expensive FCC approvals that's more compatible with the profitability of closed-source intellectual property.

It's not so much that it is more aligned with profitability per se, but the fact that each modification you put in the part of the device controlling the radio also needs said approval before being used to transmit - and FCC has been tightening the enforcement of that. It has been on HN before [0]...

Usual caveats about Part 15 vs Part 97 use apply.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11267443

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