Wi-Fi scrambles Eglin radar
p2pnet.net News:- High speed Net and Wi-Fi connections are messing up radar at a Florida American air force base that develops and tests ’smart’ bombs and other weapons over the Gulf of Mexico, as well as ranges on the base itself.
Eglin USAF base officials are apparently worried that the interference may be deliberate, so they notified Okaloosa County officials, "who responded Thursday by warning that if the interference is intentional violators would be fined and their equipment confiscated," says the Associated Press.
The problem frequency band is in the 5.6 gigahertz to 5.8 gigahertz range, says AP, going on to quote county manager Chris Holley as saying:
"There are evidently people who are firing up (wireless Internet) hot spots without (Federal Communications Commission) licensing."
Interference seems to coming from Internet access lines being installed in new apartments, hotels and condominiums or buildings being retrofitted for Internet service and it’s, "unclear whether other bases are experiencing similar problems or what the consequences of the interference might be," says AP.
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See:-
’smart’ bombs – High speed, wi-fi Internet interfering with Eglin radar, Associated Press, January 28, 2005
January 31st, 2005 at 11:27 pm
The FCC designated the 5.15 – 5.25 GHz, 5.25 – 5.35 GHz, and 5.725 – 5.825 GHz bands for use by a new category of unlicensed equipment, called Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices. The U-NII devices will provide short-range, fixed, point-to-point, high-speed wireless digital communications on an unlicensed basis.
The 5.15 – 5.25 GHz portion of the U-NII band is intended for use for indoor short-range networking devices. The FCC adopted a 200-mW EIRP limit to enable short-range wireless local area network (LAN) applications in this band without causing interference to mobile satellite service (MSS) feeder link operations.
Devices operating between 5.25 – 5.35 GHz are intended to be communications within and between buildings, such as campus-type networks. U-NII devices in the 5.25-5.35 GHz frequency range are subject to a 1-W EIRP power limit.
Finally, the 5.725 – 5.825 GHz portion of the band is intended for community networking communications devices operating over a range of several kilometers. The FCC permits fixed, point-to-point U-NII devices to operate with up to 1-W transmitter power and directional antennas with up to a 23-dBi gain.
So, I doubt it is Wi-Fi that is the problem unless someone is off frequency and then it is against the law anyway. I really wonder why the FCC is not more involved, or is it that they think it is a Military problem anyway?
February 1st, 2005 at 4:25 am
errrrr, am I the only one who finds the fact that simple wi-fi frquencies are debilitating military hardware very disturbing?!
February 1st, 2005 at 4:36 pm
This is why hackers (with military background checks, of course) should be involved in designing equipment. Hackers not only study what is “in the book.” but they also experiment and push the enevelope. A hacker would most likely come up with a way (most likely unorthodox) to allow both smartbombs and wifi to co-exist without causing each other problems. I live about 345 miles from Eglin, and I can why there would be so much trouble. Eglin AFB is intermixed with several fast growing communities. Most of the point to point networks would be totally unnecessary if it weren’t for the local telcos which monopolises the infrastructure.
In most cases, these lines were initially installed with taxpayer money. Even so, we have no say in their actual use even though these lines are mostly on public property. If you or me wanted to put in a direct connection (DSL intercom, ect.) to a friend’s house who lived a mile down the road. I can sure bet that the local telco would charge at least $40 a month.
I my area, the telco doesn’t offer DSL, and additionally, there are no cable networks. When there is a broadband ISP nearby (at a decent price) for me to connect to, you can bet that I will be installing a point to point link. In America, we have the technology to provide everybody with affordable broadband Internet. I’m not a socialist, but I believe that any company which uses public property for its infrustructure should be owned by the public