Comment by m0nastic
14 years ago
"Jamming" wireless transmissions does indeed run afoul of FCC regulation; but that's not what they did here.
They disabled the power to the base stations which were deployed in specific locations (locations which are not public property). I assume they argue that they are not under any obligation to provide access to these base stations. I also assume that the base stations in question are either owned by them, or provided by the telcos.
Technically, one of the wireless providers could probably raise a stink that this action made their service look bad, but I seriously doubt they are going to take a stand in this regard.
It's actually potentially more interesting than that. AM/FM radio stations on licensed frequencies are required to be transmitting. Dead air has to be reported and justified to the FCC, or they can face fines. I wonder if that sort of thing applies to CDMA/GSM radio towers and repeaters.
I'm trying to ascertain that, but so far lost in a maze of twisty little links on the wireless.fcc.gov site, all alike.
I'd actually be surprised if that was the case though.