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From: mojo@kepler.UUCP (Morris Jones)
Newsgroups: net.ham-radio,net.ham-radio.packet
Subject: Re: FCC awards pink ticket for BBS
Message-ID: <501@kepler.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Feb-86 17:14:29 EST
Article-I.D.: kepler.501
Posted: Tue Feb 11 17:14:29 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 13-Feb-86 19:05:49 EST
References: <1346@seismo.CSS.GOV>
Reply-To: mojo@kepler.UUCP (Morris Jones)
Organization: MicroPro Int'l Corp., San Rafael, CA
Lines: 29
Xref: linus net.ham-radio:3222 net.ham-radio.packet:230
Summary: The FCC has a point.  Suggestions?

There's a very important point to the FCC ruling that we have to
remember.  Amateur Radio CANNOT become a common carrier!  Besides
providing unfair competition with the commercial carriers, it's
contrary to the spirit of *Amateur* Radio as experimentalists and
hobbyists.

Now how do we tread the fine line and operate our packet BBSes?  If
there really is no control over third party traffic on Amateur Radio,
then we start to cross that line.  I think at the very least we'll
have to emphasize clearly the nature of the third party traffic that
will be permissable (non-business, trivial, experimental -- following
the guideline that "Amateur Radio traffic must be trivial to the
degree that recourse to the established commercial carriers is not
justified").

I also think we're going to have to provide more control over the
BBSes -- more control operators and control points.  It may mean
a set of rules for designating BBS users as control operators, and
providing protected access.

It won't be easy, but we can find a way to live with it.

Personally I think the spectrum should be chopped up and sold to
the highest bidder ....

-- 
Mojo
... Morris Jones, MicroPro Product Development
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