From: Jay Prime Positive <jpp@markv.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Jan 93 15:25:54 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Is this true???
In-Reply-To: <9301291840.AA29938@longs.lance.colostate.edu>
Message-ID: <9301291524.aa22898@hermix.markv.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>Under an obscure pre-WWII ruling by the agency that is now the FCC...
>"No information may be encoded or transmitted over PUBLIC or PRIVATE
>forms of telephony or radio with the exception of those agencies
>involved in the National Security" a further designation goes on to
>say "with the exception of the MORSE system of 'transmittal', any
>communication that is not interpretable by the human ear is forbidden
>and unlawful."

As a liscenced ham (amature radio operator), kb6wct, I can assure you
that the FCC allows transmissions other than phone, and morse code.
Here are just a few -- rtty, ascii, spread spectrum, fax, sstv, and
ntsc video.  Hams can SEND all of these over the radio.  There are
still other information transmission systems in use by comercial
interests.

However, the FCC does in fact dissallow hams from transmitting in "any
code or cypher with intent to obscure the content of the message."
This allows all cryptographic authentication systems, but not
encryption.

j'