From: sidney@taurus.apple.com (Sidney Markowitz)
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 94 12:37:58 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: broadcast encryption
Message-ID: <9408031931.AA09915@apple.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


The idea behind allocating frequencies for amateur use is that hams could
engage in a hobby with no commercial use which provides an infrastructure
for emergency public service communications. To prevent any commercial use
of those frequencies, to facilitate enforcement of the rules, and to
facilitate the participation by anyone who obtains the proper knowledge and
equipment, it is illegal to transmit in a way that "obscures the meaning"
of the transmission to people who would want to listen in. So, for example,
morse code and ASCII are the only exceptable digital codes, and various
modulation techniques are standardized as the technologies are developed.

In any case, the amateur frequencies are specifically reserved for
non-private communications and are subject to restrictions that have
nothing to do with the terms under which other commercial frequencies are
licensed. Those frequencies may be licensed for uses that include private
communications of some sort. And, since the regulations are based on the
principal that broadcast spectrum is a fixed, limited resource, none of
this applies to communications carriers who do not operate by broadcasting
over the air.

 -- sidney <sidney@apple.com>