Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!netsys!vector!nobody From: cs.utexas.edu!iuvax.cs.indiana.edu!bsu-cs!dhesi@vector.uucp (Rahul Dhesi) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Laser Beam as a ethernet backbone Message-ID:Date: 30 Nov 88 19:15:12 GMT Sender: chip@vector.UUCP Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana Lines: 16 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Submissions-To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 8, issue 189, message 4 In article kwongj@caldwr.UUCP writes: >Laser Communications, Inc. sells a laser beam product that - >"Link Ethernet backbones atmospherically by laser beam to connect >site up to 1 kilometer apart without cables or FCC licensing". The FCC controls all broadcasting. The difference between a beam of light and a shortwave transmission is just the frequency (wavelength). Does the Communications Act, or other legislation that gives the FCC authority over broadcasting, specify the frequency beyond which the FCC has no jurisdiction? If not, shining any beam of light, unless specifically authorized by the FCC, is probably illegal. Not only outdoor lasers, but also automobile headlights, are probably in violation. -- Rahul Dhesi UUCP: !{iuvax,pur-ee}!bsu-cs!dhesi