The SFLC on the FCC

The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) has just released a white paper on the FCC's new rules, which go into effect today, governing Software-Defined Radio (SDR) devices (SDRs are highly configurable by software, and unlike AM/FM radios, are generic devices reprogrammable in various modes). From the SFLC's website:

In this white paper, SFLC explains why the FCC's new rules do not restrict independent development and distribution of FOSS made for use in SDR devices. This is because the FCC's new rules only apply to hardware manufacturers who distribute SDR devices, regardless if they use FOSS in them or not. However, the FCC does acknowledge the importance of FOSS — specifically identifying the GNU/Linux operating system — and expressly encourages its use in SDR devices.

The paper is available here.