> That tragedy of commons thing is why any consumer product where you could modify the radio transmitter firmware would loose its FCC certification, making it illegal to sell in the US.
This is not true. FCC equipment approvals have both a frequency range and power level. What the FCC tried to clarify is that devices should not be able to be "easily modified" to operate outside of these approved parameters, which has always been true since way before radios had anything that could be considered software or firmware. For example, it would be against the rules to sell a radio certified for 1W power output that had a 5W power amplifier inside that could be enabled by removing a screw or something.
Firmware modification, in general, is not against FCC rules. For example, new firmware that lowered maximum power would be permissible (or firmware changes that did not affect the emissions of the device at all).
This is not true. FCC equipment approvals have both a frequency range and power level. What the FCC tried to clarify is that devices should not be able to be "easily modified" to operate outside of these approved parameters, which has always been true since way before radios had anything that could be considered software or firmware. For example, it would be against the rules to sell a radio certified for 1W power output that had a 5W power amplifier inside that could be enabled by removing a screw or something.
Firmware modification, in general, is not against FCC rules. For example, new firmware that lowered maximum power would be permissible (or firmware changes that did not affect the emissions of the device at all).
Here is the specific document from the FCC: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2339685/fcc-software-...