Chill Out on Wi-Fi Router Concerns, Wheeler Tells Tech Industry

Industry has nothing to fear from the FCC, despite concerns raised by Google and others that the agency’s new device certification rules would prohibit third-party firmware installation on devices, including Wi-Fi routers, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Thursday during a news conference. The FCC has received numerous comments raising that concern (see 1509300063). “I think that everybody ought to calm down and take a deep breath,” Wheeler said. “What we were doing was putting out a notice talking about the responsibility of Wi-Fi routers not to interfere with other pieces of spectrum, which is important, of course, for their own operation.” The FCC only wanted to “flush out” concerns, he said. “There is no way, shape or form” that it was intended to do the “nefarious” things some fear, Wheeler said.