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Comment by mellosouls | Hacker News Reader

The embarrassed householder promised not to use the television again.

I hope the cable company bought the "mortified" TV owner (possibly old/poor) a new TV because they've done nothing obviously wrong.

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Nor did the cable company, did they?

Given the owner has been described as "mortified" and "promising" never to turn a device used in good faith on again, nothing has been offered in return and the story is round the world, it sounds like its been handled quite badly, yes.

Operating "an illegal radiator" maybe - that I believe is the technical term.

I think from a comment on the El Reg version of the story its the BBC that has jurisdiction - id have thought it was Ofcom my self.

> I hope the cable company bought the "mortified" TV owner (possibly old/poor) a new TV because they've done nothing obviously wrong.

I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to jam public signals village-wide: https://www.fcc.gov/general/jammer-enforcement

If they clicked on the "jam public signals village-wide" labelled button rather than the "on" button, fair enough.

When's the last time you checked if any of your electronics were emitting a jamming signal?

Never, you? If I did though and found that one of my devices was harming my neighbors I wouldn't expect gifts.

It's not just that, its the way they have been made to feel they are at fault for using a device in good faith presumably for many years, with a news story plastered all over the world about how they've caused problems (even though they are - as yet - anonymous).

It's a funny story but sounds like a potentially harsh impact on them - and why should they just be told to stop using something with no alternative option presented?

Anyway, good PR for the company given the story has got traction.

I’m an amateur radio operator, so about 3 years ago, I spent the weekend going through the house getting rid of items that interfere with the HF spectrum. I found:

Two network switches, laptop power supply, dishwasher, streaming music device.

My receive antenna (active loop) is about 50 feet from the house. I’m still not satisfied with the interference levels, but it’s not coming from me.

I should be rather surprised if the FCC were the relevant body in Wales.

Yes, but Ofcom is, and has very similar legislation - https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/interference-enforcement/s...

The TV isn’t a jammer though, it’s a misbehaving device. Both Ofcom, the FCC, and most regulatory bodies handle intentional interference differently than accidental interference. You still aren’t supposed to operate misbehaving devices, but regulators generally realize you might not know your device is bad.

Sure.

I was curious so I looked up UKs regulations. The phrasing that UK’s regulatory authority uses regarding interference is very similar to the FCCs part 15 regulations.

> Anyone using electrical apparatus is responsible for ensuring that it does not cause harmful interference to others. If this happens, we may require the user to rectify the situation.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/interference-enforcement

Law concerning radio is very close to universal law.

Amazingly so! Even HAM radio regulations are remarkably harmonized internationally thanks to the IARU[1].

[1]: https://www.iaru.org

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