First small steps toward free GSM firmware

[Ian Stirling]

On 10/28/2013 10:03 PM, Michael Spacefalcon wrote:
> * Most of the Openmoko community sees my FreeCalypso work as being 
> illegal, because they have voluntarily chosen to live and/or accept 
> citizenship in repressive countries which deem it to be so. I suspect 
> that the power-keepers of the Om Wiki would not want to have anything 
> to do with my illegal project and its equally illegal fruits.

Speaking personally, and from a UK perspective, your work is not illegal 
in the UK as such.
Someone can freely load it onto a calypso device, and use it in a 
completely shielded room.
Or perhaps even after requesting the appropriate permissions use it 
on-air. (I suspect this will be
impractical in the UK).

However, once anyone has used your work to change the IMSI of their 
phone (this needs to lead to
no other offence), and you are aware of this, if you do not stop 
distribution, you are liable to conviction
and a term of imprisonment not to exceed 5 years.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/31/section/2

This is a poorly drawn bit of legislation, and in principle could also 
cover the operator of any
website hosting such code, once the operator becomes aware that they are 
facilitating this.

In principle, this could lead to an EU arrest warrant, or even a request 
for extradition.

There are separate issues around the IP that you do not have permission 
to use.

In practice - I would be truly astonished if, unless the above tool were 
to be used in a very serious
crime, as one of its critical elements, any conviction would result.

There were 5 convictions in 2004-5. I'm unable to find any recent ones.

The above law is  justified IMO - simply as reprogramming a phones IMSI 
removes it from the UK block
list. This means that it has lots more value, and can be resold. It 
having more value means that criminals
will attempt to take it from people, with the use of force.