On Sat, 3 Apr 2021 17:20:49 +0000 (UTC) m d <mdreplican...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi, > Had a lightbulb moment earlier today on this matter. Is it possible > that there isn't a freedom respecting modem available so far because > this might enable users to change their IMEI? Best Having a freedom respecting modem would be very complicated because even when it runs fully free software, the network still know where each individual users are. That's part of the protocol. Regardless, there are modems that can be operated with fully free software, see the OsomcomBB project for more details[1]. Note that there is some big limitations in the way it's implemented: the modems (or feature phones) only run the lower layers of the GSM protocol, and they require a GNU/Linux computer to run the upper layers. So you need an additional computer (or SOC) that is always on. On an Openmoko that limits the battery life a lot and with feature phones that's very inconvenient as you need a laptop connected to the phone. It is also possible to run osmocomBB with FPGAs but I don't know if it works fine with only free software. Additionally there are also devices that have modems that only run nonfree software where people can change their IMEI. GerdaOS is a distribution that enables to do that for instance. We'd also like to enable it on phones supported by Replicant to be able to reconstruct the modem data partition but we're not there yet. The issue with free software on modems is the same than with many other hardware related projects: we lack documentation and people to work on that. Things that make the modems power efficient (like the DSPs) are usually well guarded. In addition, regulations don't make that easy for hardware manufacturers to get involved as device manufacturers need to ship devices with certified modems and the firmware is part of the certification[2], and each new modified firmware would need to be re-certified to be shipped. So I fear that the cost of certification and re-certification is probably high here. [1]https://osmocom.org/projects/baseband/wiki [2]https://lists.osmocom.org/pipermail/baseband-devel/2011-December/002707.html Denis.
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