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But if the argument for its "illegality" is because sending voice traffic through broadband is considered "theft of service," why would you also the HAM community to do it? They have even more room to steal your service, so to speak. I am admittedly a neophyte in all this, but it seems to me far more likely that the FCC doesn't want "some people" talking too many fars. It's evident in the scalable nature of their licensing. FRS and MURS, no license, no fars. GMRS, license no test, some fars. HAM General, license and test, more fars. Ham technician, another test, even more fars. HAM Extra, one last test, most fars. Although to be fair, I think HF gets unlocked at level 2 HAM and that's about as far as you can talks. At least I think. No, I'm not sure it has anything to do with "theft of service." And if it does, I think one can easily make the case in 2025 that GMRS traffic is not taking money out of Verizon's pocket.

Probably more channels, but I'm not a HAM.

From an AI engine: No members of the U.S. Congress from Georgia directly oversee the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the sense of having sole authority or direct control, as the FCC is an independent federal agency overseen broadly by Congress through its committees. However, several Georgia lawmakers participate in committees that exercise oversight over the FCC and its policies, particularly those related to communications and technology. Key Congressional Committees with FCC Oversight The FCC is primarily overseen by: House Committee on Energy and Commerce, specifically its Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. These committees hold hearings, review FCC policies, and influence legislation affecting the agency’s operations, such as broadband deployment, spectrum allocation, and telecommunications regulations. Georgia Members in Relevant Committees Based on available information, here are Georgia members of Congress involved in committees with FCC oversight as of August 2025: House Committee on Energy and Commerce: Representative Rick W. Allen (R-GA-12): Serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, including its Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Led a bipartisan letter in 2021 with other Georgia lawmakers to the FCC, requesting updates on the implementation of the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) Act, indicating active engagement with FCC-related issues like broadband mapping. Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA-01): Also a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, giving him a role in FCC oversight. Signed the 2021 bipartisan letter to the FCC alongside Rep. Allen, focusing on broadband access for rural communities. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA): Serves on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which oversees the FCC. Co-signed the 2021 letter to the FCC, emphasizing the integration of Georgia’s broadband map data into federal mapping efforts. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA): Also a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Engaged with FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks in 2023 to discuss expanding the Affordable Connectivity Program, showing involvement in FCC-related policy. Co-signed the 2021 letter to the FCC with other Georgia lawmakers. Other Georgia Lawmakers with FCC Engagement While not members of the primary oversight committees, other Georgia representatives have engaged with the FCC on specific issues, as evidenced by the 2021 bipartisan letter: Representative Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02) Representative Drew Ferguson (R-GA-03) Representative Austin Scott (R-GA-08) Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10) (Note: Hice is no longer in Congress as of 2025, having left office after the 117th Congress) Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11) These lawmakers signed the letter to the FCC requesting updates on broadband mapping, indicating interest in FCC activities, particularly those impacting rural broadband access in Georgia. Context of FCC Oversight The FCC is an independent agency created by the Communications Act of 1934, with five commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. It regulates communications across radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. Congressional oversight occurs through hearings, budget reviews, and legislative directives. The House Energy and Commerce Committee and Senate Commerce Committee regularly hold FCC oversight hearings, as seen in events like the June 21, 2023, House hearing and the June 24, 2020, Senate hearing. Georgia lawmakers, particularly those on these committees, influence FCC policies through legislation, letters, and public statements, focusing on issues like broadband access, which is critical for their state’s rural and underserved areas. Summary Georgia members of Congress actively involved in FCC oversight through committee roles include: House: Rep. Rick W. Allen (R-GA-12) and Rep. Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA-01) on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Senate: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) on the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Other Georgia lawmakers, like Bishop, Ferguson, Scott, Clyde, and Loudermilk, have shown engagement with FCC issues, particularly broadband, but do not serve on the primary oversight committees. For the most current committee assignments or specific actions, checking the official House and Senate committee websites or recent congressional records would provide further clarity.

Good point!

OK, but then why is it legal to do so with HAM? They are still sending voice traffic over broadband, no? To be clear; I'm not disagreeing. Just looking for clarity.

Vocationally, I, on occasion, am paid to write things. One of my favorite lines to this day was a client talking to his clinically mandated psychologist. The shrink was trying to get him to open up and he, being sardonic and largely capable of bearing his own burdens, had been refusing. Also, he had some pretty dark passengers. When he finally decided to yield and talk about his issues, he led with "OK, fine. Let's put a Lambo in your garage." I thought it was witty.

This weekend I sat down and talked to an engineer who has been working with the FCC to shape rules for GMRS since before it was called GMRS. I got some pretty eye-opening information from him on the whole POTS v Broadband thing. He explained that linking a GMRS system to the POTS lines (no longer exists) and Broadband connections are legal (not a rule violation) for remote control... but not for voice traffic, because all POTS providers and now Broadband providers provide voice service for a fee. So, sending voice over POTS / Broadband is considered theft of services. That explains why remote operation of a PRS station from any location on the same premises where the transmitter is located, is not considered to be remote operation/remote control and why RF (non-network) linking for voice operation is not prohibited. No theft of services is occurring.

Here’s another notification.

Here’s what the pop-ups look like on my iPhone:

The rules don’t actually say that repeaters can’t be linked but the say that GMRS communications can’t be conveyed by any kind of network. The FCC has issued an interpretation that says that means no linking. It has yet to be tested and this is why lawyers have flashy cars.

Yeah, definitely nearly impossible to see. My notifications don’t look like that at all. I’ll try to catch one.

OK, I caught one example. Sometimes there are longer ones, I think those are for reactions or similar things.

I have only a cursory relation with the group. I do listen to them on occasion and I have yet to hear anyone say, on the air, "we are violating the rules." Someone, somewhere in the group has made very sure that they believe that they are not in violation. I don't know the rules well enough to say one way or the other, nor do I care to involve myself. It's just an interesting position in which to find myself. "The internet" seems to think they are one way, they seem to think they are something else, and here I am in the middle seeing a little of both.

IMO, that indicates he knows they are violating the intent of the regs. The argument that the regs haven't been changed to reflect the clarification is as bogus as a $3 bill, and it's been used in dealing with other issues. In this case, and others like base stations using repeaters, the FCC provides explanations that affirm their interpretation of the existing wording in the regs. Since the existing wording is sufficient to them, there is no change required to the regs.

No, Buddy is in his 20s still. He’s Ky’s youngest and his actual name is Buddy Rocketman Michaelson.

I wonder if Buddy is Ky Jr? I remember Ky Jr would come and stay there during the summers. I think he may have been a year or two older than me. I'm 49.

Maybe he has notifications for it and can’t read them because they’re black on dark gray…

The problem I see with that line of thought is this is the forum section for his site therefore he should monitor it.

Nobody said it wasn’t happening and unless you report something I’m not sure Rich is seeing this, but whether you believe it or not we are trying to help solve your issue. So which notifications are you seeing that are black on dark gray. If you really don’t want anyone else to comment you should pm Rich.

Re: above replies, the fact y'all don't understand doesn't mean it ain't happening. This topic is intended for the man in charge, and he should know. It would be hard to capture a screenshot because I never know when one will appear and they clear after a few seconds.

That’s why I was wondering about what platform he was on. Windows, and I presume Linux, Mac, etc, has a lot of display settings that can be customized to ensure that low contrast between the background and the text isn’t an issue. I doubt that @rdunajewski specifically set notifications to black on gray.

Could be...or maybe HAM guy is secretly a pirate radio guy at heart? I don't know. If you look around, there's a couple of mega threads on a few different forums (none of which are local to the area) with people saying that they are going to report them...and all of those threads are over a year old now.

LOL. The HAM guy who said "Good for you" will probably be the one who turns them in.

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