The RF in RFID, 2nd Edition

Appendix 1

Radio Regulations

A1.1 Couldn’t Wait for Global Warming

In April of 1912 the great passenger linear Titanic glanced off an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Great Britain to the United States. The Titanic was equipped with the most advanced wireless communications available in its day, but so were many of the ships that plied the north Atlantic in those days. While cold winter weather, arrogance, optimistic planning, and a lost pair of binoculars were the proximate causes of the disaster, the lack of regulations regarding radio usage and interference avoidance made a contribution to its severity.

This much-publicized tragedy catalyzed the end of the anarchy in the use of wireless at sea and the beginning of regulation of broadcasting ...