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Linksys WRT1900C

We've previously covered how some router companies are planning to kill their support for open up-source firmware updates after June 2. But one company, Linksys, has explicitly stepped forward to guarantee some its devices volition remain open source compatible. The June two date is from the FCC, which has mandated that router manufacturers foreclose third-party firmware loading, in order to ensure that devices cannot exist configured to operate in bands that interfere with Doppler weather radar stations.

According to the FCC's regulations and statements, open up source firmware isn't banned — it just has to be prevented from adjusting frequencies into ranges that conflict with other hardware. The problem is, this is considerably more difficult than just banning open source firmware birthday, which is why some companies have gone the lockdown route. Linksys won't be retaining firmware compatibility on all its products, merely the existing WRT line will remain compatible. Starting on June 2, new routers volition store their RF information in a different location from the residue of the data on the router.

The router that started it all

The router that started it all

"They're named WRT… it'southward almost our responsibility to the open source customs," Linksys router product manager Vince La Duca told Ars. WRT is a naming convention that dates back more than a decade to 2005's WRT54G. That router was the first product supported by third-party firmware after Linksys was forced to release the source code for the device under the terms of the General Public License (GPL). This writeup from 2005 examines why third-party firmware became pop for the WRT54G if you experience like taking a walk down memory lane.

That said, we're definitely seeing open up-source firmware support being used as a marketing strategy. Linksys will lock down all devices that aren't specifically marketed as supporting open-source firmware. If sales of WRT devices spike every bit a result, other companies will almost certainly invest in creating support of their own. While this would practically make full the niche for open-source uniform devices, it'll come at the cost of part of what fabricated these devices popular. Until at present, projects like DD-WRT or OpenWRT were ways of getting the performance and features of a much more expensive router broiled into much cheaper products.

It's not clear what other manufacturers will practice. Making WRT continue to work under the FCC's guidelines required a three-way collaboration between Marvell, Linksys, and OpenWRT authors, equally Ars Technica details. Most companies plain weren't prepared to make this kind of transition. It's non clear when they'll answer or how enthusiastic they'll be about making changes to existing products.