Not just NO!but H E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS NO!

"Well-meaning proposals sometimes have a way of raising troubling questions. Case in point: A team of wireless researchers in Germany proposed a way to improve the communications abilities of first responders, the brave people who rush into disastrous situations to help save the victims.

But the proposal hinges on something many private citizens and privacy or security advocates will likely find uncomfortable: creating an “emergency switch” that lets government employees disable the security mechanisms in the wireless routers people have set up in their own homes. This would allow first responders to use all the routers within range to enhance the capabilities of the mesh networks that allow them to communicate with each other. In a mesh network, each node or device can route traffic to the other devices on the network through a series of hops. Adding devices (in this case wireless routers) thus improves the network's stability and performance."

This incremental intrusion on the rights and privacy of people is becoming flat out ridiculous and obscene. I am reminded of the wild hog analogy or the pie analogy, where bit by bit you are either trapped, or bit by bit your slice of the pie gets smaller and smaller until you have no pie. I am a HAM radio operator and I know there are much better ways of ensuring communications for emergency responders. Many HAM Radio Clubs, operate Repeaters which allow HAM Operators the ability to communicate hundreds and in some cases thousands of miles.

All it would take would be to allow more repeaters, and allow HAM Clubs to setup secondary frequencies on the repeaters. There are linked repeaters which allow a HAM Operator to transmit on 1 band and have his or her signal repeated cross band to a completely different frequency band, which could be operating at a much higher transmitting power than the standard repeater. Allowing the HAM Clubs to install more repeaters which they do already at their own cost, not the governments, and the ability to cross band repeat on the necessary frequencies would cover the need without interfering with private individuals home routers.

All it would need is a rule changes and a phone patch setup. A standard radio that could transmit DTMF tones could switch the repeater from the HAM Frequencies to the Emergency services frequencies.

If the FCC would allow it, many HAM Clubs would build new repeaters and modify existing repeaters for use in emergencies. It wouldn't cost the Government or local cities and municipalities a dime. Many HAM Radio Operators already volunteer their time and equipment in times of need, such as earthquakes, fires, tornado's and hurricanes. All that is required is a small rule change by the FCC, and there could be thousands of repeaters setup for emergency crossband repeating within weeks if not days.

So as you see, this plan to have an "Emergency Switch" for everyone's wireless router isn't needed.

And if necessary, there are HAM Radio Repeater which ARE tied into the Internet already if that capability is needed.