Open Research Institute (ORI), a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific research for the public good, received a favorable final determination letter from the DoD regarding ORI’s worldwide microwave satellite network, which is designed to help ham radio operators support disaster communications.
In the United States, export of technology is regulated by two agencies: the Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce. The regulations for each of these agencies limit certain kinds of exports of technology, including software.
ORI has received a determination letter from the Department of Defense, stating that ORI’s international collaboration on the satellite network is not within the scope of DOD’s regulations, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). ORI now faces the much easier hurdle of clearance under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the parallel regulations of the Department of Commerce. The EAR contains certain exceptions that allow export of most open source software.
ORI’s description of the the project says that ORI’s phase 4 ground satellite network project will provide “an open source implementation of DVB-S2 and DVB-S2X for both satellite and terrestrial amateur radio use.”
