Internet at Competitions

[DELurker]

I'm sure this will only help the topic wander further afield, but ...

Anything that operates in the 2.4GHz or 5GHz range has historically been forbidden due to the interference possibility with the 2.4GHz and 5GHz field communications. This includes WiFi networking (IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1), ZigBee and associated protocols (IEEE 802.15.4), and any other thing (including 2.4GHz wireless telephones) that operates within the 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum. The FCC has only allocated so much space in the ISM bands for available use, and WiFi takes up almost the entire width. Yes, there are several channels available, but they all can overlap and interfere with the other 2.4GHz protocols.

The upshot is that, if any 2.4GHz communications that aren't the field communications are permitted, then it will just be a matter of seconds before someone, whether on purpose or not, will start consuming frequency spectrum capacity meant for the field communication bandwidth. Easiest solution: Ban all 2.4GHz communications.

3G/4G operate outside the ISM bands in the 2.4GHz (barely) and 5GHz frequencies, and, therefore, are not contributors to interference. Thus, it makes no sense to restrict them (plus it would be completely irrational and impossible).

With the advent of flash drives and SD cards, try making your app be able to communicate via them instead of wirelessly.

As for operating outside of the ISM bands, do not do it without an FCC license. You have no idea what you could possibly be interfering with and it's an all-around bad idea.