FCC takes a stand on SDRs (Software Defined Radios) in the Amateur Service

The SDR is only a  part of the big picture.  The FCC Memorandum Opinion and Order actually was addressing Cognitive Radio Systems, of which SDRs in Amateur service play a very small part.

According to the ARRL In a recent Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) on cognitive or "smart radio" systems, the FCC has affirmed its favorable policy toward the regulation of amateur software defined radios (SDRs). A cognitive radio system is an SDR that can adapt its operating parameters by interacting with its RF environment. The FCC's April 20 MO&O was in response to petitions seeking clarification of the Commission's March 2005 Report and Order (R&O) in ET Docket 03-108. In that proceeding the agency declined to adopt any new regulations for cognitive Amateur Radio transceivers or for digital-to-analog (D/A) converters. ARRL Chief Technology Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, says the April MO&O indicates that the FCC intends to treat Amateur Radio SDRs the same as any other Amateur Radio equipment.

OK that's the good news.  A policy of non-interference or "hands-off" as it were.  But the trend is clear. Here is another part of the editorial:

The "cognitive radio" proceeding is emblematic of the FCC's ongoing struggle to address thorny regulatory issues to keep pace with cutting-edge technology. In its 2005 R&O, the FCC concluded that neither software programmable amateur transceivers nor high-speed D/A converters "present any significantly greater risk of interference to authorized radio services" than conventional hardware radios.

Now consider where the trend is leading.  It's no secret that spectrum (room) is very much in demand, world-wide, by all services, current and future.  There are many areas where the cellular bands are packed full with no room to expand.  Commercial interests including the Public Service sector are constantly searching for new space or ways to better utilize existing space (APCO Project-25 for example).

Here's where the Cognitive Radio comes in. Read the description from Wikipedia:
 

It was thought of as an ideal goal towards which a software-defined radio platform should evolve: a fully reconfigurable wireless black-box that automatically changes its communication variables in response to network and user demands.

Regulatory bodies in various countries (including the Federal Communications Commission in the United States) found that most of the Radio frequency spectrum was inefficiently utilized. For example, cellular network bands are overloaded in most parts of the world, but amateur radio and paging frequencies are not. Independent studies performed in some countries confirmed that observation and concluded that spectrum utilization depends strongly on time and place. Moreover, fixed spectrum allocation prevents rarely used frequencies (those assigned to specific services) from being used by unlicensed users, even when their transmissions would not interfere at all with the assigned service. This was the reason for allowing unlicensed users to utilize licensed bands whenever it would not cause any interference (by avoiding them whenever legitimate user presence is sensed). This paradigm for wireless communication is known as Cognitive Radio.

Can you see where this is heading?  The Ham radio of the future will work and look like every other radio...just a black box.  The power level, type of modulation, type of detection, mode and frequency will be selected by the box, not the operator.  We have already taken a small step toward that goal with D-Star.  We no longer need to know what frequency anyone is on; that's taken care of by the computer.  All we need is the callsign of the station we want to talk to and the system will select the path.  We might go part of the way via RF or all the way. The computer gateway (read internet) will carry the transmission just a few miles or half-way around the world.

Interesting times we live in.