This topic is being resurrected as there we have received a number of questions regarding this and legal status at Things Manchester and also it was brought up in the Hangout yesterday.
This might be too UK specific so apologies to everyone else.
There is a statute called the Communications Act of 2003 that covers all thing to do with electronic communication and an organisation called OFCOM (Office of Communications) that oversees the regulation of the act.
I have just written to OFCOM to get clarification on a couple of points regarding TTN and its status as:
• The network is distributed in that people can purchase and own their own gateway and connect to the network thus increasing coverage.
• The gateways point to a central server that is maintained by the community and people run services off that.
• Anyone (enduser) can connect a device, anonymously to the network and query that device through a central server - subject to fair use.
• People have to adhere to a code of conduct in order to access the network.
The questions being:
Is the above covered by the Communications Act 2003 in that it is treated as an Electronic Communications Network even though it is owned by everyone who contributes?
Is there a liability for illegal enduser activity and where does this lie - with the individual gateway owners, the people who run the central server or the enduser?
Would the network be compelled to identify/hold a register of endusers in order to operate in the UK?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.