FCC ISM Rules May Shatter LoRa Mesh Communities

Default settings in Meshtastic (250 kHz) and MeshCore (62.5 kHz) in the US may violate FCC 15.247, which requires at least 500 kHz bandwidth in the 900 MHz band. Meshtastic has released a fix in an alpha version, but switching to 500 kHz breaks compatibility with deployed devices and performs worse in cities due to interference.

• FCC 15.247 requires 500 kHz bandwidth; Meshtastic uses 250 kHz, MeshCore 62.5 kHz
• Meshtastic added FCC-compatible settings in latest alpha
• Bandwidth change breaks links with already deployed devices
• Philly Mesh tests: 500 kHz mode suffers more from urban interference