FCC blames Bitcoin mining for disrupting T-Mobile LTE service in Brooklyn

The Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday an investigation had found that a Brooklyn bitcoin mining operation interfered with T-Mobile US Inc's broadband network.

T-Mobile first complained to the FCC about interference to its LTE network in Brooklyn, stating radio emissions coming from a local residence were wreaking havoc on its broadband network.

Agents for the Federal Communications Commission used direction-finding devices to locate the offending equipment in a home in zip code 11229, an area that includes Sheepshead Bay. On Thursday they sent a notice to a resident telling him to shut off his Antminer s5 Bitcoin Miner, or risk fines and seizure of the device.

"On November 30, 2017, in response to the complaint agents from the Enforcement Bureau's New York Office confirmed by direction finding techniques that radio emissions in the 700 MHz band were emanating from your residence in Brooklyn, New York," the FCC wrote in a complaint posted to its site. "When the interfering device was turned off the interference ceased. You identified the device as an Antminer S5 Bitcoin Miner. The device was generating spurious emissions on frequencies assigned to T-Mobile’s broadband network and causing harmful interference."

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