Comment 14 for bug 29566

Przemysław Kulczycki wrote: "This bug is very annoying because it's an absurd to require a network connection to install a network driver. If you don't have another network interface then you're stuck and have to use another computer or another operating system."

I installed Ubuntu for my father-in-law and had to initially use a wired connection for the very same reason. In the past I've done demos for people on their noteboooks where I've been bitten by this bug. Annoying, yes; absurd, no. The main problem as I understand it is that the diver with the firmware is not fully redistributable, otherwise it could be in restricted and thus put on the CD. I also had a similar firmware issue with an Agfa-branded scanner a while back (driver with firmware files was free to d/l from the Agfa site, but NOT to redistribute).

This is not really Ubuntu's fault; Ubuntu wants to be free of cost *and* fully redistributable. Unfortunately that means you will run into cases like this.

What can really be done is to either get Broadcom to allow full redistribution of the firmware or to get someone to implement a libre equivalent.

Oh and here's a link to the discussion on ubuntu-devel-discuss:
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-discuss/2008-July/004678.html