Blind transmission

A blind transmission, in telecommunications, is a transmission made without obtaining a receipt, or acknowledgment of reception, from the intended receiving station. Blind transmissions may occur or be necessary when security constraints, such as radio silence, are imposed, when technical difficulties with a sender's receiver or receiver's transmitter occur, or when lack of time precludes the delay caused by waiting for receipts.

Examples

• The usual reason for "transmitting blind" would be that the captain of an aircraft knows or suspects that the aircraft's receiver has failed. The captain would still proceed according to the flight plan, and under obligation to let other people know of his whereabouts and decisions.
• The less common reason would be a ground control station not being able to transmit (due to transmitter failure) or not wanting to transmit any acknowledgment (to avoid giving away further information and putting a military mission at risk).

See also

• Transmission time