At 6:00 PM -0800 01/13/2006, John Siple wrote:
There are a few considerations here. I've thought about this a bit.
I have a neighbor who is running an unencrypted network. I
sometimes log on to see if network problems are because of my ISP or
because of my hardware. Mostly my connection is handier so I use
mine. I also have an unencrypted network. She could log onto mine if
her ISP gets goofy. I don't think she knows that.
But the legalities of exactly who owns bandwidth are undefined.
No, they're not. The bandwidth is owned by the ISP. You're
permitted to use it based on the limitations set in the AUP/TOS.
AUP = Acceptable Use Policy
TOS = Terms of Service
For instance let's say that I pay an outrageous fee for my
connection, which I do, but I need to go on a little trip and while
visiting relatives I find an unencrypted access point that connects
to my original comcast ISP. Am I stealing bandwidth to use it? I
would be doing the same stuff at home but ...
In the case of Comcast... Sharing your connection beyond your
premises is Theft Of Services. Using a Comcast connection that
someone has left open is Theft Of Services. Being a Comcast customer
in one area does not give you carte blanche to jack in anywhere.
And what is the situation of my own home use? I have 4 Macs and a
printer all clawing their way to my router. Sometimes, like during
Christmas when my girls are home with their own laptops, I have
five. It's all my own family. I still pay rent for all these kids.
Woohoo! Kids that you can return when the lease expires! This is
why I don't mind babysitting -- you get to give them back when they
get cranky! :)
Why shouldn't they be able to use my WAN the way they can use the
heat inside my house?
You mean yer LAN. Even with a wireless hop, it's still local.
They should, do, and are permitted per the Comcast agreements.
Comcast will not provide technical support your LAN, unless you pay
for that support. But you're certainly allowed to fill your home
with your kids (leased or owned) and their equipment.
...I remember the early @Home days, when in many areas the TOS
specifically stated you could not use NAT. To connect multiple
computers, you had to purchase an individual IP for each, for a few
bucks per month. Entre the Bells and xDSL - who permitted NAT. The
pressure made @Home change their policy. Havoc then occured in some
areas because the MSOs had used the 192.168/16 block for some of
their intranet (local routers and such)... it made routing
"interesting" when customers misconfigured their home routers!
And why should the woman next door, who has one, maybe two computers
and no family be paying the same rate I pay? Is she getting ripped
off? I kind of think so.
She has the same service level caps that you do. She can use the
same amount of bandwidth as you. So of course she should pay the
same. Same goes for her phone line, sewer, water, gas, and electric
hookups. +/- metering.
Beware them people what live alone. They're often the heavy gamers
or p2p'ers that eat all the upstream bandwidth on your drop!
I have also gone down the block to a free internet zone sponsored by
the city and connected there. Sometimes I go to the library and they
have open connections. Is it somehow unfair use that my neighbor
can't take her PC downtown and connect with it? She pays the same
taxes I pay.
Why can't she take her PC downtown?
I know someone who borrows her neighbor's wireless connection for
free. He knows about it. She admits it would be better if she got
her own.
Interesting ethos there. If you saw two people steal merchandise
worth, say $45, each month, don't you have an obligation to report
them? And if you keep mum about it, doesn't that make you liable as
part of their criminal conspiracy?
Oh there are just sooo many annoying things you could do to this
person. Change your SSID to a racial slur. Change it to something
that pokes her politics.
hum. hum? hum!!!!! oOOOo
*chuckle**cough**LOL**ROFL**cough**lung**cough**LOL*
- Dan.
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