Comcast thinks it ok to install public wifi in your house

Thu Dec 11 13:53:58 UTC 2014

http://bgr.com/2014/05/12/cablevision-optimum-modem-wifi-hotspots/

  I thought cablevision has been doing this for years.

  I had a higher level tech at mi casa within the last two years and he suggested their goal was to get enough coverage to start offering CV voip cell phones.  "pay a little less, for not guaranteed coverage'

   Ryan Pavely
    Net Access
    http://www.nac.net/

On 12/10/2014 9:35 PM, Jeroen van Aart wrote:
> Why am I not surprised?
>
> Whose fault would it be if your comcast installed public wifi would be abused to download illegal material or launch a botnet, to name some random fun one could have on your behalf. :-/
>
> (apologies if this was posted already, couldn't find an email about it on the list)
>
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/10/disgruntled_customers_lob_sueball_at_comcast_over_public_wifi/
>
> "A mother and daughter are suing Comcast claiming the cable giant's router in their home was offering public Wi-Fi without their permission.
>
> Comcast-supplied routers broadcast an encrypted, private wireless network for people at home, plus a non-encrypted network called XfinityWiFi that can be used by nearby subscribers. So if you're passing by a fellow user's home, you can lock onto their public Wi-Fi, log in using your Comcast username and password, and use that home's bandwidth.
>
> However, Toyer Grear, 39, and daughter Joycelyn Harris – who live together in Alameda County, California – say they never gave Comcast permission to run a public network from their home cable connection.
>
> In a lawsuit [PDF] filed in the northern district of the golden state, the pair accuse the ISP of breaking the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and two other laws.
>
> Grear – a paralegal – and her daughter claim the Xfinity hotspot is an unauthorized intrusion into their private home, places a "vast" burden on electricity bills, opens them up to attacks by hackers, and "degrades" their bandwidth.
>
> "Comcast does not, however, obtain the customer's authorization prior to engaging in this use of the customer's equipment and internet service for public, non-household use," the suit claims.
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> "Indeed, without obtaining its customers' authorization for this additional use of their equipment and resources, over which the customer has no control, Comcast has externalized the costs of its national Wi-Fi network onto its customers."
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> The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages for themselves and on behalf of all Comcast customers nation-wide in their class-action case – the service was rolled out to 20 million customers this year."
>