Comcast thinks it ok to install public wifi in your house

Thu Dec 11 21:57:54 UTC 2014

I would have to expect they're doing a virtual SSID which means 0
additional wattage.  Worst case scenario it adds another radio of less than
5 watts of which is absolutely negligible if you're able to afford cable
Internet service.

Josh Luthman
Office: 937-552-2340
Direct: 937-552-2343
1100 Wayne St
Suite 1337
Troy, OH 45373

On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 4:54 PM, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> wrote:

> While I generally support the lawsuit, I have to question "a vast burden
> on their electric bill".
>
> Does an 802.11 transmitter that was already being used to support their
> own WiFi network that they are paying for really consume vastly more
> electricity to support a second SSID? In my experience, that claim is hard
> to fathom.
>
> Owen
>
> > On Dec 10, 2014, at 18:35 , Jeroen van Aart <jeroen at mompl.net> 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.
> >
> > "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."
> >
> > 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."
> >
> > --
> > Earthquake Magnitude: 4.8
> > Date: 2014-12-10  22:10:36.800 UTC
> > Date Local: 2014-12-10 13:10:36 PST
> > Location: 120km W of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
> > Latitude: -6.265; Longitude: 154.4004
> > Depth: 35 km | e-quake.org
>
>