IP: COMMUNAL BROADBRAND/Neighbors sharing high-speed Internet access via wireless networks is popular and controversial

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2001 11:08:39 -0800
> From: Paul Saffo <psaffo () iftf org>
> To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
> Dave-
>
> Interesting piece on how us neighborly San Francisquenos are driving the
> telecom establishment nuts.  AT&T is just jealous, 'cause at the rate things
> are going, some neighborhood hackers may end up having more sub-subscribers
> than AT&T has accounts!
> -p
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/12/19/BU44717.DTL
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Wednesday, December 19, 2001 (SF Chronicle)
> COMMUNAL BROADBRAND/Neighbors sharing high-speed Internet access via
> wireless networks is popular and controversial
> Matthew Yi, Chronicle Staff Writer
>
>
>    Sean Berry shares his broadband Internet connection with three neighbors
> -
> - including one across the street -- but doesn't have any wires running
> out of his windows or doors.
>    And in return, his neighbors sometimes pitch in to help pay the monthly
> $80 DSL service fee.
>    "There's no formal money that changes hands. I'm not looking to make any
> money on it, but they do chip in every once in a while," said Berry, a
> 27-year- old Unix systems engineer who lives in a one-bedroom apartment in
> Menlo Park. "It's about the same rate as people chipping in for pizza."
>    With the cost of rigging local-area, high-speed wireless networks
> plunging
> during the past couple of years, some tech-savvy Bay Area neighbors are
> finding economies in sharing broadband Internet service.
>    The movement is rubbing at least one broadband service provider the wrong
> way.
>    "We view it the same way as cable theft . . . and that's against a
> variety
> of state and federal laws," said Andrew Johnson, spokesman for AT&T
> Broadband, which provides cable modem service to 1.4 million customers
> across the nation.
>    The cable company even conducts flyovers in selected areas twice a year
> looking for any unauthorized "leakages" of cable TV and broadband signals,
> he said. When found, AT&T said it simply disconnects the customer.
>    While there may be some who splice and split broadband connections
> illegally, there are plenty of ways to share bandwidth legally, users say.
>    And many are finding online groups such as the Bay Area Wireless User
> Group to swap ideas on how to do it.
>    The user group, which began a year ago, now has about 1,200 people in its
> digital ranks. The list of techies who publicize their own wireless
> networks on the group's Web site for others to use for free has grown from
> just a few to more than 20 in a year.
>    "And that's just the tip of the iceberg," said Tim Pozar, co-founder of
> the user group. He shares his wireless network and DSL connection with his
> next- door neighbor and a friend two blocks away, using a directional
> antenna atop his three-story Sunset District home in San Francisco.
>    The technology that enables this sharing is 802.11, also known as Wi-Fi,
> which can be found in such consumer products as Apple's AirPort, Lucent's
> Orinoco and Intel's AnyPoint II Wireless Home Networking Kit.
>    With a range of little more than 100 feet, the gear is designed to help
> users wirelessly connect their broadband-linked desktop computer to
> laptops, PDAs or other peripherals such as printers and scanners.
>    But if you attach an external antenna, the range can easily go beyond
> just
> a couple of hundred feet.
>    And more importantly, the cost of setting up such networks has dropped
> substantially, from more than $2,000 two years ago to about $300 to $400
> or even lower, depending on the latest closeout sales.
>    The network typically has one access point device tethered to a desktop
> computer and uses radio signals to communicate with other computers or
> devices.
>    That's what Berry has done. Using an external antenna to increase the
> range,
>    his next-door neighbors, friends who live a floor below and other friends
> across the street can all tap into his network and the Internet.
>    "It's wonderful stuff," Berry said. "I work in the tech industry, so it's
> fun to play with this stuff at home."
>    Others have taken ideas off the Internet, such as using a Pringles potato
> chip can to build a directional antenna with a range that extends for
> miles.
>    "Hey, it cost me $6 (for parts) and it works," said Sameer Verma,
> assistant processor of information systems at San Francisco State
> University.
>    Raines Cohen and 19 other neighbors in their downtown Oakland condo
> building each pay $4 for their DSL connection by sharing a single $80 DSL
> line using a combination of traditional Ethernet connections -- which the
> building developer installed before the residents moved in -- plus a
> wireless network.
>    "It is a backdoor way of saving money," said Cohen, a 35-year-old
> software
> consultant. "All our neighbors (which include nurses, teachers, retirees
> and architects) now have computers at home and several have laptops using
> the wireless connection."
>    While cable modem carriers such as AT&T may have stringent rules about
> sharing bandwidth outside the customer's home, some DSL providers are lax
> about the issue.
>    "We don't think it's good policy to open up your line to people you're
> not
> responsible for, but it's not an expressly forbidden policy," said Hunter
> Middleton, Covad's group manager of consumer product marketing.
>    He said customers need to know there are potential liabilities, such as
> unauthorized users downloading illegal material like child pornography,
> and that sharing bandwidth with others may slow the connection speed.
>    "It seems like a lot of effort for a service that's fairly low priced,"
> Middleton said, noting that DSL services can be had for as little as $50
> per month.
>    Pacific Bell also doesn't specifically forbid the practice, but does
> discourage customers from doing it, said Shawn Dainas, spokesman for SBC
> Communications, the utility's parent company.
>    "It's not in the policy, but that's not the intended use," he said.
>    Dave Solomon, systems administrator at an East Bay Internet service
> provider, Idiom.com, said his company doesn't mind customers sharing
> connections.
>    "The angle most smaller ISPs will take is that this will make our
> customers happier, and happy customers are what we're looking for," he
> said.
>    But security is something users need to be aware of because the current
> encryption standard on Wi-Fi networks -- known as Wired Equivalent
> Privacy, or WEP -- has been broken, said Tony Bautts, a security design
> consultant who currently works for Wells Fargo Bank.
>    The bottom line is that hacking into a wireless network is "really,
> really
> easy," he said.
>    An 802.11 industry group plans to announce a fix to the WEP security
> problems in existing units next month, while continuing to work for a more
> complete solution in future products.
>    For now, though, not only can hackers tap into the wireless network
> bandwidth, they can also look through files in your hard drive -- a
> dangerous proposition, especially if the user keeps such information as
> bank account and credit card numbers on the computer. There are ways to
> keep people out of the computer files -- such as instructing your OS to
> not share files -- but these are precautionary steps wireless network
> users must actively pursue, Bautts said.
>    Despite these possible pitfalls, the benefits do outweigh the downsides,
> especially if proper precautions are taken, users say.
>    "You don't trip over Ethernet cords, I take my laptop to the kitchen to
> look up recipes, take it outside when the weather's nice . . . and I have
> social contact with others using the network," Berry said.
>    E-mail Matthew Yi at myi () sfchronicle com.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Copyright 2001 SF Chronicle
>
>
> ------ End of Forwarded Message

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