Wi-Fi service theft in U.S. growing concern for broadband service providers

Internet service theft is a growing concern in the United States as more people use a popular wireless access technology to share their Internet service with neighbours, friends and even strangers. Not only is the increased use of 802.11b, or Wi-Fi, technology worrying broadband providers like AT&T Corp. and AOL Time Warner, copyright content owners are concerned that these same people are infringing on their content. Currently, hard-wired broadband network connections are guilty of the majority of content theft taking place on the Internet. DSL and cable modems offer consumers fast connections providing them with reasonable download times. But as bandwidth increases in the wireless world and the expansion of Wi-Fi networks proliferate, copyright holders will find themselves battling a larger group, according to U.S. intellectual property (IP), trademark and copyright lawyer Bruce Sunstein. Sunstein, a partner with Boston-based Bromberg & Sunstein, says that fixed wireless networks are not far behind Ethernet in terms of speed, so there will certainly be an increase in this activity over wireless networks in the future. "Wireless will experience similar kinds of issues as its bandwidth increases," he tells Report on Wireless. "As the bandwidth continues to grow, and because there are always two bad apples in every barrel, the result is that all of us have to live with restrictions that are maybe more than we would like." He refers to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), which places strict penalties on both copyright infringers and the ISPs providing the access. For example, the ISP can be sued for copyright infringement if it doesn’t shut down a web site offering up free copyrighted music. In Canada, the government is currently undertaking a process to determine how restrictive it will be towards ISPs and copyright infringers. (For ongoing coverage of this issue, please see Report on Wireless affiliate publication Canadian NEW MEDIA.) To halt the increased theft of Internet access, broadband providers have several choices to thwart bootleggers’ efforts, says Sunstein. The ISP can cut off that particular abuser’s service connection, require users to implement certain technological features eliminating the sharing feature, or simply charge the particular abuser a rate equivalent to the number of computers illegally connected. Sunstein also points out that some enterprising individuals have tried to sidestep the need for an ISP altogether by paying to have a T1 line right to the home. "I think there’s a fledgling business (model) where you might actually find a way of charging money to those Wi-Fi people nearby who are using based on usage," he suggests, adding that there may already be a company doing that. 802.11b chip set shipments rise Wi-Fi appears to be a hot consumer technology trend. An April 2002 market research report from In-Stat/MDR projects that wireless local area network (LAN) technologies, of which 802.11b is a part, will grow substantially over the next four years. According to the report, shipments of chip sets for wireless LANs will increase by more than 75 per cent by 2006. In another In-Stat/MDR report, it projects that there will be more than 30 million wireless LAN chips sets on the market by the end of the same period. (See ViXS Systems Inc. article on page 7 for additional information.) Legitimate enterprises such as Starbucks are also using this wireless access technology to lure people into their establishments (RoW Update, Aug. 26/02). It is being used by numerous organizations to provide ubiquitous access to the Internet in hotels, airports and other public places. Western Canadian-based Fatport Corp. is one of those providers making the service available in several airports in Western Canada. While 802.11b is a significant wireless technology of the future, there are going to be some growing pains, Sunstein explains. "The issues are always that as the bandwidth increases and you use it for more purposes, you need to pay more attention to privacy and security," he says, adding that this will come. Just as the Wild West mentality helped fuel the growth of the Internet, Sunstein believes the same will hold true for both the copyright debate and the theft of Internet service using Wi-Fi equipment. "As the usage grows, it’s inevitable, although there are a lot of skirmishes, at some point that the sheriff has to come to town and bring order (to the environment). Maybe we haven’t seen much in the way of sheriffs yet, but I think they’re on their way," Sunstein states.

Wi-Fi service theft in U.S. growing concern for broadband service providers

News | 09/03/2002 4:00 am EDT

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