For Rent: My wireless network

[Pete Zicato]

Obviously Helen Rubenstein doesn't have the entrepreneur spirit. Otherwise she'd pay for high speed service and charge neighbors to use her wireless. If she did it right, she'd still get internet for free.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The installer got pissy when I told him to turn off the wireless option on my system. When he was finished the installation, he got in his truck and rode around to find an unsecured connection, so he could "phone home" to get my service turned on. I figure he got pissy because he was planning on using my system in the future.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by Pete Zicato

Obviously Helen Rubenstein doesn't have the entrepreneur spirit.
Otherwise she'd pay for high speed service and charge neighbors to use her wireless.
If she did it right, she'd still get internet for free.

Your're right. My first reaction of the article was negative because I felt she was "stealing"
something from her neighbors. I guess, in fact, she is. It's infintestimal,
but her neighbors would probably still be upset if they knew about it.

But as I read on, I wondered about the people on porches and roof tops with binoculars
watching a sporting even or a drive-in movie.
Are they stealing something ?

The article also reminded me of a previous post about a Kenyan woman
who bought solar panel to charge her cell phone.
She found she could help out their neighbors for a small fee.

I suppose it can be either ethics or entrepreneurism, or both

[Bullitt]

There's also legal liability issues to consider. If someone is using your network for illegal purposes, guess who is held accountable. I would speak at length with a lawyer before attempting this sort of thing, and having them draft up a legally binding agreement with the third party about internet usage. Could all be moot anyway, because ISP's are known to be total dicks and probably won't care if you whine "it wasn't me, honest!"