Man arrested for stealing broadband

tomsolomon

Internet is supplied usually by one of two means. Through phone cables and through cable. There are test being carried out to see if internet can be supplied using wireless in a similar fashion to mobile phones.
At the moment if your isp has equipment installed into the phone exchanges then, the cost to the isp is minimal due to the fact that you already pay them phon line rental. Thats why isp's are offering free internet with their phone line rental.
With the wireless option, masts would be placed so you could access the internet virtually anywhere. You would probably have to log on and be billed per usage, but, once the masts are in place the costs again would be minimal therefore cheap internet for everyone.

A_Nice_Englishman

tomsolomon wrote: »

Internet is supplied usually by one of two means. Through phone cables and through cable. There are test being carried out to see if internet can be supplied using wireless in a similar fashion to mobile phones.
At the moment if your isp has equipment installed into the phone exchanges then, the cost to the isp is minimal due to the fact that you already pay them phon line rental. Thats why isp's are offering free internet with their phone line rental.
With the wireless option, masts would be placed so you could access the internet virtually anywhere. You would probably have to log on and be billed per usage, but, once the masts are in place the costs again would be minimal therefore cheap internet for everyone.

But the ISP had to pay for the equipment in the first place, has to maintain it and will need to replace it at some time in the future. The same goes for the wireless infrastructure. The 'free' internet with phone line rental isn't really free. 'Bundled' would be a better description, I think.

We are only considering the 'final hop' to the end user here too. The telephone exchanges and masts need to be connected to all the other telephone exchanges and masts in the world before they are any use. That costs evfen more money so there can never be a completely free Internet.

I lie the 'per usage' charging model, assuming we are talking about x pence per GB. As I tend to read web pages I am probably subsidising those who download videos at the moment.

tomsolomon

Well yea bundled is the more apropriate wording, but once the equipment is in place the amount to the customer is minimal. We are only now realising this due to recent changes in the BT monopoly scandal.
Now that others have been allowed to install their own equipment into the exchanges, we are now able to appreciate the real cost of not only internet, but the telephones we have been using for years, and how much we have been ripped off.
If we didnt already know:T

A_Nice_Englishman

tomsolomon wrote: »

Now that others have been allowed to install their own equipment into the exchanges, we are now able to appreciate the real cost of not only internet, but the telephones we have been using for years, and how much we have been ripped off.

Well, some people can. The LLU operators only use the profitable exchanges and the rest of us are excluded.

Voyager2002

jw1096 wrote: »

But would you even want the situation to arise where your PC was taken away and examined while you were under suspicion for something you didnt do?

More generally for myself, If I saw some random person sitting on my wall outside my home/in a car outside my home with a laptop id be quite worried in all honesty. Its not just thieving my broadband connection that would run through my mind, and I would be on the phone to the police pronto.

As far as I am concerned, theft is theft, and I would expect the appropriate punishment to dished out on the basis of the level of the crime committed. Its irrelevant whether this is my broadband connection, my moped, my credit card details, or some laundry off the line. I work for the money to pay for them so in essence my time is being stolen. Theft is legally and morally wrong imo, there are no two ways about it really.

Jo x

"Theft is theft": I have problems with that statement.

A special law was passed in 2003. That strongly suggests that this situation was not clear-cut, otherwise existing laws against theft would have been adequate (they didn't have to pass a special law against nicking mobile phones when they were invented, since existing laws against theft were all that was needed). And morally, if I take something that you have paid for but am not depriving you of its use, nor disadvantaging you in any way, it is a funny kind of theft. A bit like standing in the street and watching your TV. I would not feel guilty about doing this, but hope that if we met while I was doing so I would thank you.

And yes, if my computer were to be examined because of criminal activity by someone else, of course it would be a pain. I think this is unlikely to happen, but if I were worried I could easily encrypt my connection. If I choose to leave my connection un-encrypted, then any passing stranger may reasonably assume that I consent to them making reasonable use of it, obviously in ways that do not break the law.

tomsolomon

:A Hurra for Voyager:A
:T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T
Everything I was trying to say
and more!

A_Nice_Englishman

Thanks for that Voyager2002.

I'm trying to think of an analogy. Suppose I forget to lock the doors and someone gets into my car uninvited, rides with me while I drive to the next town and then gets out. He hasn't really disadvantaged me or deprived me of the use of the car but it's still not something I would want to happen. Has he done anything illegal? Is it equivalent to using my internet connection uninvited?

tomsolomon

A Nice Englishman

Imagine the embaressment If you hitcher managed to climb into the boot of your car without your knowlege and got stuck, and you didnt take out your golf clubs for a month!

JAYMARSH2005

Imagine if you got home to find a man "borrowing your wife" Shock Horror !!!!

BWZN93

peter999 wrote: »

Now that would be stupid.

I'm not sure what business someone using a laptop in car outside is of yours.

peter999

Given that the last person I saw sitting on my wall happened to be casing the area and broke into my neighbours car as he didnt realise I was watching at 4am - forgive me for being concerned about my neighbourhood. Besides which, if you are on my property without consent then it is my business

Jo x