The Ticking WiFi Bomb

Filed in archive Commentary , Industry , Society & Public Policy , Technology on May 4, 2007

Open wireless Internet like WiFi represents a huge threat to RIAA. It's virtually impossible to track and identify WiFi users. Wireless users typically share the same IP address. The Internet service subscriber doesn't know who is Sharing or using the Internet connection as the users are mobile. Worst of all, recent Federal court case law has set a precedent that actual copyright infringers and not Internet subscribers are responsible for unauthorized downloading.

The only reason that RIAA can rest easy is that large or pervasive open WiFi networks have not had widespread adoption due to security and provisioning concerns. So far.

That will change with the propagation of Wimax technology that significantly increases wireless bandwidth and distance to the point that Internet connection sharing won't be drain on the wireless subscriber's own share of the bandwidth.

Another factor is commercial services that encourage sharing. A Spanish venture Fon does exactly that in conjunction with Time Warner Cable. Fon provides a router so that customers can split WiFi bandwidth for personal and public use. Fon foresees creating a rich WiFi fabric where customers allow others to share their own connection in exchange for using other people's connections anywhere in the world when they're away from home. Fon charges non-customers a modest fee of $2-3 per day to use the network.