We're Still Debating Whether Or Not Free WiFi Is Good For Business?

from the wasn't-this-settled-already? dept

We thought that the whole debate over whether or not free WiFi helped businesses like restaurants had been settled years ago when restaurants like Panera shared some data on how much more business it drove. However, it seems some are still resisting this, so we get yet another series of articles asking whether or not free WiFi is good for business. There are definitely more businesses offering it these days, so that should be something of an answer itself. But it's surprising to see someone in the article include that old line about how restaurants are worried about people clogging up its tables. We've seen reports in the past showing that free WiFi actually tends to bring in people during off-peak times. As for the peak times? While there may be some freeloaders, it's not all that pleasant for them to hang out in a crowded restaurant or cafe either.

Filed Under: business models, free, freeloaders, restaurants, wifi

WiFi Worries Still Going Strong In The UK

from the gotta-freak-out-about-something dept

Not so long ago, the BBC did a scare-mongering show about the supposed "threats" of WiFi radiation on children. Never mind the fact that it was later pointed out that the program used horrendously bad science, that actual scientific tests have shown the fears to be totally overblown (the amount of radiation is minimal, and double blind tests find that people cannot tell when WiFi is on, despite claims to the contrary) and that even the BBC later admitted that the show was poorly done and presented only one side of the story (the fear mongering one) while blatantly making the one reasonable person on the show look bad. It also left out some of the conflicts of interests concerning one of the scientific "experts" on the show (the guy who sold anti-radiation products and has a clear reason to build up fear mongering around WiFi radiation).

But, no matter, anti-WiFi hysteria has been in full bloom since that program aired. Despite all the studies showing little to no impact from WiFi radiation, the UK's Daily Mail is running yet another fear mongering piece about how WiFi in schools is harming children and wants a moratorium on WiFi in schools. Apparently the fact that a year's worth of WiFi radiation is the equivalent of 20 minutes on a mobile phone hasn't been explained to these people.

Filed Under: radiation, uk, wifi, worries

Now A German Court Says Open WiFi Owner Is Responsible For What Others Do On WiFi

from the courts-disagree dept

Remember just over a week ago the good news coming out of Germany concerning an appeals court ruling that noted (properly) that the owner of an open WiFi access point was not liable for actions done by others on that WiFi? Well, apparently there's a bit of a "split" in the German courts. An anonymous reader sends us notice of a news report out of Germany with a lower level court apparently ruling in the exact opposite way (link in German, translations welcome; here's Google's translation). From what the submitter and the translation suggest, the court claims that it's the responsibility of the access point owner to secure the WiFi, and if they do not, they have to take on some liability for what happens on that system. There's no question, apparently, that the owners of the WiFi system did not actually share the file in question. They showed they were not at home at the time of the alleged infringement, and they had no file sharing software on their computer. While the case isn't yet over, the owners of the WiFi access point have to pay court costs, lawyers fees and the amount they were sued for... and they may face criminal prosecution as well.

Filed Under: germany, liability, open wife, wifi

On The Criminality Of WiFi Piggybacking...

from the is-it-really-a-crime? dept

It's been many, many years since we first asked the question of whether or not piggybacking on an open WiFi network was a crime. Since then, we've seen plenty of people arrested, and wide ranging discussions on the ethics of WiFi piggybacking -- with various ethicists noting that simply using an open WiFi network doesn't seem unethical, assuming you don't significantly slow down the connection by uploading or downloading large files. However, we still see people falsely referring to it as "theft".

The latest comes in a short column for Time Magazine, where the author admits that he was a WiFi "thief" for many years in his old apartment. In the article, he claims that it is against the law, noting one of the stories of someone being arrested, while quoting Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47 of the United States Code, which deals with anybody who "intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access." Well, that sounds good, but there's a big problem with it. If the owner of the WiFi access point left it open, then they have, by default, authorized access to that device. So it can't possibly be a violation of that law.

Of course, there will be those who say that the owners didn't intend for the network to be open -- but that's really besides the point here. The only information a user has is does the network say: "you're welcome here" or not. If it's open, it sends out an invite that specifically says: this network is open, come use it. That's authorization, and using such a network is not "theft" in any sense.

Filed Under: authorization, ethics, piggybacking, theft, wifi

Santa Fe Ignores WiFi Allergists; Recognizes Setting Up WiFi Isn't A Violation Of The ADA

from the bring-on-the-lawsuits dept

Last month, we noted that a bunch of folks in Santa Fe, New Mexico were claiming not only were they allergic to WiFi, but the city's plan to install WiFi hotspots would be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Considering that multiple double-blind studies have shown there's no such thing as a WiFi allergy, we figured that those complaining of it should at least be forced to prove that such a thing exists. Indeed, it now appears that Santa Fe has decided to ignore the so-called WiFi allergists and move forward with installing WiFi. One of the folks protesting claims in response: "My first reaction is, it's a disaster. My second reaction is, they're inviting a lawsuit." That would be a fun lawsuit to follow, as I would imagine they'd have to show some sort of proof that a WiFi allergy exists.

Filed Under: ada, allergic, santa fe, wifi

T-Mobile Sues Starbucks For Over Eager Switch To Free WiFi

from the that-wasn't-what-we-bargained-for... dept

Back in February, Starbucks surprised an awful lot of people by signing up to use AT&T's WiFi offering, ending the exclusive deal it had for many, many years with T-Mobile (and Mobilestar before T-Mobile purchased that company). Part of the AT&T deal was that it would offer some amount of free WiFi -- something T-Mobile/Starbucks never did. There was some early confusion about the deal concerning whether T-Mobile would continue offering service and how the two services would overlap. It turns out that it wasn't just confusing to us reading about it -- it was confusing to T-Mobile as well.

T-Mobile has now sued Starbucks over the transition, saying that the company has gone well beyond what the two companies had agreed to. The original plan was that T-Mobile would gradually transition the network to AT&T, and the companies would work together to make sure things worked well for customers of each company. However, just recently, Starbucks pushed forward with the plan to offer some number of "free" WiFi hours to AT&T customers -- much to the annoyance of T-Mobile, who says most of the WiFi equipment in use is still T-Mobile's, and the company isn't getting paid at all for the free hours (an interesting question could be whether or not AT&T is getting paid for that usage).

Basically, the infrastructure transition has barely begun, and Starbucks is already acting as though it's complete, shifting over to the business model provided by AT&T, without having that work within the parameters of T-Mobile's model. While the legal result will almost certainly come down to contractual terms, the real issue may be that this suggests the promised "smooth transition" from T-Mobile to AT&T may not be very smooth at all. T-Mobile is going to have less and less incentive to make sure that the network really works all that well, especially if it feels that it's being cheated out of money for the use of its network.

Filed Under: contracts, wifi
Companies: at&t, starbucks, t-mobile

Yet Another Company Thinks It Can Stretch WiFi To Compete With WiMAX

from the just-don't dept

For years and years and years we've been hearing about companies that claim to have taken WiFi and been able to turn it into a wide-area technology. Yet, every time, the reality is a lot less appealing. The technology rarely works, except under specific ideal conditions. So forgive us for being skeptical of yet another company claiming that its special take on WiFi can take on WiMAX. It's even come up with the name MaxFi that's almost certain to have the WiMAX folks checking with their trademark lawyers. While it's nice to see some folks trying to do more with the technology, given the long trail littered with failed plans for wide-area WiFi, let's consider this one to be yet another story that makes a nice headline and little else.

Filed Under: extended range, wifi, wimax

If You're Going To Claim That WiFi Violates The ADA, Shouldn't You Need To Prove It Actually Hurts People?

from the just-saying... dept

Hot on the heels of yet another silly bogus WiFi health scare, Broadband Reports points us to a story of some folks in Santa Fe, New Mexico who aren't just worried about the health effects of WiFi, but are insisting that putting WiFi in public places is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Having once taken an entire college class on the ADA (admittedly many years ago), I'm having trouble recalling which section would apply. Given that double-blind studies and various tests have shown no evidence of WiFi having an impact on people, you would think that those worried about it would have the burden of proof in demonstrating a real health problem. And, given those double-blind studies, it should need to go beyond random people insisting that WiFi makes them feel ill.

Filed Under: ada, allergic, wifi

Russia Wants Everyone Setting Up A WiFi Network To Register With The Government

from the hello-bureaucracy! dept

When WiFi was first becoming popular a few years back, there were occasional stories about countries that hadn't opened up the spectrum necessary for WiFi and how problematic that was for getting WiFi adopted. However, it looks like some bureaucrats in Russia may be taking the whole concept to a new level. Apparently, Russia's equivalent of the FCC, the Russian Mass Media, Communications and Cultural Protection Service (or Rossvyazokhrankultura) have announced that any device that uses WiFi indoors anywhere needs to be registered with the government. Even worse, the registration is per user with a non-transferable license. So every user of every WiFi device will need a separate registration. As Glenn Fleishman notes in the link above: "Setting up a home Wi-Fi network or a hotspot would require what sounds like vast amounts of paperwork, akin to putting [up] a cell tower." I'm sure that will increase adoption. From the sound of it, though, some are questioning whether the group even has the authority to make such a mandate. In the meantime, if you're in Russia and using WiFi, apparently you may want to get ready to sign some paperwork.

Filed Under: bureaucracy, register, regulations, russia, wifi

WiFi Fear Kills Free Local WiFi Plan

from the this-again? dept

Every so often we hear stories about very concerned adults freaking out over the supposed "harm" that WiFi does. The latest, as pointed out by Broadband Reports is that a bunch of folks up in Sebastopol (a ways north of San Francisco) have convinced the town to cancel plans for an ISP to offer free WiFi in the downtown area. This wasn't "muni-WiFi." This was just an ISP that asked for, and was granted, permission to put up some free WiFi access points in the downtown area. There are just a few problems with this, with the first one being the simple fact that there's no evidence that WiFi does any harm whatsoever or is even noticeable by those who claim "electrical sensitivity." Double-blind tests have showed that those who claimed they could sense the electricity cannot. The radiation from a year's worth of WiFi is equal to 20 minutes on a mobile phone, and even the health implications of mobile phone radiation is very much in dispute. However, the real killer point is that you can bet that there's already probably plenty of WiFi "radiation" in the same downtown area from any local store that probably set up its own WiFi network.

Filed Under: electrical sensititivity, sebastopol, wifi