Caveats In Reselling DSL Bandwidth To Neighbors?

chrisleetn writes "I'm contemplating getting Slashdot (Speakeasy) 6Mbps broadband or something similar and offering wireless internet access to my neighborhood. Speakeasy even has a plan to allow this. What should I be aware of as far as legal/business/regulatory implications? I know I need to restrict obvious illegal stuff and probably p2p to be safe, but is the local cable modem company going to come after me for competing with them? Has anyone done this who can offer some insight?"

No, but....

[Anonymous Coward]

is the local cable modem company going to come after me for competing with them?

... I will go after you for competing with me. Bitch.

Illegal stuff and "probably" P2P?

[Anonymous Coward]

Dude, get a clue. Peer-to-peer file sharing is illegal!

Sharing ye olde Cable Modem.

[timpintsch]

There was this guy I used to work with who got his cablemodem from the company we both worked for. He decided to share his cablemodem with his whole building, which was CLEARLY against our Aacceptable Use Policy. Every other person in the building has this cable company. This guy was so smart he put flyers all over the building telling everyone how to get free internet through wireless. With over 80 units in his building, one might think he might have shown some restraint.

Well some Cable Company Wire Technicians found his flyer and tracked down his apartment and he was fired. Smooth move exlax!

In this case though, as long as YOUR allowed to do it by the ISP in question, nobody else should bother you.

Important Don't Do

[repetty]

Do NOT sell access to a Slashdot subscriber.

Re:Is it really worth the trouble?

[fcolari]

That's why we invented money. We invented money because you can't compound interest on chickens... plus it's a hassle to put them in my wallet. However, I agree with the barter system. My wife tutors French for a girl in our town, and the girl's mother is a LMP so free massages.

Re:Is it really worth the trouble? hot water Heate

[Anonymous Coward]

"I fixed another friend of a friends' kids PS2, and he (a plumber) came over and helped me replace a hot water heater."

Why do you heat your hot water?

"Illegal stuff"

[danila]

Rule No 1: They won't cause you any trouble if they don't get caught.

Give them a good lesson in anonymity and privacy. Give them all necessary software (VPN, encrypted messengers, PGP plugins for e-mail, software for anonymous remailers, disk encryption software, PGP-phone, FreeNet, PeerGuardian, firewalls, some steganography tools, etc., etc.). Explain that THEY are watching. Suggest caution.

Rule No 2: If there is no evidence, noone can cause you any troubles.

Either give users optional dynamic IPs or install an anonymizer proxy. Don't keep logs or delete them after a few hours automatically.

Rule No 3: Honesty is the best policy.

Be upfront with your customers. Explain that when MPAA comes with a court order, you would need to cooperate. Explain that when FBI comes (even without a court order), you would need to cooperate. State in your terms of use very clearly that you are not monitoring the use of the connection and are in no way responsible for it, it's the sole responsibility of the user.

Hope this helps.