[TriLUG] Time To Ditch RoadRunner?

[burnett at pobox.com]

On 21 Sep 2003, Mark Turner wrote:

> Is it time to ditch RoadRunner for a more wireless-friendly ISP? Does
> anyone know Earthlink's position on wireless use?
> 
> If I can't find a cable broadband provider which is wireless-friendly, I
> might go with Celito, who (along with Speakeasy) are among the few local
> ISP choices that "get it."
> 
> TWC is really p***ing me off with their apparent need to control the
> Internet.

Mark, I'm a little confused after reading the article and your response 
to it. "Time Warner Cable maintains that iNYC Wireless illegally 
intercepted Road Runner through the apartment of an on-site 
superintendent at London Terrace. The ISP then redistributed and resold 
the pirated signal to the buildings' residents via Wi-Fi transmitters 
placed throughout the complex...." 

and the article also states "Time Warner Cable, a unit of AOL Time Warner, 
offers its own wireless Road Runner service in New York."

I'm reading this article as iNYC Wireless pirated the connection, then 
resold the stolen connectivity in direct competition with Time Warner's 
own wireless service.

That iNYC Wireless used wireless access points to resell connectivity 
seems irrelevant next to the issue they stole the connectivity from TW in 
the first place and then resold it. If iNYC had purchased their Internet 
connectivity through another ISP, or had purchased their Internet 
connectivity from TW with a contract that permitted resale, TW wouldn't 
have the same basis of complaint. I'm not seeing that TW isn't 
wireless-friendly, just that they don't like people reselling their 
connection without paying for the right to resell. 

If I ran a bookstore and someone a) stole a box of books from me and b) 
set up in the parking lot across the street selling my books they stole 
from me, I'd probably call the police or a lawyer myself. If someone 
opened a competing bookstore next door and bought the same books from a 
wholesaler, I'd probably be unhappy but not have the same basis for 
official complaint or legal recourse.

Now then, if the article had read (note for anyone reading this: I am 
making up this next part) TW was suing iNYC Wireless whose connectivity 
was purchased through Speakeasy for daring to compete in the same 
marketplace as TW, I'd understand aggravation or outrage. 

(obDisclaimer: I don't work or speak for for anyone involved in this 
article) 

best,
Steve Burnett
badger at trilug

> > Mark
> --
> 
> Time Warner Cable filed a lawsuit charging a New York apartment complex
> and its wireless Internet provider with illegally reselling its
> high-speed Road Runner service over a wireless network. 
> 
> The suit, filed Monday in the Southern district of New York, claims that
> Internet service provider iNYC Wireless and London Terrace Towers, a
> residential apartment complex, have been illegally pirating and
> marketing Road Runner through a Wi-Fi network. 
> --
> http://news.com.com/2100-7351_3-5077922.html