MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Should browsing on an unsecured wireless network become legal?

sherman · 11-14-2008, 11:19 PM

Here in New Zealand, not many people would intentionally leave their Wireless network unsecured. Those that do leave their networks unsecured are usually those who don't know any better...

The reason is that unlike the lucky buggers in the US (and some other countries) we have very stringent data caps here (either that or we pay-per-meg/gig).

It's not uncommon for a NZ family to have a cap of 10GB/month or less, which counts against downloads AND uploads. High end plans usually have 20GB-40GB/month caps depending on the ISP.

Hence no one in their right mind wants "Rangi" to connect to their unsecured wireless network and use their precious data allowance...

PS: I don't think it is legal to use another persons wireless network here in NZ, although I'm not certain of this.

PPS: This also explains why NZ'ers aren't terribly sympathetic to those poor moaning Comcast users getting their internet capped at 250GB/month (or whatever the cap was)

11-14-2008, 11:19 PM	#19
sherman Guru Posts: 875 Karma: 2676800 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Taranaki - NZ Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Forma	Here in New Zealand, not many people would intentionally leave their Wireless network unsecured. Those that do leave their networks unsecured are usually those who don't know any better... The reason is that unlike the lucky buggers in the US (and some other countries) we have very stringent data caps here (either that or we pay-per-meg/gig). It's not uncommon for a NZ family to have a cap of 10GB/month or less, which counts against downloads AND uploads. High end plans usually have 20GB-40GB/month caps depending on the ISP. Hence no one in their right mind wants "Rangi" to connect to their unsecured wireless network and use their precious data allowance... PS: I don't think it is legal to use another persons wireless network here in NZ, although I'm not certain of this. PPS: This also explains why NZ'ers aren't terribly sympathetic to those poor moaning Comcast users getting their internet capped at 250GB/month (or whatever the cap was) Last edited by sherman; 11-14-2008 at 11:21 PM.