Piggybacking on Internet access is the practice of establishing a
wireless Internet connection by using another subscriber's wireless
Internet access
Internet access is a facility or service that provides connectivity for a computer, a computer network, or other network device to the Internet, and for individuals or organizations to access or use applications such as email and the World Wide ...
service without the subscriber's explicit permission or knowledge. It is a legally and ethically controversial practice, with laws that vary by jurisdiction around the world. While completely outlawed or regulated in some places, it is permitted in others.
A customer of a business providing
hotspot service, such as a
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
or
café
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...
, is generally not considered to be piggybacking, though non-customers or those outside the premises who are simply in reach may be. Many such locations provide wireless Internet access as a free or paid-for courtesy to their patrons or simply to draw people to the area. Others near the premises may be able to gain access.
Piggybacking is distinct from
wardriving, which involves only the logging or mapping of the existence of access points.
Background
Piggybacking has become a widespread practice in the 21st century due to the advent of wireless Internet connections and
wireless access point
In Computer networking device, computer networking, a wireless access point (WAP) (also just access point (AP)) is a networking hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network or wireless network. As a standalone ...
s. Computer users who either do not have their own connections or who are outside the range of their own might find someone else's by
wardriving or
luck
Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at a ...
and use that one.
However, those residing near a
hotspot or another residence with the service have been found to have the ability to piggyback off such connections without patronizing these businesses, which has led to more controversy. While some may be in reach from their own home or nearby, others may be able to do so from the parking lot of such an establishment, from another business that generally tolerates the user's presence, or from the public domain. Others, especially those living in
apartment
An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...
s or
town houses, may find themselves able to use a neighbour's connection.
Wi-Fi hotspots, unsecured and secured, have been recorded to some degree with GPS-coordinates. Some sites host searchable databases or maps of the locations of user-submitted access points. The activity of finding and mapping locations has also been crowdsourced by many smartphone apps.
Long range antennas can be hooked up to laptop computers with an external antenna jack, which allows a user to pick up a signal from as far as several kilometers away. Since unsecured wireless signals can be found readily in most urban areas, laptop owners may find free or open connections almost anywhere. While 2.4 and 5 GHz antennas are commercially available and easily purchased from many online vendors, they are also relatively easy to make. Laptops and tablets that lack external antenna jacks can rely on external Wi-Fi network cards, many requiring only USB, which the laptop can itself easily provide from its own battery.
Reasons
There are many reasons why Internet users desire to piggyback on other's networks.
For some, the cost of Internet service is a factor. Many computer owners who cannot afford a monthly subscription to an Internet service, who only use it occasionally, or who otherwise wish to save money and avoid paying, will routinely piggyback from a neighbour or a nearby business, or visit a location providing this service without being a paying customer. If the business is large and frequented by many people, this may go largely unnoticed.
Yet other piggybackers are regular subscribers to their own service, but are away from home when they wish to gain Internet access and do not have their own connection available at all or at an agreeable cost.
Often, a user will access a network completely by accident, as the network access points and computer's wireless cards and software are designed to connect easily by default. This is common when away from home or when the user's own network is not behaving correctly. Such users are often unaware that they are piggybacking, and the subscriber has not noticed. Regardless, piggybacking is difficult to detect unless the user can be viewed by others using a computer under suspicious circumstances.
Less often, it is used as a means of hiding
illegal activities, such as downloading
child pornography
Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...
or engaging in
identity theft
Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. ...
. This is one main reason for controversy.
Network owners leave their networks unsecured for a variety of reasons. They may desire to share their Internet access with their neighbours or the general public or may be intimidated by the knowledge and effort required to secure their network while making it available to their own devices. Some wireless networking devices may not support the latest security mechanisms, and users must therefore leave their network unsecured. For example, the
Nintendo DS
The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
and
Nintendo DS Lite can only access wireless routers using the discredited
WEP standard, however, the
Nintendo DSi
The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console released by Nintendo. The console launched in Japan on November 1, 2008, and worldwide beginning in April 2009. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival was ...
and
Nintendo 3DS
The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
both support
WPA encryption. Given the rarity of such cases where hosts have been held
liable
In law, liable means "responsible or answerable in law; legally obligated". Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law and can arise from various areas of law, such as contracts, torts, taxes, or fines given by government agencie ...
for the activities of piggybackers, they may be unaware or unconcerned about the risks they incur by not securing their network, or of a need for an option to protect their network.
Some jurisdictions have laws requiring residential subscribers to secure their networks (e.g., in France "négligence caractérisée" in
HADOPI). Even where not required by law, landlords might request that tenants secure their networks as a condition of their lease.
Legality
Views
Views on the ethics of piggybacking vary widely. Many support the practice by stating that it is harmless and benefits the piggybacker at no expense to others, but others criticize it with terms like "leeching," "mooching," or "freeloading." Different analogies are made in public discussions to relate the practice to more familiar situations. Advocates compare the practice to the following:
* sitting behind other passengers on a
train
A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
and reading their
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
over their shoulder.
* enjoying the music a neighbour is playing in one's backyard.
* using a
drinking fountain.
* sitting in a chair put in a public place.
* reading from the light of a porch light or streetlamp.
* accepting an invitation to a party since unprotected wireless routers can be interpreted as being open to use.
* borrowing a cup of sugar.
Opponents to piggybacking compare the practice to the following:
* entering a home just because the door is unlocked.
* hanging on the outside of a bus to obtain a free ride.
* connecting one's own wire to a neighbour's house to obtain free
cable TV
Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...
service when the neighbour is a subscriber.
The piggybacker uses the connection paid for by another without sharing the cost. That is especially common in an
apartment building
An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement ( Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) ...
in which many residents live within the normal range of a single wireless connection. Some residents can gain free Internet access while others pay. Many ISPs charge monthly rates, however, and so there is no difference in cost to the network owner.
Excessive piggybacking may slow the host's connection, with the host typically unaware of the reason for the reduction of
speed
In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Intro ...
. That is more of a problem if many persons are engaging in this practice, such as in an apartment or near a business.
Piggybackers may engage in illegal activity such as
identity theft
Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. ...
or
child pornography
Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...
without much of a trail to their own identity. That leaves network owners subject to investigation for crimes of which they are unaware. While persons engaging in piggybacking are generally honest citizens, a smaller number are breaking the law in that manner and so avoid identification by investigators. That, in particular, has led to some anti-piggybacking laws.
Some access points, when the factory default settings are used, are configured to provide wireless access to all who request it. Some commentators argue that those who set up access points without enabling security measures are offering their connection to the community. Many people intentionally leave their networks open to allow neighbours casual access, with some joining
wireless community network
Wireless community networks or wireless community projects or simply community networks, are non-centralized, self-managed and collaborative networks organized in a grassroots fashion by communities, non-governmental organizations and cooperatives ...
s to share
bandwidth freely. It has largely become good etiquette to leave access points open for others to use, just as someone expects to find open access points while on the road.
Jeffrey L. Seglin, an
ethicist for ''
the New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', recommends notifying network owners if they are identifiable, but he says there is nothing inherently wrong with accessing an open network and using the connection. "The responsibility for deciding whether others should be able to tap into a given access belongs squarely on the shoulders of those setting up the original connection."
Similarly,
Randy Cohen, the author of ''The Ethicist'' column for ''
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...
'' and
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, says that one should attempt to contact the owner of a regularly used network and offer to contribute to the cost. However, he points out that network owners can easily password protect their networks and quotes the attorney
Mike Godwin
Michael Wayne Godwin (born October 26, 1956) is an American attorney and author. He was the first staff counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and he created the Internet adage Godwin's law and the notion of an Internet meme. From ...
to conclude that open networks likely represent indifference on the part of the network owner and so accessing them is morally acceptable, if it is not abused.
The
policy analyst Timothy B. Lee (not to be confused with
Tim Berners-Lee
Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee (born 8 June 1955), also known as TimBL, is an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, the HTML markup language, the URL system, and HTTP. He is a professorial research fellow a ...
) writes in the ''
International Herald Tribune
The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...
'' that the ubiquity of open wireless points is something to celebrate. He says that borrowing a neighbour's Wi-Fi is like sharing a cup of sugar, and leaving a network open is just being a good neighbour.
''
Techdirt
Techdirt is an American Internet blog that reports on technology's legal challenges and related business and economic policy issues, in context of the digital revolution. It focuses on intellectual property, patent, information privacy and copyr ...
'' blogger Mike Masnick responded to an article in ''
Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
'' to express his disagreement with why a man was arrested for piggybacking a cafe's wireless medium. The man had been charged with breaking Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47, of the
United States Code
The United States Code (formally The Code of Laws of the United States of America) is the official Codification (law), codification of the general and permanent Law of the United States#Federal law, federal statutes of the United States. It ...
, which states and includes anyone who "intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access." The writer himself is not sure what that title really means or how it applies to contemporary society since the code was established regarding computers and their networks during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
era.
In the technical legality of the matter, Masnick believes the code was not broken because the access point owner did not secure the device specifically for authorized users. Therefore the device was implicitly placed into a status of "authorized."
Lev Grossman, with ''
Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
'', is on the side of most specialist and consumers, who believe the fault, if there is any, is mostly that of the network's host or owner.
An analogy commonly used in this arena of debate equates wireless signal piggybacking with entering a house with an open door. Both are supposed to be equatable, but the analogy is tricky, as it does not take into account unique differences regarding the two items in reference, which ultimately leave the analogy flawed.
The key to the flaw in the analogy is that with an unprotected access point, the default status is for all users to be authorized. An access point is an active device that initiates the announcement of its services and, if setup securely allows or denies authorization by its visitors.
A house door, on the other hand, has physical attributes that distinguish access to the house as authorized or unauthorized by its owner. Even with an open house door, it is plain whether one has been invited to that house by its owner and if entrance will be authorized or denied. A house owner's door is passive but has an owner who knows the risks of leaving their door open and house unprotected in the absence of the gate keeping presence. Equally, wireless access point owners should be aware that security risks exist when they leave their network unprotected. In that scenario, the owner has made the decision to allow the gatekeeper or access point to authorize all who attempt to connect because the gatekeeper was not told whom not to let in.
Prevention
Laws do not have the physical ability to prevent such action from occurring, and piggybacking may be practiced with negligible detection.
The owner of any
wireless connection has the ability to block access from outsiders by engaging
wireless LAN security measures. Not all owners do so, and some security measures are more effective than others. As with
physical security
Physical security describes security measures that are designed to deny unauthorized access to facilities, equipment, and resources and to protect personnel and property from damage or harm (such as espionage, theft, or terrorist attacks). Physi ...
, choice is a matter of trade-offs involving the value of what is being protected, the probability of its being taken, and the cost of protection. An operator merely concerned with the possibility of ignorant strangers leeching Internet access may be less willing to pay a high cost in money and convenience than one who is protecting valuable secrets from experienced and studious thieves. More security-conscious network operators may choose from a variety of security measures to limit access to their wireless network, including:
* Hobbyists, computer professionals and others can apply
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) to many access points without cumbersome setup, but it offers little in the way of practical security against similarly studious piggybackers.
It is cryptographically very weak, so an access key can easily be cracked. Its use is often discouraged in favor of other more robust security measures, but many users feel that any security is better than none or are unaware of any other. In practice, this may simply mean that nearby non-WEP networks are more accessible targets. WEP is sometimes known to slow down network traffic in the sense that the WEP implementation causes extra packets to be transmitted across the network. Some claim that "Wired Equivalent Privacy" is a misnomer, but it generally fits because wired networks are not particularly secure either.
*
Wi-Fi Protected Access
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) (Wireless Protected Access), Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2), and Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) are the three security certification programs developed after 2000 by the Wi-Fi Alliance to secure wireless computer n ...
(WPA), as well as WPA2 and EAP are more secure than WEP. As of May 2013, 44.3 percent of all wireless networks surveyed by
WiGLE use WPA or WPA2.
*
MAC address
A MAC address (short for medium access control address or media access control address) is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address in communications within a network segment. This use i ...
authentication in combination with discretionary
DHCP
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network management protocol used on Internet Protocol (IP) networks for automatically assigning IP addresses and other communication parameters to devices connected to the network using a clie ...
server settings allow a user to set up an "allowed MAC address" list. Under this type of security, the access point will only give an
IP Address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. IP addresses serve two main functions: network interface i ...
to computers whose MAC address is on the list. Thus, the network administrator would obtain the valid MAC addresses from each of the potential clients in their network. Disadvantages to this method include the additional setup. This method does not prevent eavesdropping traffic sent over the air (there is no encryption involved). Methods to defeat this type of security include MAC address spoofing, detailed on the
MAC address
A MAC address (short for medium access control address or media access control address) is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address in communications within a network segment. This use i ...
page, whereby network traffic is observed, valid MACs are collected, and then used to obtain DHCP leases. It is also often possible to configure IP for a computer manually, ignoring DHCP, if sufficient information about the network is known (perhaps from observed network traffic).
*
IP security (IPsec) can be used to encrypt traffic between network nodes, reducing or eliminating the amount of
plain text
In computing, plain text is a loose term for data (e.g. file contents) that represent only characters of readable material but not its graphical representation nor other objects ( floating-point numbers, images, etc.). It may also include a lim ...
information transmitted over the air. This security method addresses privacy concerns of wireless users, as it becomes much more difficult to observe their wireless activity. Difficulty of setting up IPsec is related to the brand of access point being used. Some access points may not offer IPsec at all, while others may require firmware updates before IPsec options are available. Methods to defeat this type of security are computationally intensive to the extent that they are infeasible using readily-available hardware, or they rely on
social engineering to obtain information (keys, etc.) about the IPsec installation.
*
VPN options such as tunnel-mode
IPSec or
OpenVPN
OpenVPN is a virtual private network (VPN) system that implements techniques to create secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities. It implements both client and server appl ...
can be difficult to set up, but often provide the most flexible, extendable security, and as such are recommended for larger networks with many users.
*
Wireless intrusion detection systems can be used to detect the presence of
rogue access points which expose a
network to security breaches. Such systems are particularly of interest to large organizations with many employees.
* Flash a 3rd party firmware such as
OpenWrt
OpenWrt (from ''open wireless router'') is an open-source project for embedded operating systems based on Linux kernel, Linux, primarily used on Embedded system, embedded devices to Router (computing), route network traffic. The main components ...
,
Tomato
The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...
or
DD-WRT with support for
RADIUS
In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...
.
*
Honeypot (computing)
In computer terminology, a honeypot is a computer security mechanism set to detect, deflect, or, in some manner, counteract attempts at unauthorized use of information systems. Generally, a honeypot consists of data (for example, in a network site ...
involves setting up a computer on a network just to see who comes along and does something on the open access point.
Disabling
SSID broadcasts has been recommended in the past as a security measure, although it only hides networks superficially. MAC addresses of routers are still broadcast, and can be detected using special means. But worse, a device that once connected to a hidden SSID will continuously transmit probe requests for this SSID and is vulnerable to the
Evil Twin attack. Therefore, SSID hiding can no longer be considered a security measure.
Alternatives
There are several alternatives to piggybacking. Internet access is available on many data plans for
smartphone
A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
s and
PDAs. Although it may have browsing limitations compared with Internet access from traditional
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...
s for desktop or laptop computers, the Internet can be accessed anywhere there is an adequately strong data signal. Some
mobile phone
A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
service providers offer mobile Internet service to other devices via a data connection from the mobile phone. Also known as
tethering
Tethering or phone-as-modem (PAM) is the sharing of a mobile device's cellular data connection with other connected computers. It effectively turns the transmitting device into a modem to allow others to use its cellular network as a gateway for ...
, one can interface to their phone either wirelessly using
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...
or Wi-Fi or wired via cable allowing access to the Internet anywhere there is a cell network signal.
Many jurisdictions have been experimenting with statewide, province-wide, county-wide or
municipal wireless network access. On September 20, 2005,
Google WiFi was announced as a municipal wireless
mesh network in
Mountain View, California
Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
Mountain V ...
.
Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent cit ...
provides free Wi-Fi access at government offices, libraries, and county facilities. This service was first provided in May 2007 in the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
of the county seat,
Towson, and gradually expanded throughout the remainder of the county. When the service was expanded to more public areas in 2014, Baltimore's acting chief technology officer, L. Jerome Mullen, remarked, "Projects like this are just the beginning of the opportunities that remain as we strengthen and expand the City's
fiber optic
An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...
network. We are building
digital city infrastructure, and the possibilities are endless." In
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, the Department of Parks and Recreation provides free Wi-Fi in parks across the city. BAI Communications was contracted by municipal
public transportation
Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...
authorities to install free Wi-Fi in underground
subway stations in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Canada and in all 279 Manhattan, Queens, and Bronx underground subway stations in New York City. On January 8, 2013, Google and the
Chelsea Improvement Company, a local public advocacy group, announced that they would install free Wi-Fi in the New York City neighborhood of
Chelsea. New York Senator
Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...
said at the press conference, "It's not very expensive at all—just a smidgeon of what
Sandy cost. The
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
and I said maybe we could get this done for all of New York. We look forward to the day when all of New York has free Wi-Fi." On November 17, 2014, the mayor of New York City,
Bill de Blasio
Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...
, announced
LinkNYC, an infrastructure project to create a free, encrypted,
gigabit
The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communication. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented as ...
wireless network to cover New York City by replacing the city's payphones with Wi-Fi hotspots and web browser kiosks where free phone calls could also be made. These
pilot program
A pilot experiment, pilot study, pilot test or pilot project is a small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research ...
s may result in similar services being launched and interconnected nationwide.
Free Internet access
hotspots have also been opened by a wide range of organisations. Companies sell hardware and network management services to establish hotspots. Other hotspot-based efforts have been launched with the intention of providing global, low-cost or free Internet access.
Fon is a wireless router vendor which allows owners of its routers to share Internet access with other owners of Fon routers. Users who do not own a Fon router can also connect at a small price.
Guifi.net is a free, open, international telecommunications community network organized and expanded by individuals, companies and administrations. On November 27, 2012, the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an American international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1990 to promote Internet civil liberties.
It provides funds for legal defense in court, ...
and a coalition of nine other groups launched
OpenWireless.org, an
Internet activism
Internet activism involves the use of electronic-communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizen social movement , movements, the deliv ...
project which seeks to increase
Internet access
Internet access is a facility or service that provides connectivity for a computer, a computer network, or other network device to the Internet, and for individuals or organizations to access or use applications such as email and the World Wide ...
by encouraging individuals and organisations to configure their wireless routers to offer a separate public wireless guest network or to open their network completely.
See also
*
Evil twin phishing
*
Exposed terminal problem
*
Fixed Wireless Data
*
Hidden terminal problem
*
IEEE 802.11
IEEE 802.11 is part of the IEEE 802 set of local area network (LAN) technical standards, and specifies the set of medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) protocols for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) computer com ...
*
Legality of piggybacking
*
Local area network
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, campus, or building, and has its network equipment and interconnects locally managed. LANs facilitate the distribution of da ...
*
Wardriving
*
Wireless network
A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes. Wireless networking allows homes, telecommunications networks, and business installations to avoid the costly process of introducing cables int ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piggybacking (Internet Access)
Local area networks
Wireless networking
Wireless access points