Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Reality Bytes: Bobbies Bust Wi-Fi Squatter

Web surfer jailed for freeloading on network

By Heather McPherson, Newser User

Posted Aug 23, 2007 3:51 AM CDT

(Newser) – London bobbies took a byte out of an internet surfer's liberty yesterday when they tossed him in jail for freeloading on someone else's wireless network. "This arrest should act as a warning to anyone who thinks it is acceptable to illegally use other people's broadband connections," admonished a detective.

Officers questioned the man, 39, when they spotted him using his laptop near a West London home. He admitted he had logged onto someone else's network, apparently not secured with a password, and they arrested him under a 2003 act that makes it illegal for Britons to steal internet access. He's out on bail pending an investigation.

A customer uses his laptop to activate his new Apple iPhone inside the Apple Store Friday, June 29, 2007 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow) (Associated Press)

Rusty Hodge, general manager and founder of SomaFM, monitors the content of his station from his laptop in the station's headquarters in San Francisco, Friday, April 13, 2007.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) (Associated Press)

Tim Driscoll of Blacksburg, Va. a graduate student at Virginia Tech, works on his laptop at a coffee shop in Blacksburg, Saturday, April 21, 2007. (Associated Press)

T Inc. wiped some of the glow off Apple Inc.'s iPhone on Tuesday, releasing numbers that showed fewer people than expected signed up for service in the first two days of the multimedia cell phone's release.... (Associated Press)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

NYC Subway to Get Wireless, Cell Service

Australian company revives 3-year-old plan

(NEWSER) - A plan to bring cellphone and wireless Internet service to New York's subway is set to start after years of delay. The $200 million project was hobbled by the recession but has been made viable again by a large financial commitment from Broadcast Australia, Bloomberg reports. The firm bought a majority stake in Transit Wireless, the group of phone and construction companies that took on the contract. More»

Research Paves Way for Better Wi-Fi in Autos

Researchers find a way to stabilize mobile internet access

(NEWSER) - Researchers at Microsoft and two US universities have designed a system to give drivers better Wi-Fi connections, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The technology, presented last week in Seattle, allows a moving computer to hook into one Wi-Fi station as an "anchor" while using other stations as support. Researchers say this will avoid "hiccups" that occur when traveling computers jump from station to station. More»

Google Guru Prods FCC Over Wi-Fi

"White space" would increase wireless Internet access

(NEWSER) - Google co-founder Larry Page urged Congress and the FCC this week to open up access to unused television airwaves to broaden the reach of wireless Internet. Page asserted that the unused waves, called "white space," would increase Wi-Fi range in rural areas and help provide Internet capability to the entire country, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»

FCC to Re-Test Wireless Internet Devices

Companies seek to broadcast web over unused TV airwaves

(NEWSER) - After a series of unsuccessful tests, the Federal Communications Commission is heading back to the lab to assess a new round of devices for broadcasting high-speed Internet in the white space available in between TV airwaves. The prototypes come from a coalition of top-tier bidders, including Microsoft, Philips, and Intel, none of which received positive grades the first time around, the AP reports. More»

Sprint Primed for WiMax Launch

Partnerships help company ready new wireless network

(NEWSER) - Sprint has unveiled new corporate partnerships to help meet its goal of deploying its WiMax wireless broadband network in DC, Baltimore, and Chicago by April, the Washington Post reports. The wireless provider has joined with several companies to provide online storage, security, and mobile devices for WiMax, which offers speeds comparable to DSL at ranges far greater than typical wireless networks. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Reality Bytes: Bobbies Bust Wi-Fi Squatter

Web surfer jailed for freeloading on network

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Internet • London • broadband Internet • wireless • WiFi

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

NYC Subway to Get Wireless, Cell Service

Australian company revives 3-year-old plan

Research Paves Way for Better Wi-Fi in Autos

Researchers find a way to stabilize mobile internet access

Google Guru Prods FCC Over Wi-Fi

"White space" would increase wireless Internet access

FCC to Re-Test Wireless Internet Devices

Companies seek to broadcast web over unused TV airwaves

Sprint Primed for WiMax Launch

Partnerships help company ready new wireless network

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?