{"id":9416,"date":"2014-06-10T22:04:47","date_gmt":"2014-06-11T06:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.perivision.net\/wordpress\/?p=9416"},"modified":"2014-06-24T12:27:44","modified_gmt":"2014-06-24T20:27:44","slug":"wtf-comcast-50000-router-public-hotspot-without-the-owner-permission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.perivision.net\/wordpress\/2014\/06\/wtf-comcast-50000-router-public-hotspot-without-the-owner-permission\/","title":{"rendered":"Filed under WTF; Comcast has turned 50,000 routers in to public hotspot WITHOUT permission"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"comcast<\/a>This is so crazy, I really have to question if its true, but based on the story out of Seattle PI by Dwight Silverman<\/span>,<\/a> seems like this is really happening.\u00a0 Comcast is planning on turning 150,000 comcast routers in Houston into citywide wireless hotspots! And without prior consent!\u00a0 WTF??\u00a0 According to Comcast, there is complete separation between your traffic and the traffic from the public, also the bandwidth will be increased to deal with the increased load.\u00a0 You can ‘opt out’ but from what I have read its pretty hard and one reader commented that he has to try 4 times.\u00a0 There are also steps provided by Dwight on how to turn it off.\u00a0 I will include the instructions at the end of the post.<\/p>\n

So here are a few things that really bug me.\u00a0 The more power a router users to support traffic the power it takes up and the more heat it generate.\u00a0 Yes we are talking pennies here, but still, Comcast is building a business on your power and hosting. WITHOUT asking you! And what if you are paying for highspeed service with spotty service?\u00a0 So now that there could be even more demand on my spotty service, that means I actually WILL notice a slowdown regardless of how much bandwidth they add.\u00a0 Which also begs another question, if my service has been slow and not up to the level I pay for, suddenly they can fix it?<\/p>\n

Now in the realworld, how much will this really matter?\u00a0 That really depends.\u00a0 If you happen to live in an area where the public frequent, you might be feeling it. If you living in a residential area, most likely nothing much will change.\u00a0 Remember only other Comcast users are suppose to have access to this service. According to the Comcast FAQ, here is how people can access your router.<\/p>\n

Yes, you can access XFINITY WiFi<\/span> with one of the following options:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n