Sharing wireless Internet in urban neighbourhoods

With the development and commercialization of wireless ("WiFi") technology for home Internet use in the last several years, the opportunity for users to share Internet access easily with one another has become possible. While this sharing began informally, even surreptitiously, it has recently become widespread and more formal with prominent announcements of city-wide wireless network deployments. However, while there are many benefits claimed for these services, such as broader coverage, improved access and lowered cost, relatively little is known about how people regard sharing wireless Internet services. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, this research investigated the range of attitudes towards such sharing among urban wireless users. Our research revealed generally positive feelings about the benefits of sharing, especially when using others' signals, but serious reservations about making their own signals open for use by strangers. These findings have implications for developing both community-wide infrastructure as well as local, ad-hoc systems. They also provide the basis for several design features that would promote sharing, including security measures, privacy protection, cost reduction, bandwidth prioritization and reciprocal notification.