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RutDog
join:2001-08-11
Portland, OR
|  I smell a DSLMonster
I know that's a pretty inflammatory headline, but I spent a little time browsing the joltage website, and I'm damn suspicious.
If you go here »www.joltage.com/jsp/home/provider_needs.jsp# you'll see that joltage is encouraging people like me, with a DSL line and a wireless access point, to just sign up and start making money reselling my connection.
Well while sharing my bandwidth with my neighbors may be a grey area, clearly re-selling it is a whole different story, and would put me at potential liability with my ISP.
But joltage makes no note of any legal issues I might run into, and encourages me to go to BestBuy and purchase an access point if I don't already have one (yes, they actually have a link to the BB site!).
And if I don't have DSL, they provide a handy link to Covad.net for that purpose, too, referring to them as they're "affiliate." I wonder if Covad knows about this affiliation, seeing as there is nothing about joltage on Covad's partner page or press release page.
Meanwhile, I can register in 5 minutes to become a hotspot just by filling out this form »www.joltage.com/jsp/registration···n_p1.jsp and view FAQ that give me tips on how to increase my broadcast range with a Pringle's can, but have nothing like "What type of authorization do I need from my ISP to resell their service?" »www.joltage.com/jsp/support/supp···faq.jsp#
And then they're going to pay me my share of revenues via Paypal? Give me a break -- what legitimate company relies on PayPal for their disbursements? Its only a touch more legit than the DSLMonster guy using a hotmail address and then an @home account.
Even if they don't take my money somehow, the nonchalant exposure of their "franchisees" to legal liability of bandwidth reselling is clearly an indefensible unethical business practice.
Come on DSLR detectives... something just doesn't seem right.
As for InfoWorld, CNET, and the rest of you journalists covering joltage -- where is your hard hitting journalistic cynicism?
[text was edited by author 2002-03-23 23:35:23] | |
MrTangent
join:2001-12-28
Earth
| Great point, RutDog. I don't think re-selling your connection is acceptable use under the provisions of a personal broadband connection. Plus as others have hinted at, if you have all this equipment you could do it yourself and not pay anyone else! It's not that hard to set up a WiFi network and with a few hundred dollars and the broadband connection anyone could do so.
It's a good idea but ultimately if people can do it themselves and not pay a dividend elsewhere, as well as the legal ramifications for joining up, I don't see this working. I predict it's going to be ultimately a mediocre business or fail outright. | |
Cpex
@pacbell.n
| reply to RutDog
While I see no way this can be legit I think there purpose is not to provide access to stationary users but mobile useres on a sort of roaming network. So they have enough people broadcasting there connection spread throughout an area so Joe smoe can drive through in his car surfing the web on his laptop with a wireless connection picking up the closes "hotspot as they call them" But I dont see how they can legaly get people to resell there bandwith. | |
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