Welcome to Gahtan’s Technology and Internet Law Blog

WirelessNewsfactor has an interesting article about two technologies for sharing broadband access: Mushroom Networks and WiBoost. Both involve the linking of several Internet data channels for greater speed and can also be used to share Internet connectivity with homes that do not have direct Internet access.

Canada’s Telecommunications Policy Review Panel is expected to issue its report later this month or sometime in February. Hopefully, the concerns addressed will include the issue of network neutrality. A number of the public submissions supported implementation of a policy providing for network neutrality - including those filed by Michael Geist (pdf), Patricia Arney (doc) and Tucows (doc). Not surprisingly, the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association took the position that regulatory intervention supporting network neutrality was not required.

Yesterday, E*Trade Financial has announced the launch of its E*TRADE Complete™ Protection Guarantee, providing complete fraud coverage, as well as complete bill payment protection and complete privacy protection to all customers. As part of that program, E*Trade will reportedly reimburse any customer who is the victim of fraudulent activity. Hopefully this step will encourage other competitors or even the banks to follow. If these financial institutions step up to take some of the risk of online fraud then maybe we will see more secure authentication systems implemented.

Last Saturday I got a chance to watch the Canadian second season premier of Battlestar Galactica. Of course, if you live outside of Canada, you probably had the opportunity to watch that episode several months ago on the SciFi Channel. However, most Canadians are not so privileged.

You see, notwithstanding trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Canada Government negotiated exemptions for its “cultural industries”. That means that US companies like DISH Network and DirectTV are not allowed to offer their services in Canada. Sometimes the result is substandard access to programming. I mean, why should Canadian broadcasters bid for first run programming when the bulk of their market can be made to wait until they acquire cheaper re-runs. This has driven hundreds of thousands of Canadians to risk criminal sanctions in order to operate a grey/black market DirectTV/DISH Network receivers or to engage in copyright infringement by downloading episodes of their favorite programs from P2P networks.

From the interesting new products department …

Pasadena Wireless is offering Senao’s new high power (200 mw / 23 dbm) USB adapter. Specifications state that it supports Windows 98-XP, WEP and WPA encryption and 802.11b/g. The external antenna is changeable. I’ve had trouble in the past with the stability of drivers (particularly in Windows 98 machines) for Senao wi-fi adapters and hope things have improved since then.

The USB aspect is good because it allows moving the antenna slightly away from the computer and other electronics that may interfere with operation. Also, I prefer a USB approach over having a PCcard inside the laptop adding extra heat.

Wireless Newsfactor has an article about the Hidden Risks of Wi-Fi. The article points out that most people are focusing on the prevention of unauthorized access through wireless access points and on the encryption of the data being sent wirelessly. However, insufficient attention is being paid to the risks that wireless equipped laptops may present.

Read more…

Lawyers and contract specialists generally like to collect copies of precedents and sample agreements. If you are so inclined, San Francisco’s Office of Contract Administration recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in respect of their TechConnect Citywide Wireless Broadband Network (RFP 2005-19). A copy is available in PDF format. Simply click on the Request for Proposal link at the SF TechConnect Website.

The next Toronto Computer Lawyers’ Group meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, 1 First Canadian Place, 63rd Floor, Toronto. The topic will be Canadian Regulation of Voice over IP (VoIP) - Framework, Issues and Implications. Further information is available at tclg.org