[sswilson]

Originally Posted by IRS

I have a couple of questions. One, would the amount of bandwith allowed differ between homes/people for whatever reason? And secondly (more importantly), does wireless internet count towards that bandwith. AKA if there isnt a password on your wireless internet, would you in essence be paying for others using your wireless?

Having spent 11 months as an internet tech support rep for rogers I can give you the answers right from the horse's mouth.....

The only way the bandwidth would vary from one household to another would be if somebody was on an older grandfathered plan, and the move described in the OP here was mostly about getting rid of those, so unless it's a special deal (like a student package) the bandwidth caps from home to home for the same plan would be the same.

As far as wireless goes... you hit the nail on the head. If you've got an unsecure wireless router chances are your neighbours are going to steal your bandwidth, and you'll be on the hook for any overage charges. Bandwidth is measured at the modem (and includes both up and downstream) so it has no way of knowing who/what is using the bandwidth, only that it's being used from your account.

That's not the worst part (IMO) of having an unsecured wireless connection.... the worst part is that you have no idea what they're putting across your connection. If it ends up being something illegal, you'll be the one who gets the visit in the middle of the night from the men in black, and it's your PC they'll confiscate looking for evidence. Bad enough if it's something copyright related, really bad if it's something like kiddy porn and/or terrorist related.