Are you breaking the wi-fi law?

Think before logging onto your neighbour's wi-fi network for some free surfing - you're running the risk of a brush with the law.

Dishonestly using an electronics communications service with the intent to avoid paying is breaking the law - and it's something police are increasingly taking seriously.

Two people were recently cautioned for using other people's wi-fi connectivity without permission in Redditch in the West Midlands. One man was arrested and cautioned when residents in the town contacted the police after seeing him in a car outside their houses using a laptop last week.

A woman was arrested in similar circumstances in the town last month although the two cases are not thought to be connected.

As more money is spent on wireless broadband connectivity and people store important information on their computers, wi-fi theft will become an area that the police and legislators will increasingly have to concentrate on, said Clive Gringras, head of internet and ecommerce at legal firm Olswang.

But he told silicon.com there is a grey area in the legislation as to whether a person knows they are acting dishonestly when accessing someone else's wireless network.

Legislation covering wi-fi theft

Communications Act 2003 Chapter 21, Section 125: dishonestly obtaining electronic communications services

(1) A person who -
(a) dishonestly obtains an electronic communications service, and
(b) does so with intent to avoid payment of a charge applicable to the provision of the service,

is guilty of an offence.

Not all wi-fi is equal, as Gringras pointed out. "There is a big difference between what Starbucks makes available to you when you walk into their shops and what an ISP gives you when it provides you with connectivity in your home," he said.

The Redditch cases are not the first time wi-fi has got someone into trouble with the law. Back in July 2005 a man was fined £500 and given a 12-month conditional discharge for piggybacking on someone else's wireless broadband connection in London.