Comcast Sued For Forcefully Turning Private Routers into Xfinity Hotspots

Comcast is being sued for forcing private routers to become public hotspots. In 2013, Comcast introduced Xfinity hotspots, which used customers’ existing Comcast routers to create a public internet gateway. Though active by default, Xfinity was billed as non-compulsory, with an opt-out option. However, certain users have found that their choice to opt-out has not been adhered to, especially after firmware updates, and that Comcast has been using their router for Xfinity without their permission.

The class action suit against Comcast accuses the company of failing to get the consent of the user before implementing the system:

“(The plaintiff) claims that Comcast saw its millions of residential customers as an opportunity to compete with major cellular carriers such as AT&T and Verizon. Though Comcast does not have cellular towers, its customers’ households “could be used as infrastructure for a national wi-fi network,” the complaint states…In using its customers’ home networks to build a national network, Comcast “has externalized the costs of its national wi-fi network onto its customers,” Grear says in the complaint.”

Comcast customers who own a non-Comcast router and modem are safe from this intrusion, and free from a $10 a month router rental fee.

Source: DSL Reports