Several issues ago, we mentioned some of the legal issues surrounding Wi-Fi, specifically recent decisions regarding “Wi-Fi theft.” This month, the legal issues seem even a bit more complex – and that’s where we can help you make sense of it all. A new requirement under the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) spells out legal requirements for internet service providers (ISPs). If you provide Wi-Fi access to the public, whether free or for a free, you qualify as an ISP.

CALEA spells out wiretapping requirements with regard to the internet. Yes, it’s a controversial topic, but we’re just here to give you the facts … Anyway, CALEA states that ISPs must allow the government to monitor specific user activity on a network, in the event a judge issues a warrant for that express purpose. So if the government’s looking for some sketchy guy who happens to have used your Wi-Fi service, you are legally responsible to meet federal guidelines, which includes previously having filed a plan of action on how you’d comply with a summons in the event you are issued a warrant; giving 24-hour contact information for the person designated as the network administrator; and providing a description of how your equipment meets or can shortly meet the technical requirements under CALEA. When you receive a summons, you must have already completed all of these steps, and you have two days to deliver what has been requested (a feed that will allow authorities to intercept a particular user’s online activity). According to the federal guidelines, the minimum fine for non-compliance with CALEA is $10,000, with a maximum fine of $100,000 per day.

Sound scary? Well, for the average person who wants to offer Wi-Fi to his or her customers, CALEA can be more than a bit intimidating. That’s where we can help. As your hotspot provider, WEBbeams is required to be CALEA compliant and assist you with any related summons. We are one of the very few hotspot providers who are CALEA compliant. Most of our systems in the field and every new system we have sent out the door since the 4th quarter of 2006 is CALEA-ready. So if you’re a Wi-Fi hotspot with a do-it-yourself, off-the-shelf router or working with a Wi-Fi provider that is not up to speed on legal compliancy issues that affect you, CALEA could mean quite a hassle. But if you’re a WEBbeams hotspot with CALEA-ready equipment, you can rest assured knowing you are prepared for any CALEA-related issues. If you’re unsure of the compliancy of your WEBbeams equipment, simply look at the color of your WEBbeams router. If it’s a black box, it is CALEA compliant. If it is black and purple or just white, your equipment is not CALEA-ready.

If you’re a WEBbeams hotspot with pre-CALEA-compliant hardware, we’d like to offer you a discount so you can upgrade: 50% off the price of our standard equipment, which is completely CALEA compliant (and has a bunch of other great features, which you can read about in this past newsletter). To find out if your current WEBbeams equipment is up to date or get a more specific description of our equipment capabilities, please call 1-888-WEBbeams (932-2326) ext. 1 or email sales@WEBbeams.com.

Apple's iPhone debuted to nationwide hysteria last month, getting us one step closer to Dick Tracy's watch-phone. While the iPhone itself has received great reviews, nearly every reviewer has commented on Apple’s decision to offer the iPhone only in conjunction with AT&T cell service, and some consumers have even found ways to crack the phone so they don't need to sign up for AT&T. Essentially they buy the phone and activate it, then cancel the activation so that they can have a Wi-Fi device that fits in their pocket and also functions as an iPod and video player. One of the main reasons for this is to avoid AT&T's incredibly slow EDGE network (remember dial-up a decade ago? ... that was faster than AT&T's EDGE) and less-then-stellar voice signal. Now if only the iPhone could do VoIP. We can only dream.

While most of us realize the waste involved with disposable coffee cups, few people make the effort to bring their own reusable mugs to their favorite coffee shops. Well, now there’s a way for latte lovers to have a conscience … without the hassle. International Paper and Green Mountain Coffee recently released a 100% biodegradable hot beverage cup, which won the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s 2007 Sustainability Award. The “Ecotainer™ cup” has a liner made from corn instead of petroleum-based plastic (polyethylene), which has traditionally been used to prevent leaking. The polyethylene has long prevented paper cups from being recycled. According to the manufacturer, the need for these innovative biodegradable cups is massive: “Every year, Americans drink more than 100 billion cups of coffee. Of those, 14.4 billion are served in disposable paper cups – enough to wrap the earth 55 times if placed end-to-end! Those paper cups contain a plastic lining made from a petrochemical that would produce enough energy to heat 8,300 homes. That’s a town the size of Newtown, Connecticut.” Read more about the Ecotainer cup.