VRT News’ consumer affairs team received a question from Jonas, a listener to VRT Radio 2 who asked himself whether it would be legal for him to share his neighbour’s Wi-Fi account. Jonas says that his neighbour’s account is often visible when he scans for an available network on his phone, tablet and computer. Wouldn’t it be logical and cheaper for both parties to simply share one network? This should be feasible, especially in an apartment building where neighbours live very close to each other.
Of course Telecom operators are loath to see neighbours sharing an internet account as this costs them money. Frabrice Gansbeke of the telecoms operator Proximus told VRT News "Our general terms and conditions state that an internet product is only for personal use”. However, he also admits that in reality this is almost to check. Furthermore, privacy legislation would prevent a telecoms operator from doing so anyway.
Bart Boone of the telecoms operator Telenet says that "What is certainly not allowed is reselling your subscription to someone else. So you are not allowed to charge your neighbour to use your internet subscription. "Sharing a network for free with your neighbours is therefore allowed. But if you share your network with other people, you should also be aware of the possible dangers and issues that could arise".
The owner of the subscription always remains responsible for its use and if your neighbour were to use a Wi-Fi account paid for under your name to commit criminal offenses you will be held primarily responsible for the account’s misuse.
Telenet’s Bart Boone warns that there are also practical issues related to sharing an internet account with your neighbours. For starters, your neighbours’ Wi-Fi signal will be much weaker in your home than in theirs. Proximus’ Fabrice Gansbeke told VRT News that "You will always lose signal quality. The greater the distance between the laptop or smartphone and the router, the weaker the signal. Walls also weaken the signal. People who live in a large house often notice this," says Mr Gansbeke.
The risks of sharing a Wi-Fi account.
More important are the possible risks you run as a subscriber when other people surf the Internet via your network. "As the owner of the account you remain responsible for everything that happens with the account. If your neighbour visits illegal websites or commits criminal offenses via your internet network, you will be held responsible" says Telenet’s Bart Boone.
The more different devices are connected to your network, the greater the chance that people with ill intent can abuse it. "Your neighbour not only not only gains access to your internet account, but also to your network. Someone who is skilled in IT will be able to gain access to data that you have stored on your device(s), data that you may not want to share”, Proximus’ Fabrice Gansbeke said.
Furthermore, "If the devices your neighbour uses are not secured enough, they can also provide an entry point for hackers to attack your network."