Internet Service Resellers?

[goldensun87]

So, I'm getting ready to start my business, and I'm trying to set up a wired internet subscription. I will never subscribe to Charter, because they harass people for downloading copyrighted content. So, AT&T is the only choice for me. But, when I give the salesperson on the phone my business address, they say that there is no wired internet service available in my address. This upsets me, because 1) To this day, wireless connections are still unstable, and insecure in ways that I will not discuss here, and 2) Wireless data plans typically offer less for more.

I will be going down to my location this afternoon, to ask the neighboring businesses what kind of internet setups they have. Worst case scenario, I may have no choice but to explore other wireless internet solutions. Unless...is it possible to set up an AT&T wired internet subscription through a third party reseller? If yes, how do I get in touch with these resellers?

 

[bill001g]

This is all about the wires coming into the building. Pretty much if it does not exist then you can not buy it from anyone. You likely have tv coax coming from charter but they likely will not allow anyone else to use it.

ATT likely would be looking at using a DSL solution over phone lines. There are long standing agreements between phone providers to share the last mile connection to building. I suspect there is some restriction in the physical path to your building that makes DSL not possible. Could be as simple as the company that owns the path does not want to incur the expense to install the equipment necessary to make DSL work.

So you need to ask the owners of the wire what option they offer. If your local phone company is not ATT you would have to contact them to see if there is even a possibility. No matter what you do you are still using this other companies connection ATT would just put their name on the bill.

Now you can of course get point to point leased line in almost any building. You could buy a private connection to ATT. Again in most cases ATT is leasing the telephone lines but since is point to point and not DSL you have more options.

All ISP care about copyright restrictions. They get nasty email/letters from the copyright holder that says do something or else. They send you email and the copyright holder is now happy they can go after you. If they do nothing then the law allows the copyright holder to go after the ISP. They would much rather go after the ISP because they have much more money than the end users. This is why there is a law that protect ISP as long as they make a effort to assist the copyright holder. Charter themselves does not police the copyright..how would they ever know. They pretty much wait until they get a complaint to take action.

 

[COLGeek]

Bill pointed you in the right direction. Your options may, indeed, be very limited.

Why would a legitimate business be worried about downloading copyrighted content? Your aversion to Charter, as pointed out, is a concern all ISPs deal with. Maybe you should look at what you consider to be allowable behavior at your workplace.

 

[goldensun87]

Thanks for the replies guys. It does seem like Charter has more or less laid claim on that particular set of business spaces. After speaking to one of the business owners there, I have decided that, if I want a wired internet subscription, I will have to go with Charter. I was concerned because, I've heard horror stories about people receiving warning letters for downloading copyrighted content. After doing a little research, I found that, Charter tracks such activity, by monitoring the use of P2P networks, mainly BitTorrent. I wanted to stick with AT&T, because I have downloaded torrents from 2007-2011, but AT&T never came after me. I always assumed this was because AT&T was originally a phone provider, and Charter is more aggressive with the threats, because they are more closely connected with copyright holders, due to primarily being an entertainment media provider. Anyway, I actually rarely use torrents these days, so I'm hoping Charter will almost never know what I'm downloading while I am at my business. One more question: When I use torrents, I usually remove the torrent almost immediately after it is finished downloading. Is this the reason why AT&T usually never knows what I am downloading? Or, do they just not care about users torrenting movies, music, and tv shows?

 

[COLGeek]

Your assumption that AT&T doesn't care is false. They care. You were just never notified.

Both Charter and AT&T monitor what you do, in pretty much the same way.

 

[goldensun87]

Your assumption that AT&T doesn't care is false. They care. You were just never notified.

Both Charter and AT&T monitor what you do, in pretty much the same way.

Right, I am aware that all ISPs track all activity. However, there is still a law in effect, that protects the privacy of users, and prevents copyright holders from identifying the people downloading the content. So, is Charter just more likely to send warning letters than AT&T? Or, am I just avoiding their radar, by getting rid of the torrents as soon as they are done downloading?

 

[bill001g]

The copyright holders in effect monitor the torrent cloud. They can see who is seeding the files and they put up fake sharing nodes to get attempted connection from people download the files. They get lists of IP and times and dates. They send this to the ISP with a copyright violation notice and ask for the contact information for who was using the IP at that time. In most cases the ISP will then send you email saying cease and desist because of this. They may also provide information to the copyright holder.

The more times they get notices on you the more likely it is the ISP will take drastic action. The law requires the ISP to work with the copyright holder to solve the problem this is the only way they can keep their immunity from being sued themselves. They are more than happy to throw you under the bus. Just running the torrents even if you discard the files can get you detected. Some copyright holders are extremely aggressive.

The ISP also monitors but more for utilization and capacity reasons. People who run torrents tend to use much higher amounts of bandwidth which affects many other customers. It really doesn't matter if you are torrenting legal files or watching 100 netflix movies at the same time. If you constantly come up on the ISP list of high bandwidth users they will take time to actually look at what you are doing. It is much easier to use the copyright violation to stop you than their "acceptable use" policy just for using too much.

So even using VPN to hide your torrent traffic does not 100% protect you. The ISP can at some point just decide that all the complains about slow networks from other customers can be solved by getting rid of the bandwidth pigs. If they can use copyright violations notices it makes it much less likely they get bad publicity than just canceling you for using too much bandwidth.

 

[COLGeek]

Bill001g's answer is excellent.

Now, back to one of my original questions. Why would a legit business interest be dealing with torrents (as discussed) at all? From the explanations/concerns cited, one could certainly infer that we are dealing with copyrighted content.

Tom's Hardware does not support any form of software piracy. None. Period.

I think this discussion has run it's course.

 

[goldensun87]

The copyright holders in effect monitor the torrent cloud. They can see who is seeding the files and they put up fake sharing nodes to get attempted connection from people download the files. They get lists of IP and times and dates. They send this to the ISP with a copyright violation notice and ask for the contact information for who was using the IP at that time. In most cases the ISP will then send you email saying cease and desist because of this. They may also provide information to the copyright holder.

The more times they get notices on you the more likely it is the ISP will take drastic action. The law requires the ISP to work with the copyright holder to solve the problem this is the only way they can keep their immunity from being sued themselves. They are more than happy to throw you under the bus. Just running the torrents even if you discard the files can get you detected. Some copyright holders are extremely aggressive.

The ISP also monitors but more for utilization and capacity reasons. People who run torrents tend to use much higher amounts of bandwidth which affects many other customers. It really doesn't matter if you are torrenting legal files or watching 100 netflix movies at the same time. If you constantly come up on the ISP list of high bandwidth users they will take time to actually look at what you are doing. It is much easier to use the copyright violation to stop you than their "acceptable use" policy just for using too much.

So even using VPN to hide your torrent traffic does not 100% protect you. The ISP can at some point just decide that all the complains about slow networks from other customers can be solved by getting rid of the bandwidth pigs. If they can use copyright violations notices it makes it much less likely they get bad publicity than just canceling you for using too much bandwidth.

Thanks for all that info. Since I rarely use torrents these days, and since I delete the torrent either immediately or very shortly after I finish downloading it, I am confident now that, there is very little chance of copyright holders pinpointing me, and consequently, this also ensures that I do not use too much bandwidth and catch Charter's attention either.

 

[goldensun87]

Bill001g's answer is excellent.

Now, back to one of my original questions. Why would a legit business interest be dealing with torrents (as discussed) at all? From the explanations/concerns cited, one could certainly infer that we are dealing with copyrighted content.

Tom's Hardware does not support any form of software piracy. None. Period.

I think this discussion has run it's course.

Basically, I like to make the most out of my internet connection, especially since I'll be paying for this one. I do still acquire a lot of TV shows and a few movies, just not through torrents unless I have no other choice. And yeah, I figured Tom's Hardware would not support piracy, totally understandable, I don't want this website to get in trouble. I was just hoping, since I'm not discussing where to acquire the copyrighted content, this discussion would be acceptable. Regardless, you are right, I'd rather this discussion not run too long, so, I'll go ahead and pick bill001g's answer as the best answer.