Attitudes among many Utah Internet providers seem to be a little more laid back. Some companies sense that this is one of those movements that companies will not be able to stop.

"This is not something that we are necessarily encouraging, nor discouraging," said Qwest spokesman Vince Hancock. Qwest offers DSL high-speed Internet, which competes with cable broadband, offered by Comcast in the Utah market.

Hancock said if Qwest DSL customers choose to include others outside their homes in a wireless network, that is their business. In fact, many Qwest DSL modems are pre-wired for wireless networking.

One local Internet service provider, XMission, sees the trend of communal wireless networks as a public service in some respects.

"How you use that bandwidth is entirely up to you," said XMission's marketing director, Reid Baty. "We don't monitor or restrict what you want to do."

"We've certainly heard of this. The technology is there. You can go buy a wireless base station that can easily cover several apartments," Baty said. As far as the notion that such sharing is taking away from business, "as far as being free, well, somebody has to foot the bill," he said. As long as someone is willing to pay for shared use, there's still money to be made.

"I think cable companies and other services trying to restrict customers are just going to drive customers away," Baty said.

Comcast did not respond to a request for comment.

Brian, who also asked that his last name not be used, is a landlord of about five rental units in Salt Lake City. Brian said that by offering his tenants free wireless Internet off his broadband connection, he can attract and keep tenants who might otherwise choose a larger apartment complex.

"It really makes sense," he said. "I can't use all the bandwidth all the time, and I pay for it, so I might as well share it with somebody else."

But communal networks have risks. For example, what if somebody abuses the network to break the law? Hancock said people might open themselves up to being liable if a friend hacks into a system to steal personal information or downloads other illegal information.

Brian said he worries about that as well. "I'm also concerned with music downloads that can clog my bandwidth," he said.

Baty said XMission is experimenting with business-sponsored networks. The Internet service provider is approaching downtown Salt Lake businesses who might want to offer their customers free wireless Internet access as a perk for patronizing.

Recently, XMission helped the Salt Lake City Main Library establish a free network for library patrons. Baty said if businesses surrounding the library catch on, they might be able to expand the network to cover a good part of downtown to allow anyone with a wireless card on their laptop or handheld device to check e-mail or surf the Web.

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