Comcast sued for using private routers as wifi hotspots

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Comcast is being sued by customers for its plan to allow Comcast users to connect to wifi hotspots wherever there is an Xfinity router -- including private homes.

The new routers -- to which Comcast has been aggressively pushing its customers to upgrade -- support a private network in the home with a name and password while also serving as a hotspot for public wifi.

Two San Francisco customers said the company is using this to make a profit off of them and their networks. In addition to a second network costing 30 to 40 percent on more on an electric bill, customers claim they are also exposed to a security risk.

"Comcast's contract with its customers is so vague that it is unclear as to whether Comcast even addresses this practice at all, much less adequately enough to be said to have obtained its customers' authorization of this practice," claims the suit.

Comcast has said private network use don't cause an electricity bill to jump and the new routers are layered with security.

"We disagree with the allegations in this lawsuit and believe our Xfinity WiFi home hotspot program provides real benefits to our customers," the company said in a statement. "We provide information to our customers about the service and how they can easily turn off the public WiFi hotspot if they wish."