Subject: RE: trying to reconcile two threads

From: Charles Adams <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2001 15:57:49 -0600

This may be the wrong time to interject this, but I know of a local cable
company that requires you to register a single MAC address.  As the cable
company requires their technicians to install the modem, they can prevent
you from installing a router at a later time (I realize that software can be
installed on the PC to accomplish the same tasks).  They rate usage by
'users', which they tie to MAC addresses.  Their bandwidth is also published
on their website.  If all of this sounds odd, they are the only company
offering Internet service other than dial-up in the area. -->
www.scottsboro.org

Charles

-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Rosen [mailto:[email-masked]]
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2001 2:29 PM
To: Fred Baker
Cc: [email-masked]
Subject: Re: trying to reconcile two threads 

Fred> I  see a  longish  thread about  the  fact that  some cable  companies
Fred> apparently are desperate  to charge per IP address  (something one can
Fred> only do if IP addresses are in fact a scarce resource)

I think  you miss the  point here.  The  cable companies want to  charge per
computer, and  the only way they  can do this is  to count the  number of IP
addresses they  see.  If you use NAT,  they only see one.   This has nothing
whatsoever to do with scarcity of addresses.

Even  with IPv6, they  would still  want to  charge by  the IP  address, and
people would still use NAT to save money.

---

From: Fred Baker <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2001 17:44:58 -0800

At 01:57 PM 11/28/2001, Charles Adams wrote:
>company that requires you to register a single MAC address.

mine does that. I gave them the mac address of my router.

---

From: Ari Ollikainen <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2001 18:30:59 -0800

At 3:57 PM -0600 11/28/01, Charles Adams wrote:
>you from installing a router at a later time (I realize that
>software can be installed on the PC to accomplish the same tasks).
>They rate usage by
'users', which they tie to MAC addresses.

	And some clever cable/DSL router/NAT vendors even provide
	a MAC "clone" function which presents the registered MAC address
	on the ethernet port facing the modem...

  _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
  You can't depend on your judgement when your imagination is out of focus.
						          -- Mark Twain.
  _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

        OLTECO                    Ari Ollikainen
        P.O. BOX 20088            Networking Architecture and Technology
        Stanford, CA              [email-masked]
        94309-0088                415.517.3519

---

From: Pekka Savola <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2001 12:32:47 +0200 (EET)

> mine does that. I gave them the mac address of my router.

And even if not that, if you gave them your workstations MAC address, you
could change your router's MAC address to that and select some random one
for your workstation...

-- 
Pekka Savola                 "Tell me of difficulties surmounted,
Netcore Oy                   not those you stumble over and fall"
Systems. Networks. Security.  -- Robert Jordan: A Crown of Swords

---

From: Peter Deutsch <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2001 08:55:05 -0800

> mine does that. I gave them the mac address of my router.

Yup, and my latest NAT box actually has a "clone MAC address" option in the
setup menu (I think it was the Barricade, but in any case it the new one with
dialup modem backup I just installed after my local DSL provide went belly up on
me. Belt and suspenders for me from now on).

As the old saying goes, if you build a smarter mouse trap, all you get are
smarter mice...

					- peterd
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Deutsch                     work email:  [email-masked]
Director of Engineering
Edge Delivery Products
Content Networking Business Unit     private:  [email-masked]
Cisco Systems

       That's it for now. Remember to read chapter 11 on the
       implications of quantum mechanic theory for time travel
       and be prepared to have been here last week to discuss...

----------------------------------------------------------------------