What is an Open Wireless Network

An open wireless network is one that lets all clients within radio broadcast range:

1. Associate with its base stations.
2. Assume an Internet Protocol (IP) or similar network address.
3. Send and receive traffic across the wireless network (optionally providing a gateway to the greater Internet).

The populist genesis of low-power ISM-band unlicensed wireless networking, the growth of open community access movements, and the default open connection behavior of consumer wireless equipment all lead the the reasonable assumption among our users that access which "just works" as above is authorized access.