ISPs At Loss To Combat Internet Piracy

Do you know who's using your home network? More importantly, do the Internet service providers?

According to Mintel, nearly three-quarters of American consumers say they have Internet access at home, though only 56% say they subscribe to a home Internet service. That data suggest as many as 16% of WiFi users are piggybacking on their neighbors' connections, using a mobile connection or hotspot from a wireless provider or simply don't know where their Internet connection comes from. "One sixth of the Internet-at-home population isn't paying for it," Billy Hulkower, senior analyst at Mintel, tells Marketing Daily. He added that home Internet penetration barely moved between 2006 and 2009 despite the rise of Internet sites such as Facebook, Pandora and YouTube. The data suggest that people are using different methods to access the Internet "even if they haven't paid for access themselves." Younger and more affluent consumers are more likely to pirate WiFi service, with 20% of survey respondents from households with incomes higher than $75,000 saying they access the Internet from home but don't have a subscription.