[LINK] Wireless Internet Popular in Australia

[Kim Holburn]

On 2010/Sep/21, at 4:33 PM, Stilgherrian wrote:

> On 21/09/2010, at 4:20 PM, Kim Holburn wrote:
>> Strangely, I have read that the way mobile broadband is done means
>> that it is not nearly so easy to associate an IP with a person or
>> account.  I can't see how that would conform to European data
>> retention directives though.
>>
>> Perhaps a linker with more knowledge of mobile internet might be able
>> to clear that up.
>
> I'm not in that category, quite, but surely it depends how the  
> network is set up and how it's logged?
>
> My own own experience with Telstra's Next G network is that is  
> sustained IP addressed issued via DHCP even if you change cells.  
> I've been in a car travelling Cowra to Bathurst, then Bathurst to  
> Sydney. On each of those two legs the IP address was maintained even  
> when switching between cells, even after drop-outs of six minutes  
> caused by driving between hills. The Radius server assigning IP  
> addresses would also log usernames, since that's how the whole thing  
> is billed.

That doesn't necessarily mean that users outside of the mobile network  
see the same IP.

> The situation would be no different with mobile ISPs with a DHCP  
> server per cell, since it still is all linked back to a valid user  
> login and, dare I remind folks, the unique IMEI assigned to each  
> physical mobile device.
>
> I reckon it works lie this: Unique IMEI, matched to human through  
> Radius server logging into the network. This must be logged for  
> billing, if nothing else. So if a European-style data retention  
> directive comes in, well, all the pieces are there.
>
> Yeah?

-- 
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
T: +61 2 61402408  M: +61 404072753
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
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