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Misery for local as ‘free wifi’ turns out to be signal from neighbour’s router


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Frank Signal thought the network was a 'community resource'

A Colchester man has been left devastated after discovering the "free WiFi" he’d been using for months was, in fact, his neighbour’s unsecured router.


Mr Frank Signal, 41, said he was “heartbroken” when the truth came to light. “I thought I’d found an amazing community resource, like a public library, but for internet. Turns out, I was just leeching off my neighbour’s broadband. I feel betrayed.”


The revelation came when his neighbour, Mrs Linda Modem, 56, added a password to her router last week.


“I was mid-Netflix binge when the connection dropped,” Mr Signal explained.


“At first, I thought it was just bad weather, but then I saw the new network name: ‘NaughtyNeighbour404’. That’s when I knew.”


Mrs Modem said she only secured her router after noticing “suspicious activity”.


Speaking to The Colchester Times, she said: “I was sick of Frank streaming reality TV on my bandwidth."


“Do you know how many times my son got booted off Fortnite because Frank was downloading boxsets of Love Island?”


Mr Signal has struggled to adjust to life without the "free WiFi". “I’ve had to start using my own data, which is just so… personal,” he lamented. “It’s not the same. Free WiFi tastes better.”


The ordeal has sparked outrage among local residents. One neighbour, Mr Router, described the situation as “a wake-up call for the community”.


“This is why you always password-protect your network,” he said. “Otherwise, freeloaders like Frank will ruin it for everyone.”


Tech experts have weighed in on the saga. “This is a textbook case of Wi-Fi grief,” said Dr Ping Loss, a digital security specialist. “When the free ride ends, it’s a tough adjustment.”


Despite his loss, Mr Signal remains defiant. “I’m not giving up,” he said. “I’ve already started walking around town with my phone, looking for other networks called ‘Free_WiFi’. One of them has to be legit.”


As for Mrs Modem, she’s taking no chances. “I’ve added a 20-character password and renamed my router ‘TryYourOwnWiFi’. Let’s see him crack that!”


Mr Signal has since launched a petition for more public Wi-Fi hotspots in Colchester. It currently has three signatures — two of which are his own.

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