Pretty funny to see the "WiMax Wardrivers" emerging, as geeks start finding networks before they're ready. Dave Zatz of Zatz Not Funny fame is the latest entrant, using some Baltimore Xohm hardware to start surfing on the yet-to-be-formally-opened Washington D.C. Xohm network.
Since he's the only (illegal) one on the net, so far speeds are pretty darn good, according to Dave. But don't be too surprised if the Sprint police hunt him down and shut him off -- we haven't heard any warnings yet but Dan Jones over at Unstrung is passing the word that those who try surfing before the new wireless beach is open might get shut down from time to time. (And we know from personal experience that the Chicago Xohm network is running pretty well already.)
Just one of the inconveniences of getting in ahead of the crowds, eh?
I'm hoping the "might get shut down from time to time" phrase means that since the network is not officially up in these areas, there are no service guarantees - rather than that XOHM is actively pursuing people with valid accounts who just happen to log in & connect through nodes that aren't officially live yet.