[Arthalion]

The question is whether he reasonably believed that this WAP was intended to be freely available to the public

The decision to deregulate the entire 2.4 Ghz spectrum and open it to unfettered public use pretty much cements that position. Legally, in the United States, nobody "owns" ANY 2.4 Ghz radio signal...the fact that the signal is transferring computer packets rather than voice data is legally irrelevant. States can't even tighten restrictions on this subject because the Supreme Court has already ruled that governance of the radio spectrum is strictly a federal matter. So yes, the assumption IS that ALL 2.4Ghz communications are public property. The only way 2.4 Ghz network owners can dodge this is by encrypting the connection and designating it as "private". At that point, several other federal laws kick in that allow the prosecution of anyone who penetrates a private computer network...but you MUST do SOMETHING to first designate it as PRIVATE.

[general_re]

So yes, the assumption IS that ALL 2.4Ghz communications are public property.

I don't think so - try taping your neighbor's conversations on his 2.4 GHz cordless phone and see how far that defense gets you. ;)