[ghouse]

It works because he has access to two separate networks and can load balance between the two. His neighbors could be using any ISP. So long as his router can also connect to their network, he can load balance between their wireless network and his wired network. If his router had three radios, he could load balance between to upstream wireless networks and his own downstream network.

[moron4hire]

My point was, in this setup, if his neighbor was not a Comcast customer, then he would not have any legitimate authorization to connect to the xfinitywifi network through his neighbor's router.

I don't have a lot of confidence in Comcast to have set it up so that connections to the xfinitywifi network do not impact the regular, private usage. It's just not in that company's style to think proactively and conscientiously about its customers.