London Olympics bring in the Wi-Fi police

British Telecommunications, a.k.a BT, are the official “communications provider” of the London 2012 Olympics event. They have set up 1500 Wi-Fi hotspots around Olympic events and venues so that Olympic-goers have access to secure and fast Wi-Fi internet.

Pricing on the other hand, is extortionate – as you might of anticipated. For £5.99 you get just 90 minutes access. To ensure people pay those prices which are nothing short of Criminal, the London Olympic committee have a secret weapon up their sleeves. The “Wi-Fi Police”.

To ensure BT’s revenue the Wi-Fi police have to enforce a ban of personal/private wireless access points and 3G hubs” from all areas covered by the BT hotspots. The Wi-Fi police are armed with large red Wi-Fi detectors, as seen in the picture, and they have been seen patrolling the areas and telling people to turn off their personal Wi-Fi connections that aren’t provided by the BT Olympic service.

This is just the latest in a string of protective moves by the IOC to protect their sponsors. Only official sponsors who have paid enough are permitted to use the Olympic rings in advertising.

No doubt most of the public will think this is a step too far, and we’d be very inclined to agree. Although, someone has to foot the bill for the Olympics and we’d rather it was BT than us.

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