'Wi-Fi Police' Stalk Olympic Games

schwit1 writes with news from London that Olympic venues are being patrolled by so-called "Wi-Fi police," who seek out and shut down unauthorized access points and hotspots. BT is the "official communications services provider" for the Games, so access points other than the ones they set up or approve have been disallowed. A picture tweeted from the Olympics shows a gentleman carrying a portable direction antenna that can localize sources of transmission and interference. "One possible aim of shutting down such WiFi access points is to cut down on interference with essential wireless communications being used by those refereeing, reporting on and working at the sporting events. ... The news of the WiFi crackdown has angered many of those following the Games online, who were already upset at Olympic authorities' attempts to limit the use of social networking tools at the Games at certain times. The London Olympics had been billed as the first 'social media Games,' but organizers have been accused of bungling the effort to seamlessly integrate popular technologies like Twitter and Facebook into the event."

Comments

Fox hunt?

[Ksevio]

If I were in the area, I'd be tempted to set up a few of the old linksys routers that cut out now and then in strange places (just powered, not networked).

Make it a little more challenging for them to find the real "WiFi Offenders"

Re:Fox hunt?

[Anonymous Coward]

If I were in the area, I'd be tempted to set up a few of the old linksys routers that cut out now and then in strange places (just powered, not networked).

Make it a little more challenging for them to find the real "WiFi Offenders"

Or put your phone in Hotspot mode then put it in your wasteband of your pants. When he comes by and points that ridiculous thing at your crotch, just say "yep, guilty as charged, your hunk detector worked like a charm" and then dare him to get close enough to stop your wifi signal.

BT Wifi Fees

[Anonymous Coward]

BT offers paid hotspots, through BT WiFi (£5.99 for 90 minutes, £9.99 for 24 hours, £26.99 for five days), except for BT home customers and customers of mobile carriers which have sharing agreements with BT (O2 and Tesco Mobile). For anyone else, vouchers can be bought from kiosks at Olympic parks, BT told GigaOM.

Short translation

[dkleinsc]

"We want more money."

Actually, a good portion of human activity can be explained by that simple phrase. In this case, it's about enforcing rules guaranteeing BT certain amounts of money.

Re:Short translation

[gbjbaanb]

yup, so true. One of our more respected news shows interviewed Coe (the olympic head organiser) and asked awkward questions like "so if someone turns up wearing a Pepsi tshirt, will they be allowed entry?" eventually they got an answer of "yes but only if its not obviously organised" - ie no crowdsourcing some non-coke advertising.

Reminds me of the Bavaria Babes (where brewer Bavaria gave bright orange dresses to a few ladies to go to a football match that was officially sponsored by rival Heineken), and the ban on Heineken's response of a helmet.

Frankly, its getting a bit silly when you have to ask if you can wear what you want to an event, and equally silly when the marketing people hijack that with a publicity stunt. But the most stupid is when a group of select sponsors get to take over the entire event in the first place.

Re:Short translation

[metrometro]

The cognitive dissonance occurs when people realize that the world's premier global festival is a "private" event in which the incredibly rich can exclude citizen participation for no better reason than it does not make them more rich.

When exactly did we sign up for that?

Re:Short translation

[Beardo the Bearded]

"We want more money."

Actually, a good portion of human activity can be explained by that simple phrase. In this case, it's about enforcing rules guaranteeing BT certain amounts of money.

BT paid to be the sole wifi provider of the Olympic games and at Olympic Venues, if the Venues are private property they have done nothing wrong.

THEY ARE NOT PRIVATE PROPERTY! The games are paid for with public coffers.

All that infrastructure wasn't paid for by BT or McD or Coke or the IOC, it was all the local municipalities or provinces or federal government. It took Montreal 30 years to pay off their Olympic debt, British Columbia is four billion in the hole after 2010, and the same will happen to London in two weeks.

Other Olympic blackouts

[1u3hr]

The IOC has a lot more shutdowns to its credit.

Every single online stream for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, for instace, i snow a endless loop saying "During the London 2012 Olympics, we are unable to bring you regular ABC programming in your location. This is due to the Olympic Broadcast Agreement."

Try any of the streams at http://www.abc.net.au/radio/listenlive.htm#directlinks All blocked if you're outside Australia.

Assholes. Not just sport. EVERYTHING from Australia's main broadcaster is off the air for weeks because of the fucking Olympics.

Re:Other Olympic blackouts

[Hatta]

Is there anything about the Olympics that isn't corrupt and disgusting?

Re:The Olympic Park is Private Property

[Anonymous Coward]

19. Spectator Policy

* 19.1
* Personal property
* 19.1.1
* There will be no storage available at the Venues, save for limited space afforded to children’s buggies, prams and wheelchairs.
* 19.1.2
* LOCOG has the exclusive right to determine what objects may be brought into a Venue by a Ticket Holder. LOCOG will not store confiscated and/or unauthorised material at a Venue and a Ticket Holder will have no right for the item to be returned.
* 19.2
* Prohibited and restricted items
* 19.2.1
* Ticket Holders are prohibited from transporting into a Venue any firearm, ammunition, dangerous weapon or object, explosive, chemicals or incendiary device. Any Ticket Holder who is found to be in possession of any of the above items will have the items seized, shall be removed from a Venue and may be subject to arrest and/or prosecution by the relevant authorities.
* 19.2.2
* No objects that may cause damage to Persons and/or property, or cause disturbance to the regular and orderly execution of a Session (as determined by LOCOG in its sole discretion), may be brought into a Venue.
* 19.2.3
* The following is a non-exhaustive list of restricted items which may not be taken into a Venue (LOCOG reserves the right to amend this list, generally, or in respect of any Venue or Session): food (save for baby food), alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (save for baby milk and other valid medical reasons), liquids in containers of greater than 100ml in size, needles (save as required for valid medical reasons), animals (save for assistance or guide dogs), weapons (including knives), illegal drugs, other illegal substances, fireworks, firecrackers, poles, flagpoles, sticks, large photographic equipment (including tripods), bats, large umbrellas and other blunt instruments, motorcycles, bicycles, roller-skates, skateboards, or other types of skates, electronic transmitting equipment, flags of countries not participating in the Games, large flags or banners, horns, whistles, drums, rattles, musical instruments, lasers or any other devices that in the opinion of LOCOG may disturb a Session, objects bearing trademarks or other kinds of promotional signs or messages (such as hats, T-shirts, bags, etc) which LOCOG believes are for promotional purposes, counterfeit products, balls, rackets, frisbees or similar objects, large quantities of coins, lighters, advertising or promotional material of any kind, printed matter bearing religious, political or offensive content or content contrary to public order and/or morality, bottles or containers made of glass or other material, flasks, thermoses, refrigerators, large objects such as suitcases or bags, and in general any material that LOCOG may deem dangerous or that may cause damage or disruption to a Session.
* 19.3
* Forbidden behaviour
* 19.3.1
* Any behaviour by a Ticket Holder that, in LOCOG’s view, creates a dangerous situation, puts at risk an individual’s personal security, is against public order, interferes in any way with the orderly execution of a Session or disrupts the enjoyment of a Session is forbidden and may result in a refusal of admission to or removal from the Venue without refund.
* 19.3.2
* The following is an illustrative list of prohibited and restricted behaviour within any Venue: fighting, public drunkenness, smoking, gambling, unauthorised money collection, any activity related to marketing or advertising (including, for the av