WiFi police stalk Olympics to protect sponsors  

BT is the “official communications services provider” for the Olympics and has 1500 Wi-Fi hotspots at Olympic sites, with prices starting from £5.99 (NZ$11.40) for 90 minutes.

Where exactly is the line between protecting your brand and being an asshole? I seriously couldn’t even believe this when I read it. It’s even worse than the last asshole move I can think of in the world of spot where the IRB fined Samoan rugby players $10K for wearing incorrect mouth-guards.

Not only are ‘real’ hotspots banned, so are those generated by smartphones.

Want to create a wireless hotspot on your smartphone so you can get online on your laptop or tablet in between matches? That’s prohibited, as are portable Wi-Fi hotspot devices.

Holy shit. Is this even legal? Banning folks from using their own data plans? Can people actually be thrown out of Olympic venues for this? It’s officially banned by the London Olympics Committee, but can they really stop people from using their own devices to use their own data? I doubt it would hold up in court. But, perhaps if you’re at the olympics, consider tethering via Bluetooth for now.