London 2012 Has WiFi Police to Shut Down WiFi Hotspots
The International Olympic Committee recently revealed that mobile hotspots are not allowed at this year's Olympics. While you are permitted to use a your smartphone or tablet inside the venues, personal or private access points, along with 3G hubs and a ton of other items, are not allowed inside. Of course, when this news got around, many people wondered how the IOC planned to stop people from setting up their own WiFi hotspots. The answer is this guy:
Twitter user Sadao Turner posted the picture above along with the caption, "Something you won't see on TV, this is the Olympics WiFi Police. They seek unauthorized WiFi signals and shut them down."
We emailed the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games about the picture and they in turn directed us to the UK telecoms watchdog Ofcom, which is looking after the WiFi at the Games. We asked what would happen to someone caught operating a personal hotspot but we haven't heard back just yet.
The ban on WiFi hotspots likely has to do with efforts to keep interference and overloaded networks to a minimum. Already there has been issues with overcrowded networks interfering with event equipment and preventing commentators from receiving necessary data regarding the events.
Image Credit: @SadaoTurner
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tell me about it.
These olympics are turning to a farce, players throwing their matches. Accusing athelets of using drugs when they're not. Missiles in town, wifi police and incompetent security companies.
I would not be proud to be a citizen of the country hosting.
I mean it does kinda suck that you can't use a personal hotspot, but is it such a big deal that you can't tether while in the crowd? What types of things do people need to tether anyway, their laptops?
It's government's troubles, citizens is just victims of circumstances, but community have to express dissatisfaction, yep.
Don't you get it or you are just paid FUD person working for the big Media and Telecom Cartels?
Both Media and Telecom companies buy spectrum and don't use it. They bribe governments to keep unlicensed spectrum to a minimum and now they are preventing the users of using the little-tiny share of the spectrum dedicated for them with most dubious reason:
... WTF: Media/Telco use your unused spectrum and get of your fat asses off the WiFi bandwidth.
i've had it with NBC and am boycotting watching the olympics for the last two days now.
The thing is is that they aren't telling you to not use wifi, they aren't telling you to not use your phone. They are asking, that while at the event, you don't use your wifi hotspot feature of your phone or other device. And who needs to run one there anyway? Are you and your friends sitting there with laptops and all connecting to your cell phone?
This band is all about:
"Participants and other accredited persons cannot post any video and/or audio of the
events, competitions or any other activities which occur at Olympic Venues. Such video
and/or audio must only be for personal use and must not be uploaded and/or shared to a
posting, blog or tweet on any social media platforms, or to a website.
Video and/or audio that are taken outside of Olympic Venues are not subject to the above-
noted restriction."
[1] http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Games_London_2012/IOC_Social_Media_Blogging_and_Internet_Guidelines-London.pdf
I think i need to make an Android app that randomly turns on your wifi server and randomizes the MAC address and WiFi channel
it would be hysterical to watch one app drive the Olympic committee nuts and to watch that idiot with his antenna run around like a chicken with its head cut off