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Fair Wi-fi: Have your say on 'rip off' hotels
Make your voice heard...

By Will Sturgeon

Published: Friday 16 February 2007

More than 1,000 silicon.com readers signed our Fair Wi-Fi petition in its first week and now we're calling on even more of you to back our campaign to highlight the rip-off charges being made by UK hotels for internet access.

Feedback is pouring in as well and we're encouraging everybody to get involved and back this campaign.

One reader told us: "I don't use public wi-fi at all in the UK because I'm strongly discouraged by high rates, monthly subscriptions and single provider dominance in some places."

Another wrote: "My experience is mostly of refusing to pay the extortionate charges most hotels seem to want to charge. This does impact my ability to work but my principles simply wont allow me to pay 'silly money' for something that should be at commodity prices or a gratis 'value add'."

And that can't be good for the UK as an increasingly mobile workforce comes to rely more and more on being online in order to conduct business.

Many readers have written in to point out that the UK is certainly lagging behind the US and putting itself at a competitive disadvantage.

One reader posting a comment on the petition site wrote: "If New York hotels can avoid charging extra for wi-fi access, then why not Europe? Major European cities must follow suit. Europe needs to increase competitiveness against the US, not put up more artificial barriers to business."

Another added: "I spend a lot of time in the US. The hotels there are not going out of business through offering cheap or free wi-fi, they are using it as a means of attracting custom."

It is certainly an issue that is sparking heated debate and strong feelings. Praising silicon.com's campaign, one reader wrote: "It's about time someone had the balls to raise this issue. I now vote with my feet and make sure that where I'm staying has decent, free wi-fi. Hotels need to wise up to this fact as it is already losing them business."

Another wrote: "'Screw the Customer' appears to be the focus of the UK hotel industry in general and wi-fi charges are just another fine example of their ongoing efforts."

silicon.com's Fair Wi-fi campaign is calling for fairly priced rather than free wi-fi access - we know there is a cost incurred - at the UK's hotels.

If you haven't already given your support to this campaign, sign up now.