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Sunday, March 20, 2011

London Olympics mobile phone ban is nothing to be exercised about

Mark Bridge writes:

“It’s political correctness gone mad, innit?”  The terms and conditions for booking tickets to the London 2012 Olympic Games include a warning that certain items are banned. Food, flasks of drink, umbrellas, musical instruments and mobile phones are all on the prohibited list.

Ban on mobile phones, picnics and music in London's 'fun' Olympics, said The Telegraph. Other similar headlines spotted elsewhere included Mobile phones, picnics and music banned at London Olympics and London Olympics organisers ban mobile phones. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

Except things aren’t as clear-cut as those headlines suggest. The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) says it’s concerned about athletes being disturbed. I’d certainly like to think the competitors won’t be distracted by the Crazy Frog or a Justin Bieber ringtone when throwing javelins around.

And, let’s face it, the Vue cinema chain already bans camera-equipped mobile phones. Wimbledon insists on no mobile phone usage during tennis matches. The Football League has gone as far as blocking mobile video footage of soccer games. And most sporting and entertainment venues have a blanket policy that outlaws smartphones by saying “no cameras” or “no recording equipment”. Even The O2 - surely a mobile-friendly venue if ever there was one - threatens to confiscate your camera (and may even want you to remove your sunglasses!)

I accept that several thousand words of terms and conditions don’t give the impression of friendliness towards ticket buyers. But I don’t believe for a moment that mobiles will be banned from every Olympic event. To start with, even The Telegraph notes that “the mobile phone ban is likely to be enforced only in venues where silence is required during the event”. And, from a logistics perspective, there simply isn’t time to search everyone when they arrive. Of course, being caught using your mobile phone is another matter completely…

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Tags: legal video camera london sport

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Opinion Articles

T-Mobile, the Information Commissioner's Office and the stolen customer information

Mark Bridge writes:

The Information Commissioner's Office - the UK authority that upholds information rights - has published details of its recent case involving T-Mobile. Contact information and expiry dates for minimum-term contracts were being sold to third parties, enabling mobile phone dealers to target potential customers who were in a position to sign a new contract... which could earn the dealer hundreds of pounds for a new connection.

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This week at The Fonecast: 11th June 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

On Monday there seemed to be a dearth of mobile news as the industry held its breath and waited for Steve Jobs to speak.

Why there was quite so much breath-holding beats me, because Apple had already told us what the announcement was going to cover. Anyway, we learned about iOS 5, which will arrive in the autumn, and its 200 new features – including a new messaging service called iMessage.

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Interview with Todd Levy about the family-friendly BloomWorlds Android app store

Mark Bridge writes:

Today's best-known stores mobile application stores are the Apple App Store and the Android Market, although independent app stores including GetJar and Handango have been with us for much longer.

And now there's another independent application store preparing to launch. The company behind it is called BloomWorlds – and I spoke to co-founder Todd R Levy for this week's podcast feature.

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Soon, no-one will care about mobile phone numbers - and the networks will love it

Mark Bridge writes:

Watch almost any American TV show from the 1960s - I'd recommend a good police procedural - and at some point after a few episodes there'll be a scene in a restaurant. One of the main characters will be dining and their meal will be interrupted by a waiter bringing a telephone to the table. The phone will probably have an implausibly long cable, although there may be a telephone socket nearby.

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Apple iMessage isn't going to kill SMS

Mark Bridge writes:

Apple iMessage is going to kill SMS. And then, when it's killed it, it'll dance on its grave. Anticlockwise. Whilst mocking every mobile network in the world.

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Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

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Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

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They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

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Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

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Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

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A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

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