Here at Geekabit we are great believers in free, reliable and straightforward wi-fi being offered in public places, such as bars, restaurants, hotels and coffee shops. It is universally expected, welcomed, and even our own research shows it does influence whether people choose to return to your business.

Which is why we were completely staggered to read that the hotel group Marriott were fined in the US in November last year for blocking wi-fi hotspots in one of its hotels, forcing business travellers to pay to access to Marriott’s own network. What makes it even more suspect, and outrageous, is that their wi-fi charges are normally $14.95 per day, but in this instance the jamming happened during a business conference, and the charges were considerably higher.

Marriott were fined $600,000 by America’s Federal Communication Commission (the FCC), who called the hotel chains actions ‘unacceptable’, and reinforced point that all jamming devices are illegal. Marriott released a statement claiming that they were simply trying to protect their customers from ‘rogue wireless hotspots’, and demanded that the FCC clearly define the law.

In an era where some customers find it tiresome to even have to ‘sign in’ to free wi-fi hotspots, we cannot imagine the impact this type of negative press would have on a UK based hotel chain, and will be keeping a close eye on the ‘Marriott affair’ in the weeks to come.

We often blog about wi-fi hotspots in the UK and abroad, so today we wanted to see what impact the planned universal (well, 98% of the UK!) 3G and 4G coverage have on the prevalence of hotspots?

The majority of people using public wi-fi hotspots only need the internet for short bursts – to check social media, read a few emails or compare the price of a product while shopping. When 3G was first launched as a service, it was unreliable, slow and often hard to access inside a building so the rapid growth of wi-fi services continued unabated. Now the performance of wi-fi and mobile broadband are on a par, with 4G often quicker than wi-fi hotspots in public places, so mobile broadband is the easiest option for these users.

43% of customers signed up to EE’s 4G service said they now rarely needed to use wi-fi hotspots, and turned off the wi-fi connection of their mobile when out and about. Fiddly sign-up forms still required by some hotspot providers also put people off using them if there is quick and reliable 3G or 4G, but these forms are becoming less common as a result.

Wi-fi hotspots will not disappear, with a big plus being that they are usually free, so you can download data and preserve your allowance. Mobile network operators are also working to improve the security of data sent over these networks, and make sure speed and reliability are up to scratch, but there is no doubt that they will become less relevant in the face of increasing 4G coverage.

Wi-fi is our business, and we have previously covered the fact that most people in the Western world now expect free and reliable wi-fi (or 3G/4G) everywhere they go. This got us thinking about the opposite –  where on earth is there wi-fi where you would never expect it?

First up, is Barneo Ice Camp, which as the name might suggest, is a mere 80kms from the North Pole. Wi-fi was installed here by Intel in 2005 to allow research data to be sent back to institutions many miles  south.
There is, would you believe, wi-fi at Everest Base Camp, 5,000 meters above sea level. Very useful for uploading that ‘summit selfie’ with your Sherpa.

In slightly warmer climes, lots of tourist beaches in Europe and the States now offer wi-fi hotspots, so you can post happy sunshine filled updates to social media all day long, making friends, family and workmates green with envy.

Finally, some graveyards in the US are now offering free wi-fi, proving that you will never quite escape from Twitter, even when six feet under! There are also reports of QR codes being placed on graves, so one can find out more information about who is buried there. Rather ghoulish, and  topical given the shops are filling up with pumpkins and skeleton costumes!

So you might be pleasantly surprised to find strong and reliable wi-fi in the most unexpected of places. Your author today speaks from a point of bitter experience, but with 4G rather than wi-fi. There is absolutely no 4G coverage in the vaguely rural pocket of Hampshire in which I dwell, but I was astonished to have a strong 4G signal at the Aguille du Midi, looking up at Month Blanc and standing within touching distance of the highest point in Europe….

Geekabit has been a hotbed of activity this week – we got stuck into a little telephone rewiring in Southampton and donated a wi-fi router to a Hampshire community hub this week. We all agree that the best way to unwind after a hard day’s work (or prepare for one, if early mornings are your thing) is to get out and exercise, and it probably won’t come as surprise that we can get a little competitive from time to time. Not that competitiveness is a bad thing when it comes to exercise and keeping fit and healthy – quite the opposite.

The great discovery that has changed the way we exercise came in the form of Nike+ Running, an app that allows you to log routes and distances, keep track of timing and pace but most importantly – set up a Nike+ Challenge and compete against other users. This is currently fuelling the fire of competitiveness amongst friends and Sprechen colleagues at the moment. Yes, you may look like a bit of a lemon running around with an iPhone strapped to your arm, but you know that every metre you run is being logged, added to your total and waved in the face of your fellow Nike+ users when they log in. What better motivation to run that little bit further each day? And a healthy body helps the mind stay agile and healthy too, so you know you are getting a wi-fi and networking team that is in tip-top shape and ready to work hard for you.