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Story: Free as the air

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Posted by: David Wright (Friday 5 August 2005, 8:37 AM)

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Even if the terrorists use Wi-Fi to co-ordinate the explosions, removing that facility isn't going to change anything, they'll just drop back to more reliable methods like, oh, I don't know, timers?

What next, ban all clocks, watches and mobile phones, PDA's and computers with built-in timing equipment?

You aren't going to stop a terrorist by making him pay for wi-fi or blocking the signal totally, in fact a bomb working off a good old fashioned timer is probably easier to construct, cheaper and more reliable than one triggered wirelessly and if that doesn't work, then attach it to a so-called suicide-bomber...

Anybody who wants to create terror and panic will find a way with or without hi-tech. Putting a blanket ban on free networks or banning wi-fi or mobile signals on the underground or at airports isn't going to change anything, it's just letting commercial firms hold their monopoly through veiled threats and broken logic.

In fact you'll probably have the terrorists laughing their socks off because the Government/Airport Authority/whatever is doing their work for them by spreading the FUD and disrupting the lives of normal citizens, without the terrorists actually having to raise a finger!

Just look at the past, long before we had wi-fi networks or mobile phones, groups in Ireland, Spain, France, the Middle East, etc. managed to do create a lot of confusion, terror, panic and death. Modern electronics just makes for more expensive and possibly better co-ordinated attacks, but unless you put a whole city under house arrest and strip search every commuter, you aren't going to change anything.

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