Wi-Fi Wars

A battle over Wi-Fi rights is being waged at the University of Texas in Dallas. This week, the university banned students at the Waterview Apartment complex from installing their own 802.11b or 802.11g wireless access points. The reason? The university claims that these hotspots are interfering with the school’s own wireless network. The alleged hotspot “rogues” are not taking this lightly; they’re refusing to unplug their networks until if/when the government steps in.

Who can blame the students? They certainly should be entitled to set up their own hotspots if they choose. The university officials claim that they’re concerned about students who wish to use the school’s free wireless network, but end up surfing on the unregulated ones instead. Is this really such a big deal? All the school administrators need to do is tell the residents which wireless network to choose before heading online. Surely college level students can handle that detail.