This is again unreal. Just HOW MUCH time and money are we - the tax payers - going to have to pay for these people to hop-skip-and-jump around london?

Its a school sports day event, with a real sporting event price tag.

Let the French have it

Free space optics can be installed without problems from sunlight. It is generally the same as fibre optic technology without the fibre to guide the light, hence "free space". The only time you are likely to have problems with sunlight is if the sun gets directly behind one of the lasers. With a proper installation, it is relatively straightforward to locate the ends where the sun don't shine! Since it *is* based on lasers, it should not be a problem with people walking across the transmission path, as there is a H&S risk with having lasers at levels where people commonly have eyes....

AIP = a great Sgt Bilko idea to charge people for a public asset?

Who pays the VAT if the govt does not take a fee?

"has signed a deal with Airwave, who run a private cellular network for the UK's emergency services, to provide communications for the event using their already-owned spectrum,"

Huge concentrations of people being moved all over the place, every available frequency fully used, so hand some of the emergency services capacity over for general use. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

Since when was OFCOM and the frequencies it controls privatised?

OFCOM can and should just allocate the frequencies required for the duration of the games for free. It's well within their mandate. They should not be trying to operate as a private business within government. It's one thing to auction off swatches of spectrum to businesses, it's another to hold off selling spectrum for a couple of months for a temporary event that taxpayers are funding.

I belive the issue will be one about precedent - If they give the spectrum away for this event then it becomes easier for someone to argue that their event should have the same privilage, and then spirals from there.

I am bloody glad that I will have retired before this nonsense starts and don't have to strain my brain as to whether my radio mics will be ,usable-not usable,allowed-legal-illegal-digital-analogue-two bean cans and string, or whatever new whim Ofcomedy come up with! I will be down the Pub! So upyers!