iPads Are Why Your Hotel Wi-Fi Sucks (And Might Stop Being Free)

Free Wi-Fi in public places is slowly becoming an inalienable right in the Western world. And apparently there are so many iPads out there that they’re choking it to death, says the New York Times.

As spoiled and bratty as it makes us sound, bad free Wi-Fi can be enough to drive people away from hotels and other businesses. And it seems it’s been especially bad of late. But there’s a good reason! Hotels claim that the popularity of tablets in general, and the iPad specifically, has increased the stress on Wi-Fi networks exponentially over the past year and a half because they’re primarily used for high-bandwidth tasks like streaming video.

They’ll be adding extra bandwidth, but that comes at a cost, and that cost is almost certainly going to be passed on to you, dear traveller. There are a few options on the table, like a tiered service that will give you enough bandwidth to browse the web and check email, but choke for streamed video and other tasks unless you pay.

Surprisingly, travellers don’t seem as up-in-arms as coffee shop denizens might be. They seem to just be happy that they’ll be able to have the option to buy something that’s going to work. What about you guys: Would you pay for hotel internet that used to be free if it was guaranteed to be fast and reliable? [NY Times]