o2 UK iPhone users and free wifi from The Cloud...

Just got this in from SMS Text News reader, Dan:

Well, I don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned anywhere else but I logged on to a cloud hotspot with my [unlocked] iPhone yesterday and it showed an O2 branded splash screen that required me to enter an O2 phone number and, presumably, receive an SMS with a verification code to avoid unlocked iPhones getting the free wifi without an O2 contract.

Theoretically speaking, Dan, you could get an o2 pay-as-you-go sim card and do that? Then you’d get free wifi for your unlocked iPhone? I wonder if the system actually verifies if you *bought* an iPhone, or if you’re just an o2 customer?