The Cloud's stupid, stupid policy on device MAC addresses

The Cloud is a UK network of WiFi hotspots.

They do an unlimited subscription for £9.99 per month. That means you can go to any of their hotspots (think train stations, pubs, hotels) and use their service. If you just want your Nokia N95 (for example) to access the service, then it’s £6.99 a month for unlimited usage. (But you can’t use this connection with your laptop or any other device).

You can, I think, still buy hourly access from The Cloud’s portal if you want — but the most sensible way to access their service is via an unlimited subscription.

I’ve had a subscription for a long time — maybe a year or so — and, generally speaking, they’re pretty reliable. I have put them through their paces now and again. For example, when I was in Hartlepool recently, not a single one of their hotspots worked. However they’ve been a lifesaver (or business-saver) when I’ve needed internet access urgently.

I was copied in on an email from an SMS Text News reader this evening who is APOPLECTIC with annoyance. He’s just got himself a new iPhone and naturally, wants to use the device in some The Cloud hotspots. He can. He’s got an unlimited subscription. The only arse? He needs to manually log on with this username and password every time he visits a hotspot.

BUT, The Cloud offer a MAC-address registration option. That is, you can automatically register your Nokia N95, iPhone, iPod, PSP (etc) with The Cloud, so that whenever you hit a The Cloud hotspot, you’ll get internet access. You don’t need to first load up the device browser and login. You do this by registering the device’s unique MAC address with The Cloud thus:

All is ok, so far.

However, the reader is going nuts — justifiably — because he subscribes to the unlimited service plan.

He got a note from The Cloud customer service this evening explaining that if he’d like his iPhone (or any other device) to be automatically switched on to The Cloud, he needs to buy another ‘Cloud unlimited’ or ‘Cloud music’ subscription.

‘Why?’ He asks.

It’s ridiculous. Why do Unlimited £9.99/month customers not get the option to add, say, 4 device MAC addresses as well as use the standard laptop login service?

Does anyone else subscribe to The Cloud? How do you rate your experience?