On the very same day that Liz Benston noted in the Las Vegas Sun that Cosmopolitan had decided to provide free wireless Internet without fees or resort fees, reader/listener John wrote in with some evidence that next-door neighbor Aria has unyoked its wi-fi access throughout the property as well.
That, above, has been the Internet greeting screen every day since he checked in last week. Gone was the room number request or other authentification that he's a guest, and it works everywhere. From John's emails:
I thought maybe they changed it for New Year's Eve, but it's still going and it's well past New Year's Eve now. ... It seems to ask you every few hours to reconfirm that you agree to the terms of use, but it's just a single button click - absolutely no input (like room number etc) required. Since it's wi-fi there is no way for them to actually tell if you're in a room or otherwise identify you. If you are within range of the network, you can access it.
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Ok I'm sitting in the casino and sending this over wifi
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Ok I'm sitting in the casino and sending this over wifi
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Just walked throughout the promenade at Aria, throughout the casino, and even into part of the convention center, and had a strong wifi signal throughout. It's all on the same free network. The name of the wireless network is simply "Aria". I couldn't get a signal at Bellagio, so I don't know if they've switched.
Huh. If Aria really has freed up its Internet access, it would be marvelous and 100 percent thanks to John Unwin and Cosmopolitan. It also, however, would beg the question of why they need to charge so much (anything) for resort fees if Internet access, the most used perk of the involuntary cost of staying at an MGM property, is not among the privileges.
It could also be a system glitch. So let's see where this goes.
