FCC enforcement advisory follows $600,000 Marriott fine
Hotel operators cannot block guests from using Wi-Fi hot spots rather than the hotel’s network, according to a strongly worded “enforcement advisory” published by the Federal Communications Commission.
The advisory comes following an Oct. 3 FCC order that fined Marriott Hotel Services $600,000. In that case, Marriott admitted to blocking Wi-Fi hot spots at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn.
Specifically, an FCC investigation found that Marriott employees used a “containment capability that, when activated, will cause the sending of de-authentication packets to Wi-Fi Internet access points that are not part of Marriott’s Wi-Fi system.”
In response, officials with Marriott requested guidance from the FCC on the issue.
That guidance came this week: “The Enforcement Bureau has seen a disturbing trend in which hotels and other commercial establishments block wireless consumers from using their own personal Wi-Fi hot spots on the commercial establishment’s premises. As a result, the bureau is protecting consumers by aggressively investigating and acting against such unlawful intentional interference.”
The advisory calls Wi-Fi hot spots “an important way that consumers connect to the Internet.”
Marriott’s actions in Nashville violated Section 333 of the Federal Communications Act, according to the FCC advisory.
Based on the applicable statutes, hotels, convention centers and other commercial businesses can’t block personal hot spots or otherwise interfere with Wi-Fi, cellular or public safety communications channels.
It’s also illegal operate, market or sell “any type of jamming equipment,” according to the advisory.
Following the lodging company’s petition for guidance from the FCC, big-time tech companies like Google and Microsoft picked sides.
In a Dec. 19 filing, Michael Daum, a technology policy strategist in regulatory affairs for Microsoft, made the case against Marriott’s position.
“A Wi-Fi hot spot generated by a consumer’s mobile phone is not part of the hotel’s network, and is also not authorized to operate in the unlicensed spectrum.”
