It’s not looking good for the major hotel chains who want to be able to block their guests from using their own Wi-Fi hotspots, as the agency involved with deciding the issue just came out strongly against it.
Calling the practice a “disturbing trend,” the Federal Communications Commission wrote in an advisory posted on its website on Tuesday that blocking personal Wi-Fi is against the law, and that it “will take appropriate action against violators.”
“In the 21st Century, Wi-Fi represents an essential on-ramp to the Internet. Personal Wi-Fi networks, or ‘hot spots,’ are an important way that consumers connect to the Internet,” the FCC wrote. “Willfull or malicious interference with Wi-Fi hotspots is illegal.”
Along with hotels, the practice is also barred by convention centers and other commercial establishments. The Commission also encourages people to report instances where they believe their personal Wi-Fi is being tampered with.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler also released a statement coming out against the practice.
“Consumers must get what they pay for. The Communications Act prohibits anyone from willfully or maliciously interfering with authorized radio communications, including Wi-Fi,” he said said. “Marriott’s request seeking the FCC’s blessing to block guests’ use of non-Marriott networks is contrary to this basic principle. Protecting consumers from this kind of interference is a priority area for the FCC Enforcement Bureau.”
This is not the first time the issue of hotels blocking Wi-Fi to force guests to purchase it from the establishment has come out.
Last year the Marriott hotel chain was fined $600,000 by the FCC for blocking its guests from setting up their own Wi-Fi hotspots, so that they’d have to use the hotel’s Wi-Fi instead, and, of course, pay for it. Because the hundreds of dollars a night you are paying to sleep on an unwashed comforter simply isn’t enough.
In its defense, Marriott stated that it was only concerned with “rogue and imposter Wi-Fi hotspots used in our meeting and conference spaces that pose a security threat to meeting or conference attendees or cause interference to the conference guest wireless network.”
Despite the fine, a ruling on whether or not the hotels will be allowed to go ahead with the practice still remains up in the air. Marriott, the American Hotel & Lodging Association and others have been petitioning the FCC to let them go ahead with the practice. With this statement, though, its easy to see which way the vote is going to go on this.
It’s safe to say that pretty much everyone except for those who can earn some extra money are against the practice of allowing personal hotspots to be blocked, including
Last month Google and Microsoft released letters to the FCC also asking it to vote against the hotel chains.
In it’s letter, Google argued that blocking Wi-Fi signals was “against the public interest,” as unlicensed acess bring a lot of money to the economy, also calling it a public safety issue.
“Consumers increasingly rely on Wi-Fi and VoIP technologies to make calls when carrier voice service is not available, and this includes calls to emergency services. Especially in a place of public accommodation, disconnecting network connections on which users rely puts health and safety at risk,” Google wrote.
Almost nobody really wants hotels to be able to block hotspots, and, thankfully, that includes the people whose voices actually matter.
(Image source: walyou.com)
