FCC Warns Hotels And Other Commercial Establishments Not To Block Personal Wi-Fi

(RTTNews) - The Federal Communications Commission or FCC said Tuesday that Personal Wi-Fi networks, or "hot spots," are an important way that consumers connect to the Internet. It warned that Willful or malicious interference with Wi-Fi hot spots is illegal.

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 unlawfulintentional interference.

In 2014, the Enforcement Bureau conducted an investigation, culminating with a Consent Decree, into this kind of unlawful activity by the operator of a resort hotel and convention center.

In that case, Marriott International Inc. (MAR) deployed a Wi-Fi deauthentication protocol to deliberately block consumers who sought to connect to the Internet using their own personal Wi-Fi hot spots.

Marriott admitted that the customers it blocked did not pose a security threat to the Marriott network and agreed to settle the investigation by paying a civil penalty of $600,000.

Following the settlement, the Enforcement Bureau has received several complaints that other commercial Wi-Fi network operators may be disrupting the legitimate operation of personal Wi-Fi hot spots. The Bureau is investigating such complaints and will take appropriate action against violators, the FCC said.

In December, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) said they support people who want to use personal Wi-Fi devices to reach the Internet in U.S. hotels. The companies had filed letters aiming to sway the Federal Communications Commission as it considered whether hotels were permitted to block personal Wi-Fi devices at their properties.