Remember back in October, when the good people of the Internet were outraged by the reveal that a Marriott resort in Nashville was blocking convention goer’s mobile hotspots and charging exorbitant prices for hotel Wi-Fi? Well, Marriott promises that won’t happen anymore! Kind of. Maybe. Get all of your hotel Internetting done now, just in case?
In a statement made yesterday, the chain said it will “continue to look to the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] to clarify appropriate security measures network operators can take to protect customer data and will continue to work with the industry and others to find appropriate market solutions that do not involve the blocking of Wi-Fi devices.”
When allegations that the Gaylord Opryland Marriott in Nashville was “jamming mobile hot spots so that you can’t use them in the convention space” came to light three months ago, Marriott was charged $600,000 in fines by the FCC, despite the hotel’s claims that blocking personal Wi-Fi was to protect guests from hackers:
[…] when our guests use our Wi-Fi service, they will be protected from rogue wireless hot spots that can cause degraded service, insidious cyberattacks and identity theft. Like many other institutions and companies in a wide variety of industries, including hospitals and universities, the Gaylord Opryland protected its Wi-Fi network by using FCC-authorized equipment provided by well-known, reputable manufacturers.
But the FCC doesn’t see Marriott’s actions in such a flattering light. In a report dating back to 2013, the Commission accuses the chain of using
[…] containment features of a Wi-Fi monitoring system at the Gaylord Opryland to prevent individuals from connecting to the Internet via their own personal Wi-Fi networks, while at the same time charging consumers, small businesses and exhibitors as much as $1,000 per device to access Marriott’s Wi-Fi network.
Marriott claims the focus was always on increasing cyber security in communal hotel areas like meeting rooms, rather than guest suites. And the chain isn’t alone in concerns over guests’ online security; over the summer, a group of hotels asked permission from the FCC to block personal hotspots as a defense against privacy threats.
Regardless, for the time being at least, Marriott guests are free to Internet at will–at least until the chain’s “Hackers Stay For Free!” deal really gets into full swing.
(via CNet, image via woodleywonderworks on Flickr)
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Published: Jan 15, 2015 02:43 pm