Unfortunately, it seems some internet providers weren’t so happy about that. “It is unacceptable for any company to charge consumers exorbitant fees to access the Internet while at the same time blocking them from using their own personal Wi-Fi hotspots to access the Internet”, said FCC enforcement chief Travis LeBlanc in a statement.
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The FCC fined a company hundreds of thousands of dollars for using a Wi-Fi monitoring system to block mobile hotspots at convention centers, including the DC Convention Center. “We have always acted in good faith, and we had no prior notice that the FCC considered the use of this standardized, “available-out-of-the-box” technology to be a violation of its rules”, Haley said.
Smart City Networks, based in Las Vegas, is the one that provides advanced technology and telecommunication services to the convention, trade show, and event industry.
As part of the settlement, Smart City will cease its Wi-Fi blocking activities and will pay a $750,000 civil penalty.
In a statement, Smart City Holdings president Mark Haley said his company in the past used equipment that prevented wireless devices from interfering with operations of exhibitors on convention floors.
This is the FCC’s second major enforcement action regarding Wi-Fi blocking. In October 2014, the commission fined Marriott worldwide Inc. and Marriott Hotel Services Inc.
The FCC said that in providing service at convention centers, Smart City charged exhibitors and visitors a fee of $80 to access the company’s Wi-Fi services for a single day.
Post updated to add comment from Smart City Holdings. At some of those locations, it admitted to transmitting “deauthentication frames” that would prevent third-party Wi-Fi devices from establishing or maintaining a hot spot.
The FCC, however, only pointed to Smart City Wi-Fi blocking in five cities – Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; Orlando, Florida; and Phoenix, Arizona. The agency just slapped a company with a 0,000 fine for blocking wifi hotspots at convention centers.
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“While we have strong legal arguments, we’ve determined that mounting a vigorous defense would ultimately prove too costly and too great a distraction for our leadership team”.
