After weeks of petitioning, the popular hotel chain Marriott has pulled its request for the FCC to let it ban WiFi Hotspots in its hotels.
Earlier in January, Marriott had been previously fined $600,000 after investigations discovered that the Marriott staff who was managing the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee attempted to interfere with the local signal. They asked the FCC for legal assistance in regard to how they could legally block a non-Marriott-hosted WiFi spot. However, the FCC rejected their claim on Wednesday.
Marriott released its official statement on Friday. In the statement, Marriott's Chief Information Officer Bruce Hoffmeister elaborated on its goals in banning the signals, as well as its decision to withdraw the petition to the FCC.
"Marriott International has decided to withdraw as a party to the petition seeking direction from the FCC on legal Wi-Fi security measures. Our intent was to protect personal data in Wi-Fi hotspots for large conferences. We thought we were doing the right thing asking the FCC to provide guidance, but the FCC has indicated its opposition. As we have said, we will not block Wi-Fi signals at any hotel we manage for any reason. And, as of January 15, we provide free Wi-Fi to all members of our Marriott Rewards program who book directly with us. We're doing everything we can to promote our customers' connectivity using mobile and other devices, and we're working with the industry to find security solutions that do not involve blocking our guests' use of their Wi-Fi devices."
Most experts thought Marriott's plan to ban external signals for security reasons was a terrible idea. Tech reporter Glenn Fleishman of Boing Boing wrote that the petition implied that "Marriott is asking... for a unique right: the right to police (WiFi) spectrum privately based on property rights."
