Google and Microsoft Challenge Hotels in Wi-Fi Debate
December 2014
Google and Microsoft Challenge Hotels in Wi-Fi Debate
While the latest flashy gadgets and technology tend to
steal the spotlight each holiday season, the continued debate over wireless
access at hotels—whether for individual purposes or to accommodate larger
groups—will likely have some of the biggest implications in 2015.
Several months ago, the FCC fined Marriott $600,000 for
blocking the use of personal hotspots at the Gaylord Opryland Resort &
Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA)
and Marriott International responded with a petition arguing that a hotel
operator should be able to use equipment to manage its network, even if it
"may result in interference with or cause interference to" a guest's
wireless device, as a matter of safety against malicious software and other
web-based attacks.
Beyond network security, AH&LA argued that
"unauthorized access points can hinder the ability of meeting or
convention attendees to access" hotel provided Wi-Fi. It noted this interference
could slow down connections and lead to dissatisfied customers.
Hilton Worldwide voiced its support of the petition for
reliability and security reasons.
Meanwhile, Google and Microsoft have sided with the
wireless industry's lobbying group and others who oppose the hotel industry's
petition, stating that AH&LA and others are using the issues of reliability
and safety as a guise for their true intentions of keeping guests dependent on
hotel wireless networks, which often come at a premium to the user.
More specifically, Google mentioned that "allowing
hotels or other property owners to deliberately block third parties' access to
Wi-Fi signals would undermine the public interest benefits of unlicensed
use."
Microsoft added that the FCC has already ruled that Wi-Fi
jamming and interference is prohibited, so the current petition by members of
the hotel industry should be rejected.
Google and Microsoft separately argued that there are
other ways to provide secure wireless access without blocking the use of
hotspots and made the additional case that blocking these sorts of personal
devices could actually compromise health and safety in emergency situations
where voice service is not available and a dependable wireless signal is
needed.
The debate over Wi-Fi accessibility remains a complex
issue and ideally, as major hotel brands—such as Hyatt—move toward providing
free, reliable, Wi-Fi access for the general user, less guests will feel forced
to turn to third party options to get connected.
Then hotels can work to find a balance between overall
reliability and security, and adjust the rates they charge groups for bandwidth
usage at meetings and conventions accordingly.
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