Marriott to Pay $600,000 Fine for Jamming Guests’ Wi-Fi, Charging for Internet Access

tupungato/iStock Editorial/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Marriott International will pay a $600,000 fine, the Federal Communications Commission announced Friday, after improperly blocking mobile hotspots to force hotel guests to use their pair Wi-Fi network.

According to a release from the FCC, the agency had been investigating whether Marriott “intentionally interfered with and disabled Wi-Fi networks established by consumers in the conference facilities of the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Hotel staff, the FCC says, used containment features of a Wi-Fi monitoring system to prevent guests from connecting to their personal Wi-Fi networks. At the same time, the hotel staff allegedly charged customers as much as $1,000 per device to access the hotel’s network.

“Consumers who purchase cellular data plans should be able to use them without fear that their personal Internet connection will be locked by their hotel or conference center,” Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc of the FCC said. He called Marriott’s actions “unacceptable” and noted that the practice “puts consumers in the untenable position of either paying twice for the same service of forgoing Internet access altogether.”

The FCC investigation was prompted by a March 2013 complaint from an individual who had attended an event at the Nashville hotel. In addition to the fine, Marriott will cease the use of Wi-Fi blocking technology and “take significant steps to improve how it monitors and uses its Wi-Fi technology at the Gaylor Opryland.”

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