Marriott's (thankfully) raising the white flag and admitting defeat to Google, Microsoft and everyone else lobbying against its plans to block WiFi devices within its hotels' premises. The company has issued a statement that makes its new stance clear: guests can now use their own WiFi devices inside its hotels, without having to worry that their hotspot connections will be blocked in the middle of something important. If you recall, Marriott has recently paid a $600,000 fine due to a complaint that it's been blocking guests' MiFi and personal hotspots. The hotel chain claims it's to protect guests from connecting to rogue hotspots set up by hackers and has even submitted a request to the FCC to let it continue doing so.
Google and its allies didn't buy that excuse one bit, of course, and called Marriott out for forcing guests to pay for internet connection. The hotel tried to win the opposition over by saying that it only planned to block WiFi devices within business and convention centers and not inside guest rooms, but as you can see, it has chosen to back off in the end.
January 14, 2015 - Marriott International listens to its customers, and we will not block guests from using their personal Wi-Fi devices at any of our managed hotels. Marriott remains committed to protecting the security of Wi-Fi access in meeting and conference areas at our hotels. We will continue to look to the FCC 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.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Marriott
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