In response to media reports suggesting the Marriott’s FCC request would apply to guests staying at Marriott hotels, the company issued a statement clarifying their position and confirming they only want to block personal Wi-Fi hotspots in meeting and conference rooms.
“To set the record straight it has never been nor will it ever be Marriott’s policy to limit our guests’ ability to access the Internet by all available means, including through the use of personal Mi-Fi and/or Wi-Fi devices,” the company said in the statement posted on its official blog.
“The question at hand is what measures a network operator can take to detect and contain rogue and imposter Wi-Fi hotspots used in our meeting and conference spaces that pose a security threat to meeting or conference attendees or cause interference to the conference guest wireless network.”
The Marriott claims that the move is one only focused on protecting conference attendees from security threats, and isn’t an attempt to force guests to use its own Wi-Fi network.
Internet giants including Google and Microsoft aren’t happy with the Marriott’s proposal, and have told the FCC as much.
The Marriott has previously been involved in complaints for using Wi-Fi blocking technology, including one case which had a settlement of $600,000 in October.
