Google and Microsoft Team Up Against Hotel Industry on Wi-Fi Jamming
Skift Take
Google and Microsoft are teaming up against Marriott, Hilton and the rest of the hotel industry over travelers' rights to independent Wi-Fi access when they stay at or visit a hotel.
The battle over hotel Wi-Fi is not merely whether it is provided for free or for a fee: There is also a fight at the FCC that boils down to the issue of whether guests essentially will be forced to use a property's Wi-Fi network or whether they can bring their own.
The FCC several months ago fined Marriott $600,000 for the practice of jamming conference attendees' personal Wi-Fi hotspots in ballrooms at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Marriott and the American Hotel & Lodging Association subsequently petitioned the FCC asking for a declaratory ruling or a rulemaking that would effectively endorse the practice that Marriott got fined for.
