NEW YORK — Instead of paying for pricey internet connections at hotels, many travelers choose to use their own W-Fi hotspots generated from their mobile devices. But, according to some, that cyber trick doesn’t always work when staying at a Hilton Hotel.
In August 2014, guests of the hotel chain started to complain to the FCC that their personal Wi-Fi signals were being blocked, and they were being told they would be charged $500 to set up their own hotspots.
According to CNNMoney’s David Goldman, the FCC sent Hilton a letter of inquiry in November 2014 asking the company for basic information about its Wi-Fi blocking practices.
On Monday, November 2, 2015, the FCC fined the hotel chain $25,000 for blocking their investigation. The FCC found Hilton failed to provide responses for "the vast majority of its properties."
Goldman reports in order to block personal Wi-Fi hotspot signals, hotels can use W-Fi jammers that don’t effect their own Wi-Fi networks.
Travis LeBlanc, head of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, told Goldman "Hotel guests deserve to have their Wi-Fi blocking complaints investigated by the Commission. To permit any company to unilaterally redefine the scope of our investigation would undermine the independent search for the truth and the due administration of the law."
The FCC has threatened a higher fine if Hilton doesn’t start cooperating with their investigation.
Goldman reports a Hilton spokesman disagreed with the fine and said the Hilton has a policy in place that prohibits Wi-Fi blocking.
The spokesman told Goldman, "Throughout this inquiry, we have cooperated with the FCC, providing extensive background and details in a timely and efficient manner. We believe that the FCC has no basis for vastly expanding the initial inquiry based on a single complaint at a single Hilton hotel."
Goldman reports the FCC has banned the use of Wi-Fi jammers and in January, the FCC fined Marriott $600,000 for blocking Wi-Fi in its convention centers.
