FCC Fines Smart City $750K for Blocking Wi-Fi

Media Contact:

Will Wiquist, 202-418-0509

will.wiquist@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

FCC FINES SMART CITY $750,000 FOR BLOCKING WI-FI

Company Used Wi-Fi Monitoring System to Block Mobile Hotspots at Convention Centers

WASHINGTON, August 18, 2015 - The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau

today announced a $750,000 settlement with Smart City Holdings, LLC for blocking consumers' Wi-Fi at

various convention centers around the United States. Smart City, an Internet and telecommunications

provider for conventions, meeting centers, and hotels, had been blocking personal mobile hotspots that

were being used by convention visitors and exhibitors who used their own data plans rather than paying

Smart City substantial fees to use the company's Wi-Fi service.

It is unacceptable for any company to charge consumers exorbitant fees to access the Internet while at

the same time blocking them from using their own personal Wi-Fi hotspots to access the Internet, said

Travis LeBlanc, Chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. All companies who seek to use technologies

that block FCC-approved Wi-Fi connections are on notice that such practices are patently unlawful.

In providing service at convention centers, Smart City charged exhibitors and visitors a fee of $80 to

access the company's Wi-Fi services for a single day. The FCC's investigation revealed that, if exhibitors

or visitors to the convention centers did not pay this $80 fee, Smart City would automatically block users

from accessing the Internet when they instead attempted to use their personal cellular data plans to

establish mobile Wi-Fi networks - or hotspots - to connect their Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the Internet.

As part of the settlement, Smart City will cease its Wi-Fi blocking activities and will pay a $750,000 civil

penalty.

In June 2014, the Commission received an informal complaint that consumers could not connect to the

Internet at several venues where Smart City provided Wi-Fi service. The Enforcement Bureau's

investigation revealed that Smart City automatically blocked consumers from using their own rogue

Wi-Fi networks at several convention centers the company serves, including the convention centers in

Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; Orlando, Florida; and Phoenix, Arizona. No

evidence exists that the Wi-Fi blocking occurred in response to a specific security threat to Smart City's

network or the users of its network.

This is the FCC's second major enforcement action regarding Wi-Fi blocking. In October 2014, the FCC

fined Marriott International, Inc. and Marriott Hotel Services, Inc. $600,000 for similar Wi-Fi blocking

activities at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Smart City Consent Decree is available at:

https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-15-917A1.pdf

A 2015 Enforcement Advisory on Wi-Fi blocking is available at:

https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-15-113A1.pdf

###

Office of Media Relations: (202) 418-0500

TTY: (888) 835-5322

Twitter: @FCC

www.fcc.gov/office-media-relations

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes

official action. See MCI v. FCC, 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).

LINK:	http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-fines-smart-city-750k-blocking-wi-fi-0...
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