Smart City Holdings LLC seems to have run afoul of the FCC with its hotspot blocking tactics. Smart City provides Wi-Fi for hotels and convention centers. Earlier today, the FCC hit the company with a $750,000 fine for violating carriers’ right to operate.
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The fine stems from an instance in June 2014 where Smart City used spectrum interference to block users from using their hotspots at a convention. The company is known to charge users $80 a day to use its networks. As one can gather, convention goers using their own Wi-Fi would cut into the company’s possible profits.
As expected, Smart City says that it didn’t do anything wrong as hotspot blocking is a common practice among companies that provide Wi-Fi service for events. The company said that it stopped blocking personal Wi-Fi in October 2014 after being contacted by the FCC.
The terms of the settlement also notes that Smart City would halt its attempts in blocking Wi-Fi in the future. While it doesn’t mean Smart City would be out of the network service for conventions business, being barred from blocking personal Wi-Fi would knock a pretty lucrative wheel out of its operation.
