[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4cast #407: Jamming hotspots

Wed Oct 15 10:30:26 EDT 2014

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4cast #407: Jamming hotspots
October 15th, 2014

Wi-Fi hotspotA couple of weeks ago, the Federal Communications 
Commission fined 
<http://www.fcc.gov/document/marriott-pay-600k-resolve-wifi-blocking-investigation> 
the Marriott hotel chain $600,000, charging that they "…intentionally 
interfered with and disabled Wi-Fi networks established by consumers in 
the conference facilities of the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention 
Center in Nashville, Tennessee, in violation of Section 333 of the 
Communications Act." In plainer English, Marriott was sending signals 
that disabled the cellular mobile hotspots that people at the conference 
facility were trying to set up for use by their group, thus getting 
around paying steep fees charged by Marriott for using their in-house 
Wi-Fi. (If you're curious about how steep these fees can be, OPLIN just 
paid the Greater Columbus Convention Center $10,000 for Wi-Fi access for 
OLC Convention attendees last week.) While most media reported this 
story 
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/quickerbettertech/2014/10/13/how-marriott-bumrushed-opryland-guests-to-pay-for-wifi/> 
as an example of a hotel getting caught being greedy, the FCC's action 
raised ticklish questions for some technicians responsible for 
maintaining Wi-Fi networks.

  * Marriott fined $600,000 by FCC for blocking guests' Wi-Fi
    <http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/travel/marriott-fcc-wi-fi-fine/index.html>
    (CNN | Katia Hetter) "Marriott issued the following statement Friday
    afternoon defending its actions: 'Marriott has a strong interest in
    ensuring that when our guests use our Wi-Fi service, they will be
    protected from rogue wireless hot spots that can cause degraded
    service, insidious cyber-attacks and identity theft,' the statement
    said. 'Like many other institutions and companies in a wide variety
    of industries, including hospitals and universities, the Gaylord
    Opryland protected its Wi-Fi network by using FCC-authorized
    equipment provided by well-known, reputable manufacturers.'"
  * Understanding FCC decision regarding Wi-Fi containment at Marriott
    <http://blog.airtightnetworks.com/fcc-wi-fi-rogue-containment/>
    (Mojo Wireless | Hemant Chaskar) "In this case, it seems FCC reached
    the conclusion that rogue containment was used in a manner to
    disrupt rightful communications of users even though they did not
    pose security threat to the Marriott network. I think everyone would
    agree with the FCC position here. Some may bring up the hotel Wi-Fi
    performance degradation issue due to personal hot spots, but Wi-Fi
    operates in the public spectrum and does not guarantee performance
    in the first place."
  * Prudence in the wake of the FCC's ruling on Marriott jamming WiFi
    <http://itcblogs.currentanalysis.com/2014/10/08/prudence-in-the-wake-of-the-fccs-ruling-on-marriott-jamming-wifi/>
    (IT Connection | Mike Fratto) "On the other hand, Marriott - and any
    organization running a WiFi network - has good reason to monitor its
    airspace in order to provide good service. If you look at the
    airspace at any public venue, it is a mess of access points
    overlapping channels and degrading WiFi access for everyone, and
    there is no way for a venue owner to provide good service in that
    environment. However, protecting unwitting guests from 'insidious
    cyber-attacks and identity theft' is a specious argument and not one
    you should make unless you have tangible proof."
  * FCC-Marriott WiFi blocking fine opens Pandora's box
    <http://www.networkcomputing.com/wireless-infrastructure/fcc-marriott-wifi-blocking-fine-opens-pandoras-box/a/d-id/1316449>
    (Network Computing | Lee Badman) "Many of us have bought into the
    fact that WLAN can be as good and secure as Ethernet, and the WLAN
    industry says we shouldn't hesitate to include WiFi in our critical
    infrastructures. But we need the FCC to provide some clarity. Even
    if it's not OK to 'jam' in whatever form that may take, it ought to
    be OK to have 'Thou shalt not use' policies for our own spaces. The
    FCC didn't say that's acceptable, but it really needs to at this point."

*/Articles from Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:/*

  * Hotspot: Share your phone's mobile data with other devices.
    <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=fdea8fdb-0950-4ba3-8c73-a360cb588108%40sessionmgr111&vid=0&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=94346367>
    (/Time.com/, 2/6/2014, p1 | Jared Newman)
  * It that a hot spot in your pocket?
    <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=941ee432-18f4-4e7e-834c-14a679ad8c9e%40sessionmgr198&vid=2&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=59565401>
    (/Entrepreneur/, April 2011, p42 | Rich Karpinski)
  * Managing mobile hotspots.
    <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=bbf8287c-b441-42e2-8b07-15c635635991%40sessionmgr112&vid=2&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=59669538>
    (/eWeek/, 3/21/2011, p26 | Cameron Sturdevant)

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