The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court, issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Regulatory Bulletin.
FCC
Settlement For Blocking Wi-Fi Hotspots
The FCC entered into a Consent Decree with Marriott International, Inc. and its subsidiary, Marriott Hotel Services, Inc. under which they will pay $600,000 to resolve an FCC investigation into whether Marriott 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. An investigation by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau revealed that Marriott employees used the containment features of a Wi-Fi monitoring system at the Gaylord Opryland to prevent users from connecting to the Internet via their own personal Wi-Fi networks when these users did not pose a threat to the security of the Gaylord Opryland network or its guests. Under the terms of the Consent Decree, Marriott must cease the unlawful use of Wi-Fi blocking technology and take significant steps to improve how it monitors and uses its Wi-Fi technology at the Gaylord Opryland. Marriott will also institute a compliance plan and file compliance and usage reports with the Bureau every three months for three years, including information documenting any use of access point containment features at any U.S. property that Marriott manages or owns.
Comcast/Time Warner Cable Merger and Charter spin-offs
The FCC has extended the deadline for filing Replies to Responses and Oppositions related to the pending transactions between Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Charter Communications until October 29, 2014. The FCC also stopped the informal 180-day transaction clock in the proceeding until October 29, 2014, or until FCC staff has determined that each party’s response to the FCC’s information requests is complete, whichever is later.
NDBEDP
The FCC announced the selection of the Perkins School for the Blind for certification to participate in the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) for the state of Michigan, effective October 3, 2014. The new selection was made because the entity currently serving Michigan informed the FCC that they would be unable to continue to participate in the NDBEDP and would be relinquishing its certifications. See the Regulatory Mix dated 9/18/14.
