
F.C.C. Sides with Hot Spots, and Hospitality Industry Feels a Chill - username223
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/business/mobile-hot-spots-fcc-hotels-convention-centers.html
======
lutorm
How could they possibly think that jamming public frequency bands would not be
illegal?

[https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/jammer-
enforcement](https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/jammer-enforcement) clearly
states "Federal law prohibits the operation, marketing, or sale of any type of
jamming equipment, including devices that interfere with ... wireless
networking services (Wi-Fi)."

~~~
wmf
There is a debate here about whether syntactically valid 802.11 frames count
as "jamming".

~~~
Karunamon
From the horse's mouth:
[https://transition.fcc.gov/eb/jammerenforcement/jamfaq.pdf](https://transition.fcc.gov/eb/jammerenforcement/jamfaq.pdf)

 _Section 333 of the Communications Act : “No person shall willfully or
maliciously interfere with or cause interference to any radio communications
of any station licensed or authorized by or under [the Communications] Act or
operated by the United States Government.” 47 U.S.C. § 333._

If you're willfully screwing with other people's transmissions, you're
breaking the law. It's that simple. The method being used doesn't really enter
into it.

~~~
yellowbkpk
Wifi operates in unlicensed spectrum and transmitters and receivers are
required to handle interference in this space. Is it still jamming if it's not
a licensed station doing the broadcasting?

</devilsadvocate>

...I suppose it does say "authorized" there, and 2.4 and 5Ghz transmitters are
authorized.

~~~
codys
It always feels funny to me to refer to the ISM bands (the spectrum itself) as
"unlicensed".

\- Devices operating there have to be approved

\- There are rules about how the devices work

\- There are rules about how the _operator_ is allowed to operate the approved
devices ("Operation is subject to the following conditions" sticker on most
equipment).

(all of this under FCC part 15 rules)

~~~
yuubi
In other bands, the operator in control of the transmitter generally needs to
file paperwork with the FCC to get a license (in some systems like cellphones,
the base station is in control so the subscribers don't need licenses, just
approved equipment).

------
mikeash
This is an interesting story, but I have to wonder if the writer did their
research. This caption really stuck out at me:

> A mobile hot spot can be transported in a carrier the size of a briefcase.

I mean, this is technically true, but it's pretty crazily misleading about the
size. The picture itself shows some massively bulky thing. It also shows what
appears to be an ethernet switch with _one_ cable plugged into it, which is
about 25ft long, coiled up, and has the other end just dangling free. And it
shows a power brick large enough to use as an actual brick.

~~~
shortformblog
One thing I'll add about this is that these wireless hotspots need to cover
different types of uses than what you assume with traditional hotspots.

The event director of the American Public Human Services Association is not
trying to put people on a MiFi or a Karma device—she's trying to ensure an
entire room full of people at an education session or a large hall have access
to an open wireless network.

That's a lot different usage than the average person might expect to run into.
Her $30,000 bill is essentially to manage the wireless for the whole event.

I think it's actually misleading in the other direction than what you're
suggesting–generally it's the vendors who are running into these frustrations
with wireless blockers, not the event managers for the associations. The
people who usually feel the brunt of the pain here are the vendors on the
tradeshow floor, the startups and companies who are running stands that rely
on a lot of multimedia gizmos.

These are the folks who are reaching out to the FCC, not the event planners.

------
LastZactionHero
"Although Wi-Fi might work fine for checking email or conducting a brief
product demonstration, activities that demand more bandwidth or more security,
like transmitting a live broadcast or running credit cards, still often
require wired Internet access."

Why would running a credit card require wired internet?

~~~
explorigin
This logic is a few years old, but back when WEP was popular and HTTPS less-
so, I was nervous about buying things online over such a connection. WEP
was/is easily crackable and without HTTPS, that credit card info is plaintext
over the airwaves.

Nowadays we have WPA2 and HTTPS is more common. But I still prefer an ethernet
cable.

~~~
cortesoft
There was NEVER a time where credit card info was sent over http. When are you
talking about?!

HTTP over wired is not secure, either.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
> There was NEVER a time where credit card info was sent over http. When are
> you talking about?!

Amazon launched in 1995, and SSL only launched the same year, so they might
have taken plaintext credit card info for a short while.

That's a technicality, though.

~~~
cortesoft
Well, even then, 802.11 didn't come out until '97, so no one was ordering from
Amazon over wireless then!

------
mjevans
Good. It's too bad that this same stance can't be taken for other aspects of
this industry. There just isn't market capacity in even semi-large cities for
multiple convention centers so there is literally no competition at that scale
and thus nothing to prevent predatory pricing and restrictions of all sorts.
Also there is a tendency at the smaller scale for hotels to horizontally
integrate so as to form a micro-monopoly on a 'full solution' for their
building, meaning that you don't get to pick and choose different providers
for different services, you only get to pick at a whole package (and
availability) level.

------
oldmanjay
This story is your regular reminder that the world does not owe anyone a
workable business model.

~~~
jegutman
Hey, MPAA, RIAA, Verizon, Time Warner, Comcast, and 90% of car dealerships (to
name a few), please pay attention.

~~~
vinceguidry
Capturing rents is the original workable business model.

------
Sephr
Regardless of whether or not sending deauth packets counts as jamming, the
root problem can be solved by simply enabling and requiring protected
management frames on your router/hotspot/phone.

Once you have protected management frames required, the only way to block your
devices from connecting to your hotspot would be the kind of _actual jamming_
that I'm sure we can all agree is illegal. Problem solved.

Unfortunately most phones' hotspot apps don't let you configure this setting
(and disable it by default), so we need to push OEMs to enable it by default
or at least make it configurable. I for one have it required on my home
network, and it gives me peace of mind knowing that I can't be deauthed by
random strangers.

------
awinder
Wait: Conference internet, as in that thing that rarely works without a hitch
and is often super-overwhelmed, is being paid for by organizers for up to
6-figures??? Does anyone else find this to be absolutely insane?

~~~
mikeash
That's what happens when you effectively have a monopoly: a terrible product
with a huge price.

Only it turns out they _don 't_ have a monopoly! And like most monopolists,
rather than try to compete, they want to just shut down the competition.

------
shortformblog
I've covered this issue closely in my role as a journalist in the association
space, and this is definitely a clear divide between the hospitality industry
and the associations. The thing is, associations and businesses bring in
thousands of people to each event, and they drive major economic benefits.

Why do those economic benefits have to come from the wireless access? If you
want to drive massive revenue from a conference, build a restaurant that
profits off the many instead of a wireless business that profits off a small
handful of people.

Here's a take on this issue that's specifically targeted to those in the
association space being targeted by these high charges:
[http://associationsnow.com/2015/02/learned-fccs-wifi-
blockin...](http://associationsnow.com/2015/02/learned-fccs-wifi-blocking-
saga/)

------
venning
My organization occasionally sends people as exhibitors to conferences. At the
biggest one of the year, renting a wireless hotspot from the hotel costs $900
(for a poor connection).

Rumor has it, one year, they rented a hotel room for a few hundred dollars and
then sent an intern up to the room every hour to sync up everyone's devices.

------
tracker1
I'm with the FCC on this one... though on the flip side, I wouldn't mind if
movie theaters were lined with materials that block wireless signals
altogether in the theater/screen rooms.

~~~
SEJeff
The people who are saved by oncall surgeons who might happen to be in a movie
theater might beg to disagree.

There are entirely valid reasons why it is illegal to block wifi / cellular
signals.

~~~
mikeash
Seems like a classic case of looking for a technical solution when human
solutions exist and do just fine.

All you have to do is make it clear that any and all phone use, including just
looking at it, is not allowed. Encourage people to report offenders. Make it
easy to do so anonymously, for example by passing a note to an usher. Eject
violators and do not refund their money.

(This is stolen from the Alamo Drafthouse's policy, not just something I made
up. It seems to work just fine.)

~~~
SEJeff
THIS, SO MUCH! Yes, I completely agree that this is the correct solution. Be
very strict about people being ejected who use electronics and interrupt other
patrons. That is the proper solution.

------
ericras
When the lady featured in the article "brings her own hot spot network", what
is powering it? Is she plugging it into the network jack in the room? Is it
cellular?

~~~
wmf
The article is talking about cellular-to-wifi equipment.

~~~
ericras
I suppose that should have been obvious. I would have liked to see rough
prices quoted for this since I imagine it could be pricey as well.

~~~
Johnny555
No need to get something that fancy for short-range use in a conference booth.
I have a $40 T-Mobile Wifi hotspot that I activate for $10/GB when I need it.

It came in handy at a conference where the provider's network went down and we
could still process credit card orders over the cheap hotspot. Though I
imagine that if everyone used them, the cellular networks would not keep up
with the demand.

~~~
mikeash
As long as the cellular networks are on top of their game, they shouldn't have
a problem. Conference centers can be blanketed in microcells to ensure good
coverage even when spaces are extremely crowded and utilization is high. My
own (limited) experience is that cellular is more reliable that WiFi in such
an environment. Your problem would more likely be accidental interference from
other hotspots on the WiFi end.

~~~
wmf
_Conference centers can be blanketed in microcells..._

Except the conference centers would charge the carriers millions to install
any equipment, so the signal usually has to punch through windowless buildings
from the outside.

