Wi-Fi blocking debate far from over

The months after the Federal Communications Commission warned that it would no longer tolerate the Marriotts of the world blocking visitors’ Wi-Fi hotspots. Xirrus CEO Shane Buckley said, “Our feedback to the FCC has been please, please, please look at this very carefully. There are lots of good reasons why Wi-Fi blocking is a requirement in certain markets and a distinct benefit from a security perspective in others.”

Buckley suggests that the FCC should allow Wi-Fi blocking at least in the interim, and then “re-open the discussion on the use of this technology and clarify when its use is practical and acceptable. Wi-Fi vendors also need to collaborate to come up with better security mechanisms in public Wi-Fi networks.” He acknowledges that the topic is complicated given that we're talking about unlicensed spectrum that's free for anyone to use.