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Last updated on Wednesday, August 19, 2015
(INDIANAPOLIS) - The company that provides Wi-Fi for the Indiana Convention Center - at a hefty price - has been fined for blocking people from using their own Wi-Fi devices there.
The Federal Communications Commission issued a $750,000 fine to Smart City Holdings, owner of Smart City Networks. The company provides Wi-Fi service for several convention centers - in addition to Indy, Smart City serves the Cincinnati, Columbus, Phoenix and Orlando convention centers.
However, users of a Smart City Wi-Fi connection must pay a daily fee of up to $80.
The following is a statement issued by Mark Haley, President of Smart City:
"Our goal has always been to provide world-class services to our customers, and our company takes regulatory compliance extremely seriously. We are not gatekeepers to the Internet. As recommended by the Department of Commerce and Department of Defense, we have occasionally used technologies made available by major equipment manufacturers to prevent wireless devices from significantly interfering with and disrupting the operations of neighboring exhibitors on our convention floors. This activity resulted in significantly less than one percent (1%) of all devices being deauthenticated and these same technologies are widely used by major convention centers across the globe as well as many federal agencies.
"We have always acted in good faith, and we had no prior notice that the FCC considered the use of this standardized, 'available-out-of-the-box' technology to be a violation of its rules. But when we were contacted by the FCC in October 2014, we ceased using the technology in question.
"While we have strong legal arguments, we've determined that mounting a vigorous defense would ultimately prove too costly and too great a distraction for our leadership team. As a result, we've chosen to work cooperatively with the FCC, and we are pleased to have resolved this matter. We are eager to return our energies to providing leadership to our industry and delivering world-class services to our clients."
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