--- description: Marriott will pay 600K to address an FCC investigation that a hotel used Wi-Fi "jammers" to keep customers from creating personal hot spots. title: Marriott To Pay 600K For Blocking Personal Hotspots image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb71793a42193a58/6986a6fbe53abacddd4d4c59/gaylord-oryland-resort-convention-center.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Hotel Allegedly Blocked Your Wi-Fi Hotspot  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Oct 3, 2014 5:52 PM CUT  The Opryland Hotel and complex in Nashville, Tennessee on July 13, 2013. The Opryland Hotel and complex in Nashville, Tennessee on July 13, 2013.Cameron Davidson—Corbis  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Oct 3, 2014 5:52 PM CUT Marriott has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $600,000 to resolve Federal Communications Commission allegations that the chain’s Nashville, Tenn. hotel used Wi-Fi “jammers” to prevent customers from creating hot spots with their smart phones or other devices. According to terms of the settlement, Marriott has agreed to pay the fine without admitting to any specific violation. By blocking personal hot spots, the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, operated by Marriott, allegedly raked in thousands of dollars in Wi-Fi fees from hotel patrons who had no other option but to use the hotel’s Wi-Fi for internet access, according to an [FCC announcement](http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily%5FReleases/Daily%5FBusiness/2014/db1003/DA-14-1444A1.pdf "undefined") released Friday. The jammers targeted the hotel’s convention center, where rates for internet access range from $250 to $1,000 per device. “Consumers who purchase cellular data plans should be able to use them without fear that their personal Internet connection will be blocked by their hotel or conference center,” [said Travis LeBlanc](http://www.fcc.gov/document/marriott-pay-600k-resolve-wifi-blocking-investigation "undefined"), head of the FCC’s enforcement bureau. “It is unacceptable for any hotel to intentionally disable personal hotspots.” According to the terms of the consent decree, Marriott will also implement procedures to improve its handling of IT issues at the Nashville hotel. Marriott did not immediately reply to Time’s request for comment on the settlement. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3461725/marriott-wifi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3461725/marriott-wifi/"},"headline":"This Hotel Allegedly Blocked Your Wi-Fi Hotspot","datePublished":"2014-10-03T17:52:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:34:43.507Z","description":"According to FCC allegations, the chain prevented users from operating personal hotspots at a Nashville hotel","url":"https://time.com/3461725/marriott-wifi/","keywords":["Companies","Technology","Business topic","legal","FCC","Marriott","Hotel"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb71793a42193a58/6986a6fbe53abacddd4d4c59/gaylord-oryland-resort-convention-center.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb71793a42193a58/6986a6fbe53abacddd4d4c59/gaylord-oryland-resort-convention-center.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Opryland Hotel and complex in Nashville, Tennessee on July 13, 2013.","caption":"The Opryland Hotel and complex in Nashville, Tennessee on July 13, 2013.","creditText":"Cameron Davidson—Corbis","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3461725/marriott-wifi/","name":"This Hotel Allegedly Blocked Your Wi-Fi Hotspot"}}]}] ```