Should licensed (proprietary Wi-Fi) be favored over unlicensed (public) Wi-Fi?

In August, Marriott, along with the American Hotel and Lodging Association, petitioned the FCC to clarify whether hoteliers have the right to block guest’s personal Wi-Fi hotspots.  The FCC responded in October by fining Marriott $600K for blocking guests’ personal Wi-Fi access.  This was in part due to several companies and agencies speaking out against the petition, like Google, Microsoft and Wireless Industry Group, CTIA.  FCC opinion is that it is illegal to block access to any one network in favor of your own; however Hotel groups maintain that allowing guests to use personal hotspots could present security and, perhaps more importantly, could cause interference with the hotels own Wi-Fi network.

Interestingly, Cisco stands on the side of hoteliers (and enterprises in general), stating that while all unlicensed spectrum should be available for public use; within an enterprise, licensed networks should be protected from interference, and at the end of the day, given priority.

We’re curious what you think!