Greedy Airport Authority Threatens Airline for Offering Free Wifi - 2,019 Views, 5 Comments
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Greedy, greedy, greedy. That’s the only way to describe Boston’s Logan Airport and the Massachusetts Port Authority, who are demanding that Continental Airlines cease and desist in offering free wifi wireless Internet access to Continental passengers in the Continental Airlines Presidents Club lounge at Logan. Got that? Continental is providing the free wifi to their own passengers, in their own Presidents Club lounge, which they do for all of their Presidents Club passengers at all airports throughout the United States. And they are being told to stop. Why? Because it encroaches on the wifi service which Logan Airport itself offers to passengers traveling through Logan - for $7.95 a day. As a result, according to news reports, Logan is vowing to “take all necessary steps to have the (wifi) antenna removed”, claiming that Continental’s offering poses an “unacceptable potential risk” to nearby communications gear used by the state police and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents. Apparently Continental’s wifi signal is infected with cooties which Logan’s wifi signal is not. Continental is looking to the FCC for help, citing a section of the 1996 Telecommunications Act which it believes protects it from local authorities interfering with its wireless service. Good luck with that, Continental. The Massachusetts Port Authority is so enraged at the loss of the $7.95 per day revenue, which is estimated to amount to at least $1million per year, that their attorney, Deborah Lau Kee, has gone so suggest that the FCC regulations themsleves may not be lawful. Besides, says Kee, Continental is welcome to purchase wireless Internet access through them, for a “very reasonable rate structure for airline use based on the number of emplanements at Logan airport or on the number of hits.” And without cooties. Or perhaps Continental could just paint the interior of their Presidents Club room with that anti-wifi-sharing paint. In the meantime, there are other airports, which happily offer free wifi. 
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I grew up in Masachusetts then called Taxachusetts. I moved in 1979 and it appears the nothing has changed. I’ve since lived in Illinois, Indiana, California and now Texas. Looks like nothing has changed in the Bay State. Hey they gotta pay for that new highway and bridge they just built in the Boston area. Why not charge people who may never even see it let alone use it to pay for it with wi-fi fees at the airport.
Comment by John — 8/6/2005 @ 12:26 am
Excuse me, but isn’t that called a monopoly and price fixing? Since when does an entity control the air ways to say who gets to use it and who doesn’t, especially since the frequency involved are considered public frequencies? Seems to me a class action law suite is in order to protect fee enterprise.
Comment by Mic Nelson — 8/6/2005 @ 1:54 am
Are you sure that Microsoft doesn’t really own that airport?
Comment by Dave Ross — 8/6/2005 @ 2:34 pm
Massport is propbaly out of their league on this one. The FCC has already ruled that wifi falls under the OTARD rules which govern satellite dishes, cordless phones, etc.
In short a landlord, HOA, etc may not prevent a tenant from an antenna of 1 meter or less in size in an area that is under the exclusive control of such tennant for receiving/transmitting data such as wifi digital TV etc.
The FCC has exclusive regulatory powers for radio signals. Massport has none.
The only expections are for historical preservation or safety. THe landlord/HOA has the burden of proof.
Comment by Thomas — 8/9/2005 @ 7:27 am
Instead of using that special “anit-wifi paint” on the walls inside the President’s Club lounge, they could simply use a special “filter paint” -This newly invented filter paint would allow only Continental’s customers to access the provided wifi while other airlines customers would be denied access. This new paint would be made of what? DRY ERASE MARKERS providing the daily WEP encryption key posted inside the lounge. Of course I’m working on the assumption that other airline’s customers would not be waltzing through Continental’s President’s Club lounge then those who want thier monopoly can have it from the customers who did NOT pay Continental for thier flight, use of lounge, and included services.
Comment by SkipAAA — 8/10/2005 @ 10:14 pm