Marriott fined $600,000 for blocking its customers’ Wi-Fi

This is unconscionable.

Marriott International Inc. (MAR) was fined $600,000 by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for blocking hotel customers from connecting to the Internet on personal Wi-Fi networks in order to force them to pay for the hotel’s network.

Marriott employees blocked mobile “hotspots” at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, while at the same time charging consumers, small businesses and exhibitors as much as $1,000 per device to access Marriott’s Wi-Fi network, the FCC said in a statement today.

Can you imagine staying in a hotel that blocked your cell phone or iPad from accessing the internet so you’d be forced to pay through the nose for the hotel’s exorbitantly priced WiFi package?