WiFI News, Law, Regulation and Policy Updates

FCC Delivers a Blow to Logan Airport Bid to Regulate WiFI (Click here to view the entire WiFI FCC Order) In one of the first hotly contested WiFI regulatory matches, Logan Airport lost its bid to regulate local WiFI. See the reporter Peter Howe's Boston Globe November 2, 2006 article. On November 6, 2006, the FCC released an order in response to a petition for declaratory ruling filed by Continental Airlines. Continental petitioned the FCC to preempt the Massachusetts Port Authority - Boston's Logan Airport -from shutting down Continental's WiFi network in the frequent flier lounge. MassPort had contracted with a WiFI vendor for services at the airport, and had informed Continental that it was in breach of its real estate lease prohibiting private WiFI networks. The FCC held that WiFI is an unlicensed service and no WiFI operator is entitled to protection against harmful interference from other WiFI radios. The FCC held for the first time that WiFI antennas are also covered under its rules.