Boston’s Logan International Airport wants Continental Airlines to take down
an antenna it uses to provide free Wi-Fi access in the airline’s frequent flier lounge. Safety, the airport claims, is the issue.
Try rank greed, says Continental.
The airline claims the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), which runs
Logan, told Continental it could install Wi-Fi access in its private lounge
as long as it made arrangements to route the wireless signal, for a fee,
over Logan’s existing Wi-Fi backbone.
The only problem with that arrangement, Continental states in a filing with
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is that Logan’s fee for using the
airport’s Wi-Fi backbone signal exceeds the costs of Continental building
and maintaining its own wireless antenna.
The FCC documents state that Logan’s fee is based on “enplanements” (passengers boarding an airplane per day) or the total number of “hits” on the airport’s wireless network.
In July of last year, believing it was acting within its rights under the
lease agreement with Logan, Continental erected an antenna and began
offering free Wi-Fi access in its President’s Club. A Continental
spokeswoman said the airline offers free Wi-Fi in all its frequent flier
lounges here and abroad.
Since it does not use Logan’s backbone, Continental pays no fee to Logan’s
third-party wireless provider. In its FCC filing, Continental claims an
average of 32 customers a day are using the free Wi-Fi. Continental averages 1,355 enplanements per day at Logan.
Massport’s attorneys came calling. It seems Continental’s Wi-Fi signal was
bleeding outside the President’s Club premises and wireless road warriors
were quick to skip Logan’s fee-based Wi-Fi for the free wireless signal.
Continental lowered the frequency to keep the signal within its
President’s Club.
By June, Massport decided that Continental was in violation of its lease
agreement, and demanded the airline dismantle its antenna. Continental
replied that it was not, and further informed Logan officials they were in
violation of an obscure FCC regulation known as the Over the Air Reception
Devices Rule (OTARD).
According to Continental, OTARD prohibits a landlord from impairing the
installation, use or maintenance of an antenna if the impairment
“unreasonably increases the cost of installation, maintenance or use.”
“On its face, your demand appears to violate the provisions of the federal
rule,” Continental attorney Donna Katos wrote to the Logan attorneys.
Massport didn’t blink.
“Please note that the regulations do not require that the cost to a tenant
using a central antenna be equal to or lower than the costs of installing,
maintaining and using an individual antenna installed by the tenant,”
Massport attorneys replied.
The Massport attorneys then rolled out their hole card: “The antenna has
interfered with wireless devices outside of Continental’s club room.”
Citing a “potential threat to public safety caused by Continental’s
unauthorized and unlawful wireless communications,” Massport demanded that
Continental take down its antenna by July 9.
Continental took the issue to the FCC, seeking a declaratory ruling to
allow the airline to continue to operate its Wi-Fi service and to prohibit
Logan from taking any action until the FCC rules.
Massport officials declined to comment as long as the matter is subject to
litigation.
Interested parties have until Aug. 29 to file comments in the case.
