The chairman of the FCC has stepped into the fray over the ban imposed in 2004 by Boston's Logan International Airport over WiFi services offered by individual airlines at the facility.
Kevin Martin is seeking support from other FCC commissioners to get the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) to allow airlines to offer WiFi in waiting areas. Two years ago, Massport launched an $8-a-day WiFi service throughout the airport and subsequently ordered Continental Airlines to take down its WiFi equipment, and then threatened legal action against American Airlines and Delta Air Lines if they didn't follow suit.
Massport's reasoning was that the airlines' service would interfere with Massport, airline, and State Police radio networks. The airlines contend that this is nothing more that Massport exercising its monopolistic control over the situation and denying them the right to make money from offering WiFi to their customers.
Unless Massport can come up with some arguments in their favor, it seems pretty likely that Martin and the FCC will get their way and the airlines will be able to offer WiFi to their customers.
