SettingUp Your Own HotSpot (2)

Selecting a Protocol

Any hotspot provider should assume that their customers are going to connect up to their wireless LAN (WLAN) using different protocols and cards from different manufacturers. The greatest number of people will probably use 802.11b protocol to connect. Smaller numbers of people will use 802.11a and 802.11g. The best you can do is to install an access point that offers tri-band support a/b/g, or install more than one access point to cover the different protocols in use. Look for the following features in your access point/router as they are most likely to be useful to you:
  • The ability to extend the range of your WLAN using repeaters and bridges
 • Management software that shows you who is connected, what the throughput was, and other features
• Reliability and ease of use The organization that certifies compliance of 802.11 devices is the Wi-Fi Alliance.
It's a good idea to purchase equipment that carries the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED mark. That mark indicates that the access point or router has passed the Wi-Fi Alliance test suite. You can also post their network logo when you register your site with their directory found at www.wifizone.org. There is no cost for joining the Wi-Fi Zone.
(Note: The Wi-Fi Alliance's web site at www.wi-fi.org is a good place to begin an exploration of wireless technology in general and hotspots in particular. There are straightforward non-technical explanations of terms and technologies there as well as pointers to a large number of resources for further reading. )
For more robust management, you may want to consider getting a Network Access Controller or NAC. This gatekeeper device has smart filters, performs user authentication, and has management, logging and accounting features. Two companies offering this type of device are BlueSocket and Nomadix.
Forget about features such as extended versions of protocols like ULTRA-802.11g or SUPER-802.11g, because few if any of your customers are likely to benefit from the additional capabilities. The best hardware devices are the devices that are as broadly interoperable as possible. The fewer problems people have connecting, to your hotspot, the less time your business is going to lose servicing your customer's computer problems and the more time you will spend on the business that your hotspot is meant to support. Whenever you have a choice, it's a good idea to sacrifice speed for reliability. Since most people either have 802.11b connections, or have devices that are in theory backward-compatible with 802.11b, if you must choose a single protocol to get a really reliable unit you should choose an 802.11b access point.

 Using Your ISP:
The Acceptable Usage ProblemNot all ISPs encourage or want hotspots on their network. To some it's a security issue, but for most ISPs the issue is one of throughput: they don't want their network's bandwidth saturated by excessive traffic. Check your service contract and you will find a clause in almost all of them that allows service only under "acceptable use." The term acceptable use means that your ISP can pull anyone off their network that they deem to be doing something that they don't like. A spammer operating over a combination cable TV/broadband connection is going to get pulled (one hopes), as will any home that is serving up gigabytes per hour of music or porn on a peer-to-peer service.

What most ISPs don't tell their customers is that there is a threshold level of throughput that triggers the acceptable usage clause. Go beyond that level and you are going to get a letter warning you that you have exceeded your throughput quota. Service termination follows shortly thereafter. So if you are going to set up a hotspot that many people are going to use, you really have no choice but to call your ISP and tell them what you want to do. You'll probably do this before you know what traffic your hotspot generates, but this is the time to shop around for a deal. All ISPs are in business, and their business is selling bandwidth. With a business account and your ISPs rules on what you need to do to provide secure wireless access to the public, you will not run into this problem. Your only problem will be paying the bill, and many providers do what the phone company does – charge businesses a premium. So it pays to shop around.

Indeed, many ISPs do not allow e-mail to be sent over their network from a mail client when the person connecting to the network does not have an authorized account. Since most spam is sent using SMTP clients, and this mechanism could be launched to initiate a DOS (Denial of Service) attack though bandwidth saturation, this restriction makes some sense. It would not be possible to stop a user from sending mail from a browser client, but it is much less likely that bulk mail would be sent that way.

Hotspots in a Box

A hotspot in a box is a turnkey solution that you can buy and set up yourself. Typically you get a software package, instructions for configuring your system, and a support line if you run into trouble. Some vendors will sell you the hardware you need as part of the package; others just sell you the software and support. Any provider that sells you software, hardware, the connection, and manages it for you is really a commercial hotspot provider. We'll look at the commercial providers in the next section.
One of the advantages of a do it yourself package where you provide the hardware is that you can use newer technology and accommodate 802.11g users as well as implementing a firewall, VPN , and other advanced security features that you might not get from a commercial hotspot in a box provider. If you use one of the latter type, it's worth asking about what they offer in terms of advanced and advancing technology. If a newer protocol comes along, such as 802.11i, will they support it and can you (or they) swap out your equipment to upgrade you. A good provider will update your software and hardware (if they supply the hardware) with patches, firmware, and other upgrades.

One provider of free hotspot (free-spot) server software is Lessnetworks.com (www.lessnetworks.com/index.php). This Austin Texas based group, part of the Free WiFi Movement, offers the Hotspot Server open source software that you can use to create your own free hotspot. When you run their software installation it creates a Linux system with the appropriate settings. Lessnetworks provides downloads of the software, sells their software on disk for a nominal cost, and even sells some preconfigured wireless servers on eBay that you can purchase as a package. According to the Lessernetworks folks because of their software there are more free hotspots in Austin than there are paid sites.

Commercial Hotspot Providers

There are several large commercial hotspot providers who offer a turnkey and complete solution to hotspots. We've mentioned T-Mobile (www.tmobile.com) previously as a complete solution with its own dedicated and closed network; T-Mobile is Starbucks' and Border's wireless hotspot provider.

Another large wi-fi service of this type that specializes in the travel market is Wayport (www.wayport.com). Wayport provides hotspots in hotels, airports, and retail locations, as well as providing wired high speed services to businesses. Wander around an airport and connect through a Wayport 802.11b hotspot and they will charge you $6.95 for the connection. Packages of connections can be purchased at $25 for 3 connections, $50 for 8 connections, and $100 for 20 connections. You will also find Wayport as a high speed wired connection in a hotel where they charge $9.95 for a 24 hour connection on top of your hotel bill. Monthly, annual, and corporate memberships may be purchased as well. Wayport currently has a pilot program going with 75 McDonalds restaurants in the U.S. to test hotspot commercial viability. Wayport does participate in roaming arrangements with other companies like Boingo (mentioned later).

T-Mobile, Wayport, and a few others are aimed at large companies, and don't really serve the small business market. That may change over time as the market gets more competitive, or these companies enter into agreements to let their users have roaming accounts on other networks. Surf and Sip (www.surfandsip.com/; Internet Café in a Box), FatPort (www.fatport.com – a Canadian provider), and others provide a commercial service that you are more likely to see adopted by a small business. You'll find that each service that caters to the SMB (small and medium business) market requires a setup fee, often monthly fees (they can be as high as $1000/month), and will keep anywhere from 50% to 75% of the generated revenue. What you get from these companies is a monthly royalty check for the usage of their hotspot by your customers. They make your hotspot essentially a "lights out" operation for your business.

If you buy a commercial business class wireless router you may find that your wireless vendor has teamed up with another company to offer hotspot services. Boingo Wireless (www.boingo.com/hso/hsiab/index.html) has this arrangement with Linksys and will support devices like their Wireless-G VPN Broadband Router (WRV54G). When you connect that router to your ISP, you can create an account with the Boingo Hot Spot in a Box service. Currently there are 7,000 Boingo hotspots worldwide, and yours gets added to the list.

What Boingo provides is a web based management console. From their web site you can monitor your hotspot traffic, for one or more of your hotspots. Boingo makes its money the way all wi-fi hotspot providers do, it charges a monthly subscription to its users. When a new user connects to your hotspot you get $4 for a daily use by someone who isn't a Boingo customer, $1 for each Boingo customer, and $20 for any user who signs up for the Boingo service through your hotspot. Boingo offers you co-marketing programs which include signs, tents, brochures, and a wireless hotspot listing in both their own directory as well as the Intel International Location directory. Better yet Boingo provides end user support, customer service, and customer billing.

Although Boingo calls their product a hot spot in a box, they provide all aspects of hotspots with the exception of the connection. To my way of thinking, that makes Boingo a commercial provider. Boingo does offer what T-Mobile does not, the ability for users to roam on several dozen networks. In that sense Boingo is an aggregator, much like telephone companies that resell excess network capacity from telephone networks. Boingo's focus is on the small business market, and the aggregation of wireless networks is a plus in terms of providing you with paying customers.

Another offering along the lines of Boingo is the Surf and Sip Internet Café-in-a-Box or ICAB for short (www.surfandsip.com/ps_local.htm). ICAB charges you $300 setup fee to set up their hotspot. With their "Fee" plan you pay the lesser of $50 per month or 25% of your derived revenue to them. They also offer a "Free" plan where you pay the setup but not the monthly fee and you get all the derived revenue. ICAB supplies the software, customer technical support, prepaid connection cards, marketing and if you need them the Wi-Fi access and managed computer stations. You supply your own broadband connection. ICAB has an interesting note on their web site. "They say if you don't think you can increase sales by at least $100 per month by offering wireless internet, you should be thinking about other ways to increase your revenue." That's probably good advice.

Airpath Wireless' WiBOSS Management Platform (www.airpath.com/Products/wiboss/features.htm) is yet another package provider. They will install whatever number of access points necessary to cover your business, all with a flat fee per location. They also offer a browser based management console called the Provider Control Panel that lets you monitor usage and change your plan setup. Your package includes a customization feature (login and splash screen), an optional merchant gateway, free tech support, and a 24X7 branded customer care center.

 The AIA Instant Hot Spot (www.instanthotspot.com/) is a product where you can buy a standard package for a location of up to 2000 plus square feet for $799 and an extended package for locations of 6000 square feet or more. A premium package for $999 adds a credit card processing feature to the standard package, something that is also included in the extended package. What's nice about AIA's product is that even though it's a little more costly than some of the others, you get to keep the revenue you generate. AIA supplies everything except the broadband connection.

 Almost all of these companies offer you a guarantee to decide if you want to keep their product and refund you money if you don't. For AIA that guarantee is 90 days, while for Airpath the guarantee is 30 days. Use the guarantee period to thoroughly test your hotspot provider's technical support. If they aren't there for the trial, they won't be there to help you when you really need it further down the line. This is one of the most important reasons for signing with a provider. Test them both as your business network and as an end user would, if they provide end-user support.

 Whatever platform you choose, one of the most important considerations is how large the pool of qualified users is. You'll find that organizations such as GoRemote (formerly GRIC; www.goremote.com), IPass (www.ipass.com), and others aggregate users. If your customer has an account on FatPort (www.fatport.com), DeepBlue Wireless (www.deepbluewireless.com), Wayport, and others then that account works on Boingo. So ask what networks participate in your vendor's roaming agreements and try to make some assessment of your likely audience.

Hotspot service contracts are a little like cell phone contracts. Providers want to sign you to a long term agreement. The market is very fluid however, and given how fast technology is changing in this area it is a good idea not to lock yourself into a long term agreement if you can help it. You may find that your contractor also has savings they can pass along to you such as arrangements with ISPs for special low cost connection packages, so ask about what additional benefits come with a long term contract. You should be able to upgrade or downgrade a package based on the experience you have with your hotspot, and perhaps have a buyout clause.