Networks: Wi-Fi Hotspots
Public access hotspots are considered to be visitor based networks. This presents the operator with some interesting and unique challenges. We need to make sure that everyone gets connected regardless of their settings, everyone needs to be authenticated and/or billed for access and everyone needs their services such as email and browsing to work regardless of settings. We have vast experience in this field and have countered all possible problematic instances one may be challenged with.
Get connected easily
Settings on visitor machines such as laptops or mobile devices are often set for specific networks at work or home and do not work when travelling to new networks. IP addresses, proxy servers and DNS servers are good examples of network specific settings that need to be set correctly for connectivity to work on a network. This may be a real problem if you are not using the correct system. Often users do not know what settings to use or if they do their machines are configured to not allow them to make changes. Systems implemented by us take care of this by use of an access gateway. This gateway will take care of these problems by implementing features such as plug and play IP (ARP spoofing), DNS redirection and by becoming the proxy server. This boils down to a hassle-free and pleasant experience for your users.
Authentication and control
Due to bandwidth costs one has to make sure that not just anyone can connect to your network. Only specifically allowed users such as your hotel guests or your coffee shop patrons should be able to make use of your service. If you wish, allowed users could also be restricted in terms of bandwidth usage (cap) and speed. Our systems are flexible - the choice is yours.
Billing
Most people opt to make some money with their Wi-Fi networks. Especially hotels and guest houses offer this as an add-on (these days required) service. Our systems support many billing methods including credit cards, vouchers and room billing (PMS - Property Management System) for hotels.
Users pay for or log in with a voucher on a captive portal screen that automatically appears in their browser.
Use Internet services without fuss
Wi-Fi hotspots need to have special support for allowing Internet services to run smoothly. Examples of these are VPN's and email. Many users use VPN's to connect to their offices while travelling and this has to work at your hotspot. All users will want to send mail and the SMTP sending traffic will have to be redirected to a server that will accept the mail - not just a server that is setup in the mail client.
Build your brand
Create an impression by utilising the latest and most exciting new advertising real estate. Own the marketing opportunities that arise from running your own hotspot. Users will be connecting through your own branded portal/captive page and will be impressed. This will appeal strongly to the new adopter market sphere. It will look professional and will set your brand apart.
Technical information
A public Wi-Fi network/hotspot comprises of four different logical components. Not all four are needed in every network but always at least two. Here follows some brief information on each of the components. You may download this diagram that explains it visually.
1. The Wi-Fi Network
This is the actual 802.11a/b/g/n network that consists of one or more Access Points (AP's) that handle the user's data transfer over the air. For large deployments this part is of utmost importance. There are different architectures for AP's and there are countless brand options. We have worked with most of these and are able to indicate the most cost-effective, scalable and stable solution for your project. It is important to not only provide good coverage but also good throughput. Smaller implementations with single cell hotspots such as coffee shops do not need to worry too much about this part as most access gateways have this built in. This brings us to the next component...
2. Access Gateways
Being the central point of your guest network, the access gateway is an integral and important part of the network. This is the device that ensures smooth guest connectivity and is also responsible for managing user sessions. It is important for the access gateway to support basic features such as IP plug and play, SMTP redirect, home page redirect, bandwidth management and the UAM (Universal Access Method). Gateways should also build on the WISPr (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WISPr) standard. There are many gateways that we support in our system, the preferred one being Mikrotik (http://www.mikrotik.com) running its Hotspot service. Other supported devices are Nomadix, Colubris (now HP) and any embedded Chillispot/Coova implementations.
3. The Internet Connection
This is the most important part of your installation. This is what it's all about isn't it? Your user experience is directly influenced by the speed and throughput of your connection. Working with many different connections over the years, we are able to recommend and supply the most cost-efficient and suitable one for your specific implementation. From single to load-balanced ADSL connections with auto-topup bandwidth to high-speed leased lines, the connection options are myriad.
4. The Hotspot Manager
Your portal pages, roaming options, usage reports and billing options need to run from a central server that serves your hotspots. We have developed our own solution and we are sure that we have the best to offer in the market (having developed most of the competition ourselves). This enables users to roam between hotspots and enables you to manage vouchers and authentications. It helps you to keep control and it gives your hotspot the professional edge it needs. For more information on our system please browse here.
