Becoming a Hotspot

Well, I don't think that you really want to be a hotspotbut perhaps you might want to put one up so that others could use it.

If you run any kind of small business, this might make a great deal of sense. By way of comparison, Schlotzsky's, Inc., which runs deli restaurants, has stated that adding free Wi-Fi to its shops adds more than $100,000 revenue for each store per year (through added purchasing by customers who come to the store for the Wi-Fi hotspot or who stay longer than they otherwise would).

You might also want to put up a Wi-Fi hotspot simply as a service to your fellow humans. (Believe it or not, this kind of altruism has largely sparked the growth of Wi-Fi.)

The technical aspects of putting up a Wi-Fi hotspot, meaning the hardware infrastructure required, don't differ that much from putting up a Wi-Fi network for personal or business use. To start with, you need a broadband connection. If you are planning to resell access via a Wi-Fi hotspot, most cable and DSL providers will require you to buy a commercial-grade account (rather than a personal use account). It's also the case that you should probably expect to use commercial-grade equipment (rather than that intended for homes and small offices) if you expect any traffic at all.

The problem is not the hardware so much as what is called, in the telecommunications business, provisioning. Provisioning means setting up the systems that provide customer service, support, and billing.

You'll want to consider provisioning issues even if you plan to give away free Wi-Fi access because it is dangerous to allow unrestricted access to your network. If access to your network does not require registration, it could be used for malicious purposesfor example, spamming, which could get your Internet address blacklisted.

Note

Hosting a Wi-Fi hotspot can lead to serious security risks. Even if you are not charging for access, at the very least, you should probably consider instituting a user authentication scheme. If you choose to provide an unprotected network for others to use, even if they are only your neighbors, be aware that you might have some liability for illegal actionssuch as denial of service attacksthat use your wireless network.

Some of the national Wi-Fi networks will provide basic support and protection for IP address abuse for a reasonable fee. If you are interested in this, you should check out Surf and Sip, http://www.surfandsip.com, which specializes in Wi-Fienabled hotspots for providers who want to give away free access.

If selling access is more your cup of tea (or Java), there are any number of companies that sell turnkey packages. Generally, you purchase the hardware from the company, which then provides provisioning services and splits the proceeds from billing using an agreed-upon percentage.

One turnkey provider of this sort is Pacific Wi-Fi, http://www.pacificwi-fi.com. Another similar product is Instant Hotspot from Advanced Internet Access (see http://www.instanthotspot.com/wsg5000.htm for more information).

When you have your Wi-Fi hotspot up, your problem is the reverse of the one primarily discussed in this chapter. You don't need to find a hotspotyou need people to find your hotspot. If you don't get the word out, no one will know about it. A hotspot that has not been promoted has a place in the world like the proverbial tree that falls in the forestif no one knows it has fallen, what is the point? (Or is it even real?)

An essential first step in promoting your new hotspot is to make sure that it appears in the directories described earlier in this chapter.

Of course, after you put up your hotspot you could "war chalk" it yourself using the standard symbols explained in this chapter. (Traditionally, these symbols are chalked on the sidewalk, but they could also go on a permanent sign.) In a heavily trafficked area, a simple sign that says "Wi-Fi Hotspot" would probably also draw traffic.