Hotspot (Wi-Fi)
Encyclopedia
A hotspot is a site that offers Internet access
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....

 over a wireless local area network
Wireless LAN
A wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...

 through the use of a router connected to a link to an Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...

. Hotspots typically use Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

 technology.

Hotspots may be found in coffee shop
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...

s and various other public establishments throughout much of the developed world.

History

Public access wireless local area network
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...

s (LANs) were first proposed by Henrik Sjödin at the NetWorld+Interop conference in The Moscone Center
Moscone Center
Moscone Center is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. It comprises three main halls: Two underground halls underneath Yerba Buena Gardens, known as Moscone North and Moscone South, and a three-level Moscone West exhibition hall across 4th Street...

 in San Francisco in August 1993. Sjödin did not use the term hotspot but referred to publicly accessible wireless LANs. Sjödin went on to found the companies PLANCOM in 1994 (for Public LAN Communications, which became MobileStar
MobileStar
MobileStar was a wireless Internet service provider which first gained notoriety in deploying Wi-Fi Internet access points in Starbucks coffee shops and American Airlines Admiral Club locations across the United States. Founded by Greg Jackson and Mark Goode in 1998, MobileStar was the first...

 and then the HotSpot unit of T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

 USA) and Wayport
Wayport
A wayport is a major airport, possibly built on the outskirts of or away from urban locations, having the primary purpose of serving connecting flights as part of the national airport network...

 in 1996.

The term HotSpot may have first been advanced by Nokia about five years after Sjödin first proposed the concept.

During the dot-com period
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...

 in 2000, dozens of companies had the notion that Wi-Fi could become the payphone
Payphone
A payphone or pay phone is a public telephone, often located in a phone booth or a privacy hood, with pre-payment by inserting money , a credit or debit card, or a telephone card....

 for broadband. The original notion was that users would pay for broadband access at hotspots.

Both paid and free hotspots continue to grow. Wireless networks that cover entire cities, such as municipal broadband
Municipal broadband
Municipal broadband deployments are broadband Internet access services provided either fully or partially by local governments. Common connection technologies include unlicensed wireless , licensed wireless , and fiber-optic...

 have mushroomed. Wi-Fi hotspots can be found in remote RV / Campground Parks across the US.

Many business models have emerged for hotspots. The final structure of the hotspot marketplace will ultimately have to consider the intellectual property rights of the early movers; portfolios of more than 1,000 allowed and pending patent claims are held by some of these parties.

Uses

The public can use a laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...

, Wi-Fi phone, or other suitable portable device to access the wireless connection (usually Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

) provided. Of the estimated 150 million laptops, 14 million PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...

s, and other emerging Wi-Fi devices sold per year for the last few years, most include the Wi-Fi feature.

For venues that have broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is a high data rate, low-latency connection to the Internet— typically contrasted with dial-up access using a 56 kbit/s modem or satellite Internet with inherently high latency....

 , offering wireless access is as simple as purchasing one access point
Wireless access point
In computer networking, a wireless access point is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards...

 (AP), in conjunction with a router and connecting the AP to the Internet connection. A single wireless router combining these functions may suffice.

Locations

Hotspots are often found at restaurants, train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

s, airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

s, libraries, hotels, hospitals, coffee shop
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...

s, bookstores, fuel stations, department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

s, supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...

s, RV park
RV park
A recreational vehicle park or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in alloted spaces known as "pitches"...

s and campgrounds, public pay phones, and other public places. Many universities and school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

s have wireless network
Wireless network
Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment...

s in their campus.

Free Wi-Fi hotspots

Free hotspots operate in two ways:
  • Using an open public network is the easiest way to create a free HotSpot. All that is needed is a Wi-Fi router. Private users of wireless routers can turn off their authentication requirements, thus opening their connection, intentionally or not, for sharing by anyone
    Piggybacking (internet access)
    Piggybacking on Internet access is the practice of establishing a wireless Internet connection by using another subscriber's wireless Internet access service without the subscriber's explicit permission or knowledge. It is a legally and ethically controversial practice, with laws that vary by...

     in range. The disadvantage is that access to the router cannot be controlled.
  • Closed public networks use a HotSpot Management System to control the HotSpot. This software runs on the router itself or an external computer. With this software, operators can authorize only specific users to access the Internet, and they often associate the free access to a menu or to a purchase limit. Operators are also now able to limit each user's available bandwidth - each user is therefore restricted to a certain speed to ensure that everyone gets a good quality service. Often this is done through Service Level Agreements.
    Service Level Agreement
    A service-level agreement is a part of a service contract where the level of service is formally defined. In practice, the term SLA is sometimes used to refer to the contracted delivery time or performance...


Commercial hotspots

A commercial hotspot may feature:
  • A captive portal
    Captive portal
    The captive portal technique forces an HTTP client on a network to see a special web page before using the Internet normally. A captive portal turns a Web browser into an authentication device. This is done by intercepting all packets, regardless of address or port, until the user opens a browser...

     / Login Screen that users are redirected to for authentication
    Authentication
    Authentication is the act of confirming the truth of an attribute of a datum or entity...

     and payment
    Payment
    A payment is the transfer of wealth from one party to another. A payment is usually made in exchange for the provision of goods, services or both, or to fulfill a legal obligation....

  • A payment option using credit card
    Credit card
    A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...

    , PayPal
    PayPal
    PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....

    , iPass
    IPass
    iPass, a commercial company, unifies the management of remote and mobile devices and connectivity. It provides Internet services to business users working remotely by integrating Internet connectivity with management of VPN and other third-party security applications...

    , or other payment service
  • A walled garden feature that allows free access to certain sites
  • Service oriented provisioning
    Service oriented provisioning
    Service Oriented Provisioning is a technology concept developed during the early 2000s to curb the hyper competition developing in the Wireless Internet service provider and ISP space.- Definition :...

     to allow for improved revenue


Many services provide payment services to hotspot providers, for a monthly fee or commission from the end-user income. ZoneCD
ZoneCD
ZoneCD is a Linux distribution to easily set up Wifi hotspots, distributed as a Live CD. It is derived from Knoppix.- Design :The ZoneCD, utilizing a captive portal, allows hotspot operators to require a customer to login before accessing network resources. The ZoneCD itself is set up on an...

 is a Linux distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...

 that provides payment services for hotspots who wish to deploy their own service.

Hotspots that intend to offer both for fee and free internet access may want to look at Amazingports
Amazingports
AmazingPorts is a Linux-based firewall customised for use as a firewall, captive portal and billing system . The project started in 2001 with the purpose of creating a scalable solution for commercial and free networks.-Common Deployments:...

 and their implementation of Service oriented provisioning
Service oriented provisioning
Service Oriented Provisioning is a technology concept developed during the early 2000s to curb the hyper competition developing in the Wireless Internet service provider and ISP space.- Definition :...



Major airports and business hotels are more likely to charge for service. Most hotels provide free service to guests; and increasingly, small airports and airline lounges offer free service.

Roaming
Roaming
In wireless telecommunications, roaming is a general term referring to the extension of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered. Roaming ensures that the wireless device is kept connected to the network, without losing the...

 services are expanding among major hotspot service providers. With roaming service the users of a commercial provider can have access to other provider's hotspots with extra fees, in which such a user will be usually charged on the basis of access-per-minute. Roaming agreements can be hard to negotiate with larger providers such a Boingo, so smaller hotspots usually use an aggregator such as www.gowifi.com to access these networks.

FON
FON
Fon is a company that operates a system of dual access wireless networks. Fon is the largest Wi-Fi network in the world, with over 4 million hotspots....

 is a European company that allows users to share their wireless broadband and sells excess bandwidth to outside users (Aliens). Since this may breach users terms of service, FON has agreements with many broadband providers / ISPs.

Billing

The so called "User-Fairness-Model " is a dynamic billing model, which allows a volume-based billing, with only the payload (data, video, audio) will be charged. Moreover, the tariff is classified by net traffic and user needs (Pommer, p. 116ff).

If the net traffic increases, then the user has to pay the next higher tariff class. By the way the user is asked for if he still wishes the session also by a higher traffic class. Moreover, in time-critical applications (video, audio) a higher class fare is charged, than for non time-critical applications (such as reading Web pages, e-mail).
The "User-fairness model" can be implemented with the help of EDCF (IEEE 802.11e). A EDCF user priority list shares the traffic in 3 access categories (data, video, audio) and user priorities (UP) (Pommer, p. 117):
  • Data [UP 0|2]
  • Video [UP 5|4]
  • Audio [UP 7|6]


If the net traffic increases, then the frames of the particular access category (AC) are assigned a low priority value (e.g. video UP 5 to UP 4). This is also, if the data transfer is not time-critical.

Security concerns

Some hotspots authenticate users. This does not secure the data transmission or prevent packet sniffer
Packet sniffer
A packet analyzer is a computer program or a piece of computer hardware that can intercept and log traffic passing over a digital network or part of a network...

s from allowing people to see traffic on the network.

Some vendors offer virtual private network
Virtual private network
A virtual private network is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling users access to a central organizational network....

 (VPN) as a security option. This solution is expensive to scale. Also, it may still not be secure as only the connection between user and network is shielded, and the network itself is not.

Some vendors provide a download option that deploys WPA support. This conflicts with enterprise configurations at large enterprises that have solutions specific to their internal WLAN.

A "poisoned/rogue hotspot" refers to a free public hotspot set up by identity thieves or other malicious individuals for the purpose of "sniffing" the data sent by the user. Such identity thieves will have access to the MAC address
MAC address
A Media Access Control address is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on the physical network segment. MAC addresses are used for numerous network technologies and most IEEE 802 network technologies, including Ethernet...

 of the connecting terminal, which individually identifies the hardware. By examining packets sent, they may attempt to decipher passwords, login names, or other sensitive information.

In order to provide robust security to hotspot users, WiFi alliance is coming up with a new hotspot program which aims to encrypt hotspot traffic with the latest WPA2 security . The program is planned to launch in the first half of 2012.

Legal concerns

Depending on the country where the HotSpot public access service is offered, be they the smallest café or the largest network, it can have various legal obligations.

European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

  • Data Retention Directive
    Data Retention Directive
    The Data Retention Directive, more formally "Directive 2006/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications...

     Hotspot owners must retain key user statistics for 12 months.
  • Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications
    Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications
    Directive 2002/58 on Privacy and Electronic Communications, otherwise known as E-Privacy Directive, is an EU directive on data protection and privacy in the digital age. It presents a continuation of earlier efforts, most directly the Data Protection Directive...


United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

  • Data Protection Act 1998 The hotspot owner must retain individual's information within the confines of the law.
  • Digital Economy Act 2010
    Digital Economy Act 2010
    The Digital Economy Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating digital media. Introduced by Peter Mandelson, Lord Mandelson, it received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010, and came into force on 8 June 2010 The Digital Economy Act 2010 (c. 24) is an Act of the Parliament of...

     Deals with, amongst other things, Copyright infringement
    Copyright infringement
    Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...

    , and imposes fines of up to £250,000 for contravention.

See also

  • Wireless Access Point
    Wireless access point
    In computer networking, a wireless access point is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards...

  • Wireless LAN
    Wireless LAN
    A wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...

  • IEEE 802.11
    IEEE 802.11
    IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards for implementing wireless local area network computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. They are created and maintained by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee . The base version of the standard IEEE 802.11-2007 has had subsequent...

  • WarXing
    WarXing
    WarXing , NetStumbling or WILDing is the activity of detecting publicly accessible computer systems or networks...

  • Wireless security
    Wireless security
    Wireless security is the prevention of unauthorized access or damage to computers using wireless networks.Many laptop computers have wireless cards pre-installed. The ability to enter a network while mobile has great benefits. However, wireless networking is prone to some security issues...

  • Evil twin (wireless networks)
    Evil twin (wireless networks)
    Evil twin is a term for a rogue Wi-Fi access point that appears to be a legitimate one offered on the premises, but actually has been set up by a hacker to eavesdrop on wireless communications among Internet surfers....

  • Legality of piggybacking
    Legality of piggybacking
    Laws regarding "unauthorized access of a computer network" exist in many legal codes, including the U.S. federal government, all 50 U.S. states, and other countries, though the wording and meaning differ from one to the next...

  • Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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