WiFi Access Point

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While it doesn’t take much to set up a WiFi access point to offer unencrypted internet access to everyone, providing such a service without any monetary benefit does not really offer much of an incentive. What’s more, offering free, unencrypted WiFi access will not only allow your customers and guests to go online, but gives your neighbours and other people close by an opportunity to mooch off your free service. This will not only bring down your bandwidth, but will also stir up questions with regard to liability.

Many telecommunication companies now offer fee-charging services to access the Web using ‘hot spots.’ Unfortunately, these services are often more expensive than the revenue generated by providing them. Or else, access providers dictate the access rates involved and force you to share the revenue with them.
 
Provisio now has a solution to this problem with its ‘HotSpot Module’ that plugs into SiteCafe 2.0. and can be installed on any computer running WindowsXP or Vista. The only other things needed are a second network card and any WiFi access point available in stores. Customers who would like to use the access you are providing only have to switch on their laptops and select your WiFi network. When they open their browser, users will automatically be taken to a page prompting them to enter or purchase a valid prepaid PIN code.

The operator can use the included SiteCafe software to generate, print, sell or give away these access codes. Another option is for customers to buy the code themselves using the so-called Ticket Station. The codes will automatically expire once the credit has been used up or after the passage of a designated amount of time after activation. The operator specifies who is allowed to use the WiFi network, and if and how much users will have to pay for access. Only one license fee is required per installation location, no matter how many customers want to use the hot spot at the same time.