The Hotspot Business

Is anyone making money as a hotspot operator? Is the Boingo "Hotspot in a
Box" system a good one? I'm thinking of Boingo because it appears easy to
set up and Boingo is big enough that we might gain significant roaming
traffic. Boingo requires the WRV54G which I've heard has problems. Is
there a better router/partner to use?

Thanks for any advice.

I am, I have about 4 FreeSpots where the cost of the Internet connection is
subsidized by the business offering it (doctors office, restaurant, etc.)
and neighboring business that pay to have their advertisements included on
it (accomplished by using www.dnsredirector.com software)



I also have 2 paid HotSpots where people pay $2.50 per session (meaning they
pay to get on, so long as they are still connected and active that can
continue as long as they want, when they go away and come back, or after a
day when the DHCP lease expires, then they have to pay again)



Personally I'm not a big fan of the paid HotSpot idea, but some customers
that's what they want. My take is it should be free, and find a way to
justify the cost by offering advertisement or other services (coffee, lunch,
whatever).



- Tom




"George" <absolutely@anti_fat.com> wrote in message
news:BSk%f.65336$(E-Mail Removed). com...
> Is anyone making money as a hotspot operator? Is the Boingo "Hotspot in a
> Box" system a good one? I'm thinking of Boingo because it appears easy to
> set up and Boingo is big enough that we might gain significant roaming
> traffic. Boingo requires the WRV54G which I've heard has problems. Is
> there a better router/partner to use?
>
> Thanks for any advice.
>
>
>

Tom,

Thanks for pointing me to dnsredirector.com. I'll try it - looks like
what I need. Can you tell me how you implemented the paid service?
What do you use for your payment page?

I agree with you about free access, but my area is one where customers
want paid service, and if it's priced cheap, that's what they really
want ... )

George




wizkid wrote:
> I am, I have about 4 FreeSpots where the cost of the Internet connection is
> subsidized by the business offering it (doctors office, restaurant, etc.)
> and neighboring business that pay to have their advertisements included on
> it (accomplished by using www.dnsredirector.com software)
>
>
>
> I also have 2 paid HotSpots where people pay $2.50 per session (meaning they
> pay to get on, so long as they are still connected and active that can
> continue as long as they want, when they go away and come back, or after a
> day when the DHCP lease expires, then they have to pay again)
>
>
>
> Personally I'm not a big fan of the paid HotSpot idea, but some customers
> that's what they want. My take is it should be free, and find a way to
> justify the cost by offering advertisement or other services (coffee, lunch,
> whatever).
>
>
>
> - Tom
>
>
>
>
> "George" <absolutely@anti_fat.com> wrote in message
> news:BSk%f.65336$(E-Mail Removed). com...
>> Is anyone making money as a hotspot operator? Is the Boingo "Hotspot in a
>> Box" system a good one? I'm thinking of Boingo because it appears easy to
>> set up and Boingo is big enough that we might gain significant roaming
>> traffic. Boingo requires the WRV54G which I've heard has problems. Is
>> there a better router/partner to use?
>>
>> Thanks for any advice.
>>
>>
>>
>
>