What exactly is a WIFI hotspot and how would I go about setting one up for my business? All I know is that its a place you can go to use wireless internet. Do I use a wireless router? or a access point? Do they use wep? wap? or is it a open connection? Im still a noob when it comes to wireless networks so any information is appreciated.
Basically just get a Wireless Router and put it in your establishment. If you want it to be free then just have it unsecure so anyone can get online throught he router. If you want to for say give out the key for only paying customers then make it a secure connection and when people buy something you can give out that key and they can connect that way. Same setup as a home network basically. I use it here at Live and it does bring in some business. You can register with all the wifi websites that people check so you can be listed.
I've used his Wi-Fi at Live quite often, it definately is a plus. I go to Live and Panera bread for the WiFi, and it is a cheap way to get more customers... customers who generally stay longer and spend more money because they are occupied. I know I've bought quite a few extra beers at Live because I was posting on this damned website. You can also set up "blockers" that make sure your wireless is only accessible in your establishment, so you don't have people outside or your neighbors leeching your bandwidth... if you are in a busy area this might be a good idea for security reasons. Also, whatever you do keep your computers on a seperate network to keep your stuff safe... us tech-heads can get bored
How do I set it up so only people in my establishment can use it for free w/o having outsiders leech the bandwith while keeping the connection secure? How do I set up the road blocks? At home I have the sside broadcast turned off on my linksys router, but my intel 2200 pro b/g software on my notebook detects the hidden broadcast from the router
If you do some research there are some great guides for setting up public WiFi hotspots... You can find a bunch of free software packages out there that will step you through the process too. Check out the links below... WiFi Communities http://www.nodedb.com/unitedstates/tx/houston/? http://www.ezgoal.com/hotspots/ http://www.houstonwireless.org/ Free WiFi Setups http://www.freenetworks.org/ http://www.publicip.net/ http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Best/build-a-hotspot.html Paid Services http://www.mikrotik.com/3index.php http://www.boingo.com/ http://www.sputnik.com/ http://www.nnu.com/ Panera Bread goes with a software based access such as the NNU/Sputnik stuff above, while Stack at Live offers an open broadcast. As a business owner I'd probably go with the Panera approach simply because you can make the users sign up for mailing lists or forms, as well as have them accept a terms of use to keep your ass covered incase some hacker punks choose to use your bandwidth... they also keep detailed history, IPs and macs. The NNU/Sputnik software is a paid service, but you can find freeware that does the same thing. PublicIp.net steps you throuh setting up a dummy machine to do the work for you (old P2 or something)... so it is a great alternative if you are on a budget. If none of those are what you are looking for or make you happy, simply google "HotSpot Setup" or "HotSpot" software... there is bound to be something to tickle your fancy. Good Luck!
