Help with WiFi hotspot, please!

[rcisbell]

I own 5 coffee houses in various spots around the city. Starbucks is building 2 stores here next year and I want to offer free WiFi access before they get here. I have a degree in CIS and have some networking experience so i want to set this up myself instead of having some local computer company charge me $2000 per location to set it up. I already got quotes from some places and that was the cheapest one! I have done quite a bit of research on this and purchased a ton of different gear off of eBay to rpactice with. What I need now is a professional opinion from an expert.

I already have broadband access in each location. The local phone company spiffed it to me if I can advertise their service at my places. I just need to pump out the signal to my patio and store. I would like to set this up without having a PC setup at each location to manage everything. What I am looking for is an access point that will provide DHCP to the client, bandwidth throttling, web manageable, firewall, etc. I would REALLY LIKE to have a DNS redirector to an advertisment page that has an "......internet access provided by ............"

OK, now who has some ideas??? I have looked at Cisco, Colubris, Orinoco, and Linksys gear. I am willing to use more that one piece of equipment but really want to steer clear of a PC.

Thank a lot!!

[KWJ]

Try www.nomadix.com. They are very well known in the HotSpot business. They have a product called the HotSpot Gateway- based on what you wrote- sounds like exactly what you need.

Good luck.

[wistop]

Check out www.valuepointnet.com check out the hg 1000 or 2000. Their price is reasonable and you could turn off authentication and have the home page redirect to the page of your choice. The price is reasonable. Good luck.

[a13088]

We cooperate with cafe and restaurants in China for free hotspot service. At the moment we have 9 hotspots in Beijing and 20 hotspots in other cities. By the end of this year, we hope to expand to 100 free hotspots.

We just use the most simple (of course must be reliable) equipment. Because it is free service, we think the investment in expensive authentication and control equipment is not justify. We just use Orinoco BG-2000 and the performance is very good.

One set of BG-2000 will be OK. It can only support 10 users. Thus, you can control the max wireless users which occupying your valauble space.

We have launched the service for nearly one year and the feedback is very good.

Pls visit our website www.wlan.com.cn for details of our service (pls visit English version)

The most simple residential AP requires the least technical support. Of course, there may be the concern on network security problem. But, it is free service for customer temporary internet access, customer will not ask so much.

To make the simplest for easiest customer setting and internet access, all SSID name is the same and encrpytion is disable.

[a13088]

For each freehotspot, we have posters and desk cards telling customer the available of free internet service and requirment on computer setting. You can print your company name and sponsors on these POP materials.

Starbuck do not have these POP materials (at least in China) and thus many customers do not know how to use and where to use.

With the POP materials, customers or other people passingby will know you have the good service.

With the POP mateials, I think the investment on webpage redirection is not required.

[moe]

it depends on what you want to do... if you don't need any kind of authentication then just put up an AP with DHCP and you are up.

if you want to have your users register to your service, then take a look at http://nocat.net, set it up and you are on.

if you want a more complex system, then follow what the others said...

/mm

PS: let us know how you managed to do it...