What is needed to charge business guests and customers for a WiFi Internet service?

The WiFi service for a business requires an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to provide the connection to the Internet. The ISP charges for the connection according to several parameters, such as speed and the method of data connection. There are several technologies that ISP’s use to provide the Internet connection for a business.

• ADSL
• Cable
• Fiber
• Wireless point-to-point (WISP)
• Fixed wireless access (5G)
• Geo-stationary satellite (example: HughesNet)
• Low earth orbit satellite (example: Starlink)

The ISP service connects to a router inside the building, such as a Guest Internet controller. Several wireless access points connect to the router to provide WiFi coverage throughout the business premises.

When a business wishes to charge customers for the WiFi Internet service then one additional item is added to the installation, this is the WiFi billing controller which in this example is a Guest Internet GIS-R4 Internet controller.

The following diagram shows the installation of a Guest Internet billing controller installed in a business network between the ISP router and the wireless access points.

Why should businesses charge for the WiFi Internet they provide for guests and visitors?

Businesses in several categories provide WiFi Internet to attract customers. This is the case with the hospitality industry where businesses offer free WiFi to attract guests and many reservation decisions are based on the availability of a good WiFi Internet service. Providing WiFi Internet for guests and visitors is a cost for businesses; the initial cost of installing the WiFi and network infrastructure, and the recurring cost of the monthly ISP service and network maintenance. The ISP cost varies according to the location of the business and the type of service provided.

For example, a hotel in an urban area has several ISP alternatives and can get a high-speed connection such as fiber for a relatively low cost. The urban hotel is not in a position to charge for WiFi as there are other alternatives such as 5G for guests to use, and guests have an expectation that the WiFi will be free. For a hotel that caters to International visitors the WiFi Internet is essential as people from other countries will probably not have access to the 5G phone service and will need to use the WiFi service.

Compare this with an RV park in a wilderness area that has no access to a fiber or cable connection and there is no 5G access. The business has to install a satellite Internet service where the monthly charge is high and the business will also pay for the data used by guests. The RV Park in a remote location with no 5G services can charge for the WiFi Internet and no one will complain, as they are happy to have access to the Internet service.

The first approach to charging for the Internet service, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) subscription method

Internet Service Providers (ISP) and Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISP) sell an Internet service as a monthly subscription. The ISP or WISP connects the subscriber to the Internet and then bills the customer for the service each month. The subscriber provides the ISP or WISP with contact and billing information before starting the service contract. The service contract may require the subscriber to use the service for a minimum of 1 year.

The ISP or WISP builds a computer network that connects the customers to a wholesale Internet supplier through a product called a Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) that is managed by a software billing system service that is usually cloud based and may be provided by a third party software company.

The Internet service provided is determined by the rate plan; this is the money charged for the data speed and optionally a data volume. An ISP or WISP might offer several rate plans to subscribers, two examples of rate plans are:

• Rate plan 1: $20 per month for a 20Mb/s data connection speed with a monthly data cap of 5GB.
• Rate plan 2: $50 per month for a 100Mb/s data connection speed with a monthly data cap of 10GB.

The second approach to charging for the Internet service, the Internet on demand method implemented by Guest Internet controllers

A business that has an Internet connection can share that ISP service with guests and customers using a Guest Internet controller. The business charges guests or customers for the use of the Internet service for the time that they need it but has no information about the person purchasing the service. The business sells an access code generated by a Guest Internet controller that has several parameters.

•  Maximum time that the code may be used, for example 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, etc.
• The maximum download and upload data speeds that are available with the code, this is done so that the Internet connection can be shared with the guests or customers.
• The maximum download and upload data quantity that can be used with the code, this is necessary when the business pays the ISP for data use.

The business connects the guests or customers to the Internet service provider through a Guest Internet controller that is used to generate and authenticate the access codes that are sold to the guests and customers. The Guest Internet controllers are described in this article to illustrate how the system of charging for Internet use is accomplished.

For people who want to understand how the subscription model works, we have published other articles that explain the ISP and WISP methods of charging for Internet access.

Which businesses charge guests and customers for the Internet service?

There are many types of businesses that charge guests and customers for access to the Internet using WiFi. A few of these businesses are listed below.

• Cruise ships and ferries. All cruise ships and many ferries provide WiFi Internet for guests. The Internet connection is via a Satellite service. VSAT was a popular service to get an Internet connection for many years. Most ships have switched to the Starlink Marine service which offers a much fast speed at a lower cost compared with VSAT. The cruise and ferry companies include the cost of the Internet as part of the fees charged. A popular cruise line offers Internet WiFi services in the range of $20 to $30 per day and uses the Starlink Marine service.
• Campgrounds, RV parks might have several options for connecting to the Internet. The preferred connection is fiber cable that can be used for Gbit data speeds, however the maximum distance of a cable is about 70 Km to the nearest distribution location and the installation of the cable is expensive. There may be a Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) connection available for the campground or RV part when the location is in the range of a 5G tower or a WISP antenna tower. The final option for the business is a satellite connection using a geo-stationary satellite service (HughesNet) or a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite service (Starlink).
• Communities, homeowner associations and homes or high-rise buildings that are part of an association. Often the association will contract a high speed Internet service and then share this service with the residents. The cost of the Internet service is charged as part of the monthly association fees. The communities might be located in urban areas where it is possible to get a high-speed fiber connection to the Internet. There are also remote communities in rural areas around the world that have no access to telecommunications infrastructure and so the only method of Internet connection is using a satellite service. The community may share the cost of the service or else charge individuals for their use of the service.
• Marinas are often in remote locations that are convenient for boats and access to telecommunications services such as fiber cables or Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is limited or not available. Often marinas use satellite services to provide WiFi Internet for the boat owners who stay at the marina. Boat owners have a big demand for Internet access because they need communications such as email and voice over IP (VoIP). The boats also need a connection to the Internet because modern electronics requires downloading weather information, updating maps for chart plotters and firmware updates for various types of equipment that range from engine management systems to VHF communications systems.
• Almost all airports provide a WiFi Internet service for travelers. The Internet is essential as travelers need to access flight information, hotel information and taxi services. Travelers also need to provide updates to business colleagues and to family members. Many airports have a 3-tier WiFi Internet system. The airport provides 30 minutes of Internet access for free within a 24 hour period, but the service has a slow data speed that is not suitable for streaming videos. When the free service expires the traveler can purchase Internet access in increments of 1-hour using a credit card. Many airports also provide integration with a subscription service such as Boingo where a subscriber can use the subscription credential to access the Internet. Airlines now offer WiFi Internet during a flight and they charge travelers for this service. Aircraft WiFi uses one of the satellite Internet services.
• Hotels and resorts provide free WiFi for guests to use. The free WiFi is set for a slow data speed in order to share the ISP service between many guests. Many hotels and resorts also charge for high speed Internet access, either paid online by credit card or else charged to their room account.
• Temporary events that need WiFi Internet for staff and visitors. The type of events varies widely but all are characterized by short duration with limited access to the location, limited setup and takedown time. Some examples of events are a music concert and festivals, an agricultural show, a tradeshow, a wedding or an outdoor publicity event. There are businesses that specialize in providing temporary WiFi Internet at any location.
• Industrial workers in remote locations such as mines or oil rigs. Often the company will install a WiFi Internet service for employees using a satellite service such as Starlink, and employees can access the Internet by purchasing WiFi vouchers with access codes.

The list of businesses above is not complete; there are other applications where a charge is made for WiFi Internet access. New opportunities can be identified by businesses to recover the cost of an Internet service or to make a profit charging for Internet access.

How is access to the Internet controlled and access sold?

The universal method of charging for temporary access to a WiFi Internet service is through the sale of an access code. There are three steps to connect a mobile device to a WiFi service using an access code, these are:

• Connect the device wireless to the WiFi broadcast name; this is the SSID.
• Open a browser then type a command to display the login page of the WiFi service.
• Type the access code into the space provided on the login page. If the code is valid then the mobile device will get access to the Internet, this is called the authentication process.

A typical login page is shown in the next figure.

How are access codes generated?

Each access code is created with parameters that determine when and how the access code is used. Some of the access code parameters that can be generated by the Guest Internet controllers are listed below.

• Duration that the access code can be used before it expires.
• Allow the access code to be stopped and started to extend the time that it can be used.
• Date after which the access code can be used.
• Maximum download and upload data speed permitted for the code.
• Maximum download and upload data volume permitted for the code.
• Allow the access code to be used on only one device, or allow use on any device, this prevents people sharing access codes.
• Allow the access code to be used by only one person, or specify the number of people who can use the access code.

Access codes and their parameters are created very quickly using the Guest Internet software. Login as the administrator and then select the codes page in the menu. Select the code parameters then click the “create codes” button.

Up to 10,000 access codes can be generated at one time and provided for customers in several different formats, as explained in the next section.

What are the methods that businesses can use to charge for Internet access?

The different methods of charging for the WiFi Internet service all use the same access procedure; the guest or customer gets access to the Internet via a login page that accepts an access code that the guest or customer purchased.

The guest or customer connects to the WiFi network and them opens a browser page. The browser page displays the WiFi service login page, which has a box to enter the access code. The login page can also show several methods of access purchase, such as an optional credit card purchase. Some of the methods that Guest Internet products have to provide access codes for sale are listed below.

• Print vouchers with access codes, the vouchers are customized with text and a logo; sixteen vouchers are printed per letter page and then cut up into vouchers. This is a very low cost method of distributing access codes.
• Print scratch-off cards with access codes. A file of up to 10,000 codes can be downloaded and sent to a firm that prints scratch-off cards.
• Point of sale for codes on demand. The Guest Internet products have PoS software that displays up to 10 buttons on a tablet display. Each button has unique characteristics, for example each button has a different duration for Internet access. The Guest Internet GIS-TP1 printer is connected to the Guest Internet controller to print vouchers with the access codes with the selected parameters. The GIS-TP1 can connect to a cash drawer for a complete PoS. This is ideal for Internet cafes.
• Guest Internet controllers provide the service to purchase an access code using a credit card using the service owner's PayPal business account. Up to ten different charges can be displayed on the login screen. The owner of the service receives a message with the details of each credit card transaction. The Guest Internet controller maintains a report of credit card sales for comparison with the credit card billing company statement. Guest Internet provides a gateway for a Paypal business account; a service that is available in 65 countries where Guest Internet products are installed.
• Guest Internet controllers can interface with any type of billing system using the Guest Internet Application Program Interface (API’s). Integrations completed by customers include hotel property management systems, campground reservation systems and retail point of sale systems. The third-party systems charge customers for the WiFi services together with other purchases that the customer makes from the business. The API’s permit any type of sales system to be implemented for any WiFi sales business application.

Each business might have a preferred method to charge for the WiFi Internet service and the Guest Internet API’s offer a method to proceed with whatever system that the business wants to use.

Provide a combination of WiFi Internet services

Businesses can offer a combination of payment methods and type of service. Some of the methods that Guest Internet controllers can be used with are listed below.

1. An RV park provides two payment methods; purchase the WiFi Internet service on-line or purchase a WiFi Internet voucher at the park store, printed on demand using the Guest Internet PoS service.
2. A hotel provides free slower data speed WiFi Internet service. Guests can purchase a faster data speed WiFi Internet service on-line using a credit card.
3. An airport offers free slower speed WiFi Internet with duration of 30 minutes in a 24-hour period. Travelers can purchase additional WiFi Internet access in 1-hour increments by purchasing on-line with a credit card. In addition subscribers of the Boingo service can use the Boingo credentials to access the Internet after authentication of the credential.

The examples listed were chosen by businesses for their specific requirements. The Guest Internet controllers can adapt to any business requirement.

How to protect your business from risks when providing WiFi access to guests and customers

When a business provides Internet access for guests and customers there are risks that the business can be exposed to. Some of these risks are listed below.

• A guest is sharing copyrighted material. The copyright owner will complain to the ISP under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) who will then send a warning message to the customer followed by termination of the Internet service. The Guest Internet controller can be configured to block peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing protocols.
• A guest is accessing websites that might attract the attention of law enforcement. The Guest Internet controller can be configured with the OpenDNS subscription service (Cisco) that will block website categories that should not be accessed.
• A guest has a computer with a virus, such as DDoS, that will disrupt the Internet access for all users, and possibly block access to the Internet. The Guest Internet controller firewall can be configured to block any devices where a DDoS virus has been detected.
• A business that connects a Guest or customer WiFi service to a computer network where credit cards are processed, such as a point-of-sale (PoS) terminal must isolate the guest network from the business network with a PCI DSS (payment card industry data security standard) compliant firewall. This is a requirement for PCI DSS for compliance with the rules of use. Failure to comply will result in the business losing merchant rights to accept credit card payments. The Guest Internet controller has a PCI DSS compliant firewall to protect the business network from a possible attack via the public network.
• Prevent people who purchase an access code from sharing the Internet service with others, either through giving the code to others, or configuring the mobile device as a Hotspot router. Guest Internet controllers prevent the use of access codes on more than one MAC address; they block MAC spoofing and block devices that are configured as hotspot routers.
• Block website domain names or IP addresses that may expose the business to risk if accessed.
• Block website categories using the OpenDNS subscription service, the subscription permits categories to be selected from a list of hundreds available. This service is provided by Cisco.
• Block any devices that are abusing the service, for example, downloading large volumes of data.

Manage the WiFi service and track Internet sales from anywhere

Guest Internet products include a free cloud management system to offer a number of benefits for a business that provides a WiFi Internet service for guests and customers.

• Manage the WiFi service from anywhere.
• Manage multiple locations as a group.
• Monitor the use of the service.
• Create access codes for any WiFi Internet system in the group.
• Manage roaming between multiple locations.
• Monitor and alert failures.
• View reports of data use and users for each location and also for groups of locations.

Protect the WiFi Internet service with failure monitoring

The Guest Internet controllers and cloud service can monitor all parts of the system for failure and send alert messages describing the problem if a failure occurs. The following parts of the service are monitored for failure.

• The ISP service connection.
• The Guest Internet controller.
• All wireless access points.

Personalize and brand the WiFi Internet service

Businesses that offer a WiFi Internet service for guests and customers can personalize and brand the WiFi Internet service using the Guest Internet controller software.

The login page is seen by all guests and customers and is used to provide information about the use of the service. Guest Internet has four levels of login page branding.

• Login page generated by the set-up wizard that has messages provided for guests and customers.
• Upload a background image that can have any type of photo or graphics for branding.
• Prepare a custom login page using HTML and javascript. The business website HTML code can be used to prepare the login page.
• Create a walled garden which is a customer login page designed using the business website that is integrated with the business website service so that the guest or customer can browse the business website without a code or payment. When the guest or customer attempts to access a different website then a code has to be provided or a purchase made.

In addition to the login page branding, the login page can also be used to provide advertising that the business can charge third parties for. An example of this is a campground that has daily visits from food truck businesses. The food trucks can purchase advertising banners on a custom login page to advise campers when they will be at the site.

The access code vouchers can also be branded by adding the business logo with text. When the vouchers are printed each has the personalized appearance with a unique access code printed on the voucher.

How to get a faster Internet service to provide more guests and customers with WiFi Internet

Businesses that provide WiFi Internet for guests and customers often hear from them that the Internet is slow. The ISP connection has a maximum data speed and that is shared with guests and customers by setting a maximum speed limit for each.

For example, a business might have an ISP connection of 100Mb/s with 50 people expected to connect to the service. The maximum speed per user is therefore set to 2Mb/s. This is a slow data speed but will avoid congestion of the ISP connection.

However, what happens when 100 people connect to the service? As more people connect the service will become slow and eventually network congestion will occur which will disconnect all users from the Internet.

The answer is to request the ISP to provide a faster network data speed. If that is not possible then the business can add ISP’s to increase the data throughput. Guest Internet controllers can connect to any type of ISP service. The data speeds of each ISP are summed to get a greater throughput that can connect more people.

The next diagram shows a Guest Internet controller with four ISP connections.

• Fiber/cable/DSL
• Fixed wireless access 5G
• Satellite service
• WISP wireless service

The Guest Internet controller has two important features to enable many people to access the Internet with up to four ISP’s

• Load balance. This means that the four ISP’s are shared between the guests and customers so that each has approximately the same Internet speed.
• Fail-over. This means that if one of the ISP connections fails, then the users who were communicating through that ISP connection are moved to other ISP connections. This is important for reliability and redundancy of the service.

Final observations

Business costs have been increasing rapidly with high inflation so those businesses that provide an Internet service for guests and customers should investigate implementing charges for the Internet service so that the cost to the business of providing the service can be recovered through partially or fully charging for the service.

A business that currently offers “free WiFi" can continue with this offer. It might be that the business currently has no data speed controls for the users of the service. Maybe the WiFi system is open and so the neighborhood is getting free WiFi at the expense of the business. The business should lock down access so that only authorized guests and customers can use the service, and can set the maximum data speed for the free service to a lower value while imposing a charge for the fast Internet service. Many hospitality businesses implement this method with excellent results and are able to recover the cost of providing the WiFi Internet service.

For more information, please get in touch with us:
info@wispzone.com