This article outlines the benefits and challenges of providing public WiFi internet service. It covers typical locations like hotels, events, transport hubs, and communities, and explains how the Guest Internet controllers help prevent misuse, protect against illegal activities, and manage network access. 

The pros and cons of providing an Internet service for the public

There are advantages (pros) and disadvantages (cons) for any business or individual that provides a WiFi Internet service for guests, customers, visitors or residents. There are many situations where an Internet WiFi service is provided for the public, here are a few.

• Hospitality: hotels, motels, resorts, campgrounds, RV parks, etc.
• Events: trade shows, auctions, etc.
• Transportation: airports, flights, trains, etc.
• Condominiums: multi-unit residential buildings, multi-unit office buildings.
• Communities: rural and remote village residents, island residents.
  

Unfortunately there are many more cons then pros when providing a WiFi Internet service for the public. One of the tasks of a Guest Internet controller is to prevent the cons from happening. Lets make a list of the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Increase customer satisfaction by providing the service; get return customers.
• Make money by charging for the Internet service.
• Use the WiFi service as a marketing tool for other business activities.

Cons:

• People will share access codes to get free Internet access.
• People will use phones as hotspots to give friends free Internet.
• People will try to break the system to get free Internet access by capturing authenticated MAC and IP addresses.
• A computer infected with a DoS virus will prevent people access the Internet.
• People will share copyright material causing the ISP to disconnect the service.
• People will access websites that are not suitable for a public environment.
• People will use the public WiFi Internet service for illegal activities.
• People will use the public WiFi access to try to steal information, such as credit cards, from the business computers.
  

The business or individual who provides the WiFi Internet service is responsible for bad things that the users might be doing with the WiFi Internet service. How can the Guest Internet controller prevent bad things from happening, and protect the business or individual who is providing the service?  Lets see how.

The benefits of Guest Internet controllers

Guest Internet controllers have three primary purposes

• Manage the sharing of one Internet connection with many people and prevent network congestion occurring through setting limits for each connection.
• Control access of pubic users to the Internet, using one of several access control methods available that include access codes, which have several control parameters.
• Optionally charge for the Internet service using one or a combination of methods that can include printing and sale of vouchers for cash, charging credit cards on-line and payment for the service using a mobile money (MoMo) system.
  Guest Internet controllers have a long list of features and more will be described in the next section.

Unfortunately there will be people who try to take advantage of the public WiFi Internet service, or abuse the service, which is the reason that Guest Internet incorporates special features to prevent abuse and prevent illegal activities. The list below explains how Guest Internet controllers will protect the business or individual who is providing the WiFi Internet service.

• People will share access codes to get free Internet access.
  • Guest Internet controllers log the device characteristics when an access code is first used and block any subsequent attempted access using a different device, when the attempted access is being made simultaneously with the first device, or when the access is attempted at a later time.
• People will use phones as hotspots to give friends free Internet
  • Guest Internet can block any device that is being used in a hot-spot mode to share the Internet with others. The person who tries to share access has that device blocked from accessing the Internet.
• People will try to break the system to get free Internet access by capturing authenticated MAC and IP addresses.
  • Guest Internet controllers have very effective algorithms that detect and block any attempt to impersonate a device that is authorized to use the Internet.
• A computer infected with a DoS virus will prevent people accessing the Internet.
  • Any device that is infected with a DoS virus can prevent other devices getting access to the Internet service because the outbound stream of data packets transmitted by the DoS virus will use all uplink available bandwidth. When the Guest Internet controller detects that a device has an active DoS virus it blocks that device from accessing the network. The device users sees that the device has no Internet connection.
• People will share copyright material causing the ISP to disconnect the service
  • All USA ISP’s are obliged to disconnect the Internet service of a customer whose Internet service is being used to share copyrighted files, such as the content of CD’s and DVD’s. This is a requirement of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This means that anyone in any country, not only people in the USA, who is using the Starlink service to share copyright files will have their service terminated. Guest Internet controllers can detect and block some of the Torrent software that is used to share copyrighted files. Any user who is sharing a file with torrent will have the computer network access blocked by the Guest Internet controller. This will prevent some file sharing over the ISP’s network and reducing the risk of having the Internet service terminated.
• People will access websites that are not suitable for a public environment.
  • Guest Internet controllers have a gateway to a subscription service provided by Cisco called Open DNS, which is part of the Cisco umbrella service. The Cisco OpenDNS service is used to block access to website categories that are considered to be unsuitable for access in a public environment. The OpenDNS service can also block access to known websites that infect computers with viruses.
• People will use the public WiFi Internet service for illegal activities.
  • Guest Internet controllers maintain a log for all devices that access the Internet. Any user who accesses the dark-web will do so with the TOR protocol and so the communications remain private. However a log is kept of the device MAC address, computer network name, OS and browser used to access the Internet. The login page can be used to remind users that their computer information is logged. A daily record can be saved on the administrator’s computer in the case that law enforcement wish to investigate a cyber-crime.
• People will use the public WiFi access to try to steal information, such as credit cards, from the computers of the business that is providing the public WiFi Internet service.
  • Guest Internet controllers have a firewall that blocks access to the business network that the controller connects to. The firewall is compliant with the requirements of PCI DSS (payment card industry data security standards).

What else can Guest Internet controllers and cloud service do?

In addition to the features listed in the previous sections, Guest Internet controllers have important support, maintenance and failure alerting features that ensure the smooth running and reliability of the public WiFi service. These features are listed in the following sections and are divided into cloud services and controller services.

Guest Internet Controller additional services

• Controller API for integration with 3rd party software; examples are property management systems and reservation systems.
• Access control for on-demand or for subscription applications.
• Point of sale (PoS) terminal for cyber café applications.
• Increase throughput by adding more ISP connections, up to four per controller.
• Branding the Internet experience and marketing to users through login page advertising methods (described in another article).
• Failure monitoring of devices in the LAN network that are connected to the Guest Internet controller, this includes wireless access points. An email alert is sent out if a wireless access point fails. Without monitoring there is no indication that a wireless access point has failed, unless users start complaining.
• A VLAN configuration available with the GIS-R10/R20 and R40 permits one WiFi network to be used by both guests and staff, while maintaining guests and staff isolated.
• Comprehensive reports showing users and usage for the controller.
  

Guest Internet Cloud additional services

The Guest Internet cloud service is free with each controller and provides information about the WiFi Internet use from any location, the service includes remote access to Guest Internet controllers, device status and network performance reports. Some cloud features are highlighted below.

• Monitor the performance of each controller assigned to the cloud account, there is no limit to the number of controllers that can be assigned.
• Monitor the performance of Internet connections, identify network congestion issues.
• Failure monitoring of each controller, and each ISP connection, relay failure alerts about wireless access points connected to the controller. A failure alert is notified when an email message is sent to the system supervisor.
• Manage an unlimited number of Guest Internet controllers in groups, with group reports and group service charging.
• The Cloud API provides integration with 3rd party software; examples are on-line credit card billing and mobile money payments.
• Comprehensive reports showing users and usage for groups of controllers.

Protect yourself and your business with Guest Internet controllers

Any person or any business that provides a WiFi Internet service for the public must be aware of the risks that are a consequence of the service. Guest Internet controllers mitigate the risk through a series of controls that are described in this document. 

Contact us today to plan your Internet WiFi sales business.

Guest Internet makes the best products for community WiFi, please contact:

support@guest-internet.com

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info@wispzone.com