Public libraries have quickly become a community focal point for Internet access. Many library users get information from the Internet rather then from reference books as search tools like Google are much faster than traditional methods of searching for information.

Most public libraries provide some form of Internet access, with one or more desktop computers and a wireless access point connected to a single DSL line.

Libraries face several problems to provide a good Internet service. Some users hog the computers which frustrates those waiting to use a computer. Some users download large files which takes time and also slows the Internet for everyone else. There are also users who download copyrighted material which can cause the DSL provider to disconnect the Internet service. An open access point can be exploited for hacking by non-library users sitting in the car park. Finally, there is no accountability to ensure that the service is shared equally by all library users that need it.

Librarians don’t know how to solve Internet bottleneck issues, or think that any solution will be very expensive. In fact he library’s Internet woes can be eliminated for less then $200 and about 20 minutes of the librarians time.

Internet administration is solved by installing a low cost gateway that controls Internet access. The gateway controls all access to the DSL connection and provides the following features.

• Customized login page with the library’s terms and conditions of use.
• Generate 30 minute access codes to give to users: when the users time is up he/she gets a new access code and goes to the back of the line.
• A bandwidth control which stops any user downloading so much data that the Internet is slow for other users.
• A content filter that prevents users accessing websites with pornography.
• A report of Internet usage identifies people who abuse the service.
• A timer/ calendar disconnects the Internet service when the library is closed to the public.

The six requirements listed above will ensure that the Internet hotspot is shared fairly among library users. Furthermore access codes are given only to people who show a library card so no one can sit in the car park and use the library’s wireless Internet to hack into websites.

The installation is very easy. The library’s public computers and wireless access point are plugged in the the gateway, the GIS-R2. The gateway is plugged into the DSL connection. The GIS-R2 is easy to set up with the wizard. The each of the six requirements has to be configured. Total time is 20 to 30 minutes to have everything working.

The equipment connections are shown in the diagram below. Up to four computers and wireless access points can be plugged into the GIS-R2. Additional computers can be connected by plugging an Ethernet switch into the GIS-R2 and then plugging additional computers into the switch.

Any machine will fail sooner or later. Failure usually follows the ‘bathtub curve’. When new equipment is installed then there is an initial high failure rate followed by a long period of time with a low failure rate. Finally failures increase as equipment ‘wears out’.

When a business provides a WiFi Hotspot service for a group of people and the service fails then the business will receive many complaints. The business can purchase high reliability but cannot get a guarantee of 100% reliability from the phone or cable company that provides the connection to the Internet.

A practical solution to the problem of improving the reliability of the Internet connection is to lease two Internet connections from two different providers. The phone company can be contracted to provide a DSL or a T1, and the cable company can be contracted to provide a broadband modem. The two Internet services are connected to a hotspot gateway that has the features to work with two service providers.

The Hotspot gateway shown in the diagram has two Internet or WAN (wide area network) connectors. Each WAN connector links to an Internet service from one provider. Two WAN connectors mean that Internet service is obtained via two providers.

The Dual-WAN Hotspot gateway as a feature called ‘fail-over’, this means that when the Internet service from one of the providers fails then the Hotspot customers still get Internet access from the other provider.
The dual-WAN hotspot gateway can also improve the speed of Internet access by routing the Hotspot customer traffic over both WAN connections. The aggregate Internet speed is the sum of the two Internet WAN connections. E.g.

• Provider 1 Internet speed = 6Mb/s
• Provider 2 Internet speed = 3 Mb/s
• Total aggregate Internet speed = 9Mb/s

The dial-WAN WiFi Hotspot network for a hotel might look like the diagram below.

A business that provides an Internet connection for paying customers is called an ISP (Internet service provider) or a WISP (Wireless Internet service provider). A business can become an ISP by leasing a high bandwidth Internet connection (DSL, cable or T1) and then reselling the Internet access to a number of customers.

An ISP or Hotspot operator can usually make money in locations where travelers have a break during a journey. Airports, marinas, RV parks and train stations are all places where money can be made by selling Internet access.

The internet Hotspot service can be provided in two different formats. The first is a WiFi Hotspot for users who carry laptops, netbooks, iPads® or WiFi equipped phones. The second is a kiosk for users who need to check emails but don’t have a computer.

A WiFi Hotspot gateway can connect both wireless kiosk customers. Wireless access points and kiosks are connected to the gateway. The charge for service is identical for both types of services. Customers can type in their credit card information to purchase access to the Internet. If a point of sale (e.g. gift shop, etc) is close to the Internet service then scratch cards can be sold to customers.

An Internet kiosk can be a desk top computer that is connected to the Hotspot gateway. Kiosks are also custom manufactured with robust keyboards and screens, and have graphics that advertise the service.

The kiosk computers and wireless access point are connected to a Hotspot gateway that provides the login screen and has all the features for customer billing. Credit card billing is routed to a specialized service such as that provided by PayPal®. The equipment is connected as shown in the diagram below.

Illegal file sharing is downloading or forwarding a copyrighted file. The organization that protects copyrighted products of the music and film industry is the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

File sharing requires specific software installed on a computer: programs such as Limewire are popular with file sharers. File sharing is very easy to identify however and the RIAA is constantly initiating lawsuits against file sharers. The RIAA does not know the name of the person making illegal downloads, but does know the IP address and the name of the Internet service provider. The RIAA has to sue the Internet service provider in order to get the name of the person responsible for the Internet account.

Illegal downloads present a big problem for hotels who provide a WiFi Hotspot Internet service for guests. The RIAA can discover the name of the hotel however it is not possible to identify which guest downloaded copyrighted material.

The current procedure is that the RIAA notifies the Internet service provider that a specific IP address has been identified as a pirate. Before the RIAA has chance to sue the service provide to get the name of the customer, the service provider will send a letter to the customer stating that the service will be disconnected due to illegal downloads.

Hotels that receive the Internet providers disconnection letter (and there are many) have no option but to cut the WiFi hotspot service for guests to stop illegal downloads, and then request that the service is not disconnected, assuring the service provider that no further illegal downloads will be made.

There is a very simple solution that the hotel can install which will block illegal file sharing while continuing to provide a WiFi Hotspot service for guests. This product is a low cost gateway that filters all traffic through a firewall, and then blocks Internet data that is identified as file sharing.

Unfortunately it is not possible to block only illegal file sharing, it is necessary to block any type of file sharing, legal or illegal. The gateway is installed between the wireless access points and the Internet modem. When activated, the file sharing filter will block all Internet data packets that are identified as part of a file sharing communications. The gateway is a very low cost method of eliminating what might be a very expensive headache.

Block illegal file sharing

One problem of providing a WiFi Hotspot service is that a few people will abuse the service to the detriment of others. While most guests and visitors want to check email or see a travel timetable, a few users are downloading MP3 or video files and they slow down the Internet service for everyone else.

A simple way to ensure that a few prolific file downloads do not disrupt the Internet service for everyone else is by setting speed limits, for download speeds and for upload speeds.

A DSL or cable modem service might offer a download speed anywhere from 1 Mbit/second up to 10 Mbits/second, and an upload speed from 50Kbits/second to 500Kbits/second.

A hotspot gateway is used to regulate the Internet speed, see the diagram below.

The GIS-R2 hotspot gateway allows overall download and upload speeds to be set and optionally different speeds can be set for individual users.

As a rule of thumb, set the overall download and upload speeds to one tenth of the maximum DSL or cable speed.
If the maximum download speed is 3Mb/s then set the user download limit to 300Kb/s. This is more then enough for someone checking emails or looking at travel timetables. Anyone downloading a video file will have to be patent however.

Similarly if the upload speed is 500Kb/sec then set the user upload limit to 50Kb/sec. This will also stop file sharing software overloading the service.

The download and upload speeds are set by the GIS-R2 configuration screen. The desired speed is selected from a drop down menu.

Setting download and upload speeds

The decision that a business makes to charge for Internet services or provide them for free depends on the customers expectations. For example, customers expect hotels to provide free Internet and yet are accustomed to pay for Internet at airports. Another example is marinas vs. restaurants: boaters expect a marina to charge for the Internet and yet restaurant guests expect to get free Internet.

The problem for hotels and restaurants that charge for Internet is that customers are dissatisfied when they have to pay for Internet, even though the quality of the service they receive is 5-star.

Read a few travel blogs and the reader will see that the main complaint is how much the hotel charged for the Internet service.

The decision to charge for Internet or give it free can be boiled down to a few simple rules:

1. Will an Internet service charge alienate customers and cause them to look elsewhere in future?
2. Can the cost of the Internet service be minimized to facilitate giving free Internet?
3. Can the Internet service make a profit without charging customers for the service?

It is already too late for some business segments; hotel and restaurant guests expect free Internet.

Today all low to medium priced hotels give free Internet. High priced hotels still charge for the Internet. The high priced hotels are ‘shooting themselves in the foot’, they can afford to provide free Internet and yet they put themselves in the position that the guest will forget about the great service and remember the Internet rip-off.

The only hospitality business that can justifiably charge for Internet services are resorts in far flung places, islands in the Caribbean or Pacific. Guests might grumble but they also have to pay for the phone service too as cell phones do not work.

Generally, it is a good thing to provide free Internet for guests and visitors; the business will get more ‘brownie points’ for this service that they will for the clean sheets, the tasty food or the air conditioning.

So what should a business do about WiFi for guests? The answer is to consider points 2 and 3 above: how to reduce costs of the free guest wifi, and how generate income from the free guest WiFi.

Reduce the cost of providing free WiFi Internet

It is very easy to spend thousands of dollars to Install a WiFi Hotspot as there are many business ready to install the best products that money can buy and then charge a monthly fee in addition to ‘maintain’ the service. Firms can charge the big bucks because most people don’t understand the technology. There are plug and play products like the GIS-K1 however that are designed for non-technical people: if you can switch on a computer then you can install a GIS-K1. The most important feature is that the GIS-K1 retails for less than $150.

It is also important to minimize the monthly cost of the DSL or cable service. All telecom companies offer a range of services, from the $30 medium speed service to a $100 fast business service. The $30 service can be used with the GIS-K1 because it has something called bandwidth control which prevent on guest swamping the service and making it slow for everyone else. The range of the GIS-K1 might be limited for some business however wireless range extenders can be used with the GIS-K1 to cover a much larger area and they cost less then $50 each.

Make money providing free WiFi Internet

Surprisingly, money can me made providing free WiFi. The question is how! Well for each business that provides free Internet the money making options are a little different.

Take hotels as an example. A hotel is surrounded by small businesses that make a living from the hotel guests. These small firms run taxi cabs, car rentals, deliver pizza or provide a laundry service. The businesses are already paying to advertise in the hotel lobby, by providing business cards and brochures for the lobby area. It is a simple step to create a login page with advertising for the GIS-K1 and the business website can be used as the login page background.

Advertising charge per banner off $50/month is reasonable charge. Six banners will pay $300 per month. The DSL cost of $30/month is easily covered, and the equipment cost and cost of the login page can be recovered in the first two to three month of operations. The free WiFi Hotspot is actually generating a profit!.

Login page with advertising

Large buildings are very difficult to provide 100% Hotspot wireless coverage inside. Typical large buildings where WiFi Hotspots are are installed are airports and shopping malls. Two points about construction are important for wireless network installation

Load bearing structures (columns, elevator shafts and floors) use steel reinforced poured concrete or steel beams. Wireless signals will not pass through these structures
Horizontally on floors the obstacles are columns and studs, the wireless signals pass easily through less dense materials such as sheet rock walls. It is important to have the signal source mounted on the ceiling and pointing down as there are less obstacles (I.e. furniture and people) to absorb the wireless signal.

It is clear that wireless signals will not pass vertically in a high-rise tower, however wireless signals will pass horizontally along each floor provided that at least two access points are installed to cover areas of wireless shadow cast by columns.

It will be necessary to wire an Ethernet cable from the Hotspot gateway to each floor of the building. However wireless repeaters or mesh nodes can be installed in each floor to eliminate additional wiring. A wireless unit that is suitable for the building floors is the Engenius EAP-3660. Get the data sheet by clicking on this link:

http://www.engeniustech.com/resources/EAP-3660%20Datasheet%200409.pdf

The EAP-3660 looks like a smoke detector and can be fixed under a drop ceiling. The omni-directional antenna radiates downward giving good coverage. The EOC-3660 can also be configured as a repeater to extend the signal along the floor.

Several EAP-3660’s can be installed along the building corridor under the drop ceiling

Engenius EAP-3660 wireless access points installed along the corridor of each building floor

The Engenius EAP-3660 wireless access point

The building wireless network installation will look like the diagram below. The GIS-R16 can support more than 500 concurrent users, however the DSL circuits must be substituted for high speed fiber when more than 200 users are to be connected.

WiFi Hotspots are installed in public places and a risk exists that one user might be offended at the websites that another user is looking at. Children might also be using the Internet service therefore some type of parental control is required to make the Internet service family friendly.

A family friendly Internet service can be provided by installing a GIS-K1 Internet gateway with the OpenDNS content filtering service activated. Open DNS is the leading content filtering service and offers options from a simple free service to a $5000/year corporate service that has bells and whistles.

The WiFi Hotspot operator creates a free or paid OpenDNS account using the OpenDNS website, the account selection page is shown below.

When the OpenDNS account has been created the username and password is provided for the GIS-K1. Finally the activate box is checked to start the service. The GIS-K1 activation page is shown below.

The GIS-K1 WiFi Hotspot is installed in the business premises as shown in the diagram below:

Some business owners face a new risk because thieves have discovered how to steal credit card information from point of sale (PoS) computers. The thieves get access to the PoS through WiFi Hotspots, which businesses have installed as a service for customers. This is possible when the WiFi Hotspot is connected to the same DSL or Cable service as the PoS computer. The PoS has to be connected to the Internet to process credit card payments. An expert computer hacker can access a PoS in a few minutes and the hacker need not be on the premises, most sit in the car park within range of the WiFi Hotspot.

All motels and hotels have a WiFi Hospot installed for guests to use. Unfortunately some businesses have already had credit card data stolen from PoS computers and thieves used the WiFi Hotspot to gain access. In cases where the theft of credit card information from a business computer is proven, then the merchant is liable for fines and suspension of merchant card services.

The credit card industry has published recommendations describing the precautions that the merchant must take to prevent theft of credit card information. This information is available as a download from the Security Standards Council called the PCI DSS Data Security Standard.

The PCI DSS has two recommendations regarding the installation of a public Internet service within the business premises. The first is that the WiFi Hotspot and PoS computer must use different DSL/Cable connections. Secondly, if only one Internet circuit is available then a firewall must be installed to prevent Hotspot users getting access to the PoS computer. Businesses that process a large volume of credit card charges must have the network installation certified by a qualified consultant.

Larger hotels have bigger budgets for IT and so the cost of a T1 data circuit for the property management system / PoS, and a separate business DSL for the guest Internet service is affordable. Smaller properties have tighter budgets and cannot afford the additional $1000+ annual cost of a business DSL service dedicated exclusively for guest Internet access.

One DSL or Cable circuit can be used for both the PMS/PoS and the WiFi Hotspot service by installing a Hotspot gateway that includes a firewall to block access to the PoS. Products that combine the WiFi hotspot gateway function together with a firewall can cost less that $200. The combined gateway and firewall products permit the motel owner to comply with PCI DSS recommendations while working with a tight budget.

The combined gateway-firewall product is very easy to install and can be used to upgrade an existing WiFi hotspot service. Most motel network installations look like the diagram below. The business computers are connected to the DSL or cable modem. Additionally there is an Ethernet switch that is used to connect wireless access points for the guests, and possibly a guest computer in the lobby area or in a business center.

The Hotspot gateway with firewall is installed between the public network and the private network. This is the GIS-R2 Hotspot gateway. The public network includes wireless access points and business center computer. The private network includes the DSL or Cable modem, point of sale computer, and property management system computer.

The Hotspot gateway and firewall provides several essential functions in addition to the firewall.

-    Firewall: blocks access to the private network from the public network for PCI DSS compliance
-    Login page with optional customization
-    Login page legal disclaimer which can be edited
-    Generation of access codes to provide to guests
-    Redirection of users to the motel web page
-    Data speed control: prevent users who download large files from slowing the network for everyone
-    Content filtering which blocks access to porn and similar web sites
-    Report of guest Internet usage
-    Remote configuration
-    Interface for PMS system integration (API)

The firewall is very effective because it deletes any data packet that a hacker in the public network tries to send to a computer in the private network.  The access control using pass-codes also means that no one can sit in the motel car park and get Internet access. Only guests who have been given access pass-codes get Internet access. This low cost network upgrade gives a big piece of mind.

For additional product information please go to the GIS-R2 Hotspot gateway page.

Internet kiosk installation showing two computers