Wi-Fi Hotspot Services

Hotspots are essentially public local area networks where connectivity is provided to transient
users, generally via 802.11-based wireless LAN interfaces. Wi-Fi hotspots are located in such
venues as airports, shopping malls, convention centers, hotels catering to business travelers,
coffee shops, truck stops, and so forth, and they form a convenient means for the traveler to
check e-mail, surf the Web, or consult a database. Compared to other access points, hotspots
are cheap to install, and a multitude of service providers large and small have entered the
hotspot business and have begun to build an infrastructure of access points. The hotspot
business is at a fairly early stage of development but is growing rapidly, and the hotspot
phenomenon is now international in scope.
Hotspot services themselves are not cost effective when delivered with current 802.16
equipment, but 802.16 could prove useful in backhauling hotspots to Internet access points,
and 802.16 operators could either set up hotspots on their own or approach existing operators to sell them backhaul. I do not believe that hotspot services form a sufficiently mature business
for the broadband operator to embrace as a primary service offering, but hotspot access could
be presented to subscribers to residential or SOHO services as a value add. If the network operator
decides to offer such a service, a specialized billing plan must be put in place, and roaming
arrangements must be established so that subscribers to other networks will be able to utilize
the hotspots set up by the 802.16 network operator.
Chapter 5 covers such requirements at length.