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MediaTracker is offering a low-cost way for venues to manage their hotspots: The management software, ControlAP, costs $149 and can support several platforms and both external APs plugged into a computer or an internal wireless card. Because the software is Java based, it can be run from a handheld with a wireless card. “It’s a do-it-yourself mechanism to control hotspots,” said Dario Laverde, MediaTracker’s founder. “The initial target is cafes and small store fronts.”
The software enables a captive portal Web page where end users can sign in or see a welcome page if the hot spot is free. For now, a cafe may decide to offer 30 minutes of free use, then require customers to approach the counter where they pay the barista for additional use. A cafe could also ask customers to buy another coffee in exchange for additional use rather than set a price based on time, Laverde suggested. An employee authorizes additional use from a computer behind the counter where the ControlAP software can be integrated with existing point-of-sale software. The next version of ControlAP will support credit card billing.
The software logs traffic and allows a cafe to block URLs or users by MAC address. It can be used to manage wired connections, too, so a cafe that may have some wired computers available for customers can manage those together with users of the Wi-Fi network from the same tool.
Laverde says that thousands of people have downloaded the free version of the software, which is meant to serve as a trial version because it limits simultaneous users to five and offers stripped-down features. The full version of the software was just introduced this week.
MediaTracker isn’t alone in the market chasing independent cafes that don’t want to partner with any of the larger hotspot operators, but it does offer some unique differences from its competitors. Surf and Sip, for example, offers a hosted hotspot management solution that either costs $50 per month if the hotspot is free for users, or 25 percent of profits for a paid location. Sputnik offers a robust solution for managing hotspots but is designed for the small to medium-sized hotspot operator that has multiple locations. AirPath Wireless also offers a hotspot management solution but seems to be targeting larger hot spot operators—Sprint uses AirPath’s solution. NoCatAuth is also an option but appropriate mostly for technical folks.
Posted by nancyg at January 14, 2004 3:45 PM
Categories: Hot Spot
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