Why Wi-Fi and How Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Hotspots: Setting Up Public Wireless Internet Access

By Tom Carpenter and R. Pokkyarath

This book is perfectly focused on the intention of setting Public Wi-Fi Hotspots. By this I mean that the book doesn't load you down with all the technical details of how wireless networks work, but instead dives right into the business/organizational benefits of running such a network as a hotspot. There is a very brief chapter at the end that gives an overview of RF or wireless signals (literally 14 pages) and this is perfect. Great job staying on focus.

The book presents the implementation of Wi-Fi Hotspots from start-to-finish covering these topics:

-Why Implement a Hotspot

-Simple Quick-Install Hotspots

-Adcvanced Hotspot technologies

-Marketing your hotspot

-Avoiding freeloaders who consume your bandwidth

-Common problems and resolutions

-Hotspot safety and security

...among others. If you are considering implementing a hotspot for pay or for marketing purposes, this book is a great place to start. -Tom Carpenter, Author: Wireless# Certification Official Study Guide, CWNA Certification Official Study Guide 4th Edition, CWSP Certification Official Study Guide 2nd Edition

A few years back, we had a miniscule operation where we provided hosted billing software to small wireless ISP's and hotspot operators. 

That company gets mentioned in 2 or 3 places here, and that's why I bought this book. 

Thesedays I don't know who makes money off hotspots; the initial hoopla died out long ago and the market was littered with dead operations. 

The book does touch upon all the points you needed to know to set up a _small_ scale wifi service in hotels, cafes and so on; it's not suited for small ISPs and do not cover deployment and operational issues issues associated with a more demanding environment. 

There are two main sections (apart from the basic intro): one deals with setting up a hotspot, and the other deals with the post-deployment aspects; the latter part includes chapters such as, "Fending off freeloaders"! With a little patience you can get all this info straight from the net, but if you prefer the info in a packaged format, this book will be of use. The books comes with a CD; I never opened it, though.

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