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Wi-Fi Alliance To Brand Public Hotspots
Posted by
Hemos
on Mon Jan 13, 2003 09:35 AM
from the making-sure-everyone-knows dept.
from the making-sure-everyone-knows dept.
Andreas Ehn writes "802.11 Planet writes: 'The Wi-Fi Alliance is
launching a new program starting today to create a global brand for easier recognition of public access hotspots. The Wi-Fi ZONE program will also include setting a minimum standard of quality for hotspots before they can label themselves a Wi-Fi ZONE or display the ZONE
logo.' Read the article here! It won't be cheap, however -- you'll be expected to pay $100 for a license to use the trademark for three access points at one location, though it will be free until March 2004. Or you could just stick to warchalking."
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Or... (Score:4, Interesting)
I'll help with a FREE site .... (Score:5, Interesting)
That is B.S. that you have to pay to use their logo and to essentially get listed on their site
Parent
Re:I'll help with a FREE site .... (Score:2)
Re:I'll help with a FREE site .... (Score:2)
Cool! You know what, I'll do the web design for free!
(Again, only id it's TOTALLY FREE for everyone to use...)
Don't worry, I'm a good XHTML, anti-flash designer/coder (and make my websites ultra small & lite)
Re:I'll help with a FREE site .... (Score:2)
Just visited your site you have there, and it asked me to install the Gator Spyware.
Not to mention asthetics, blech.
Re:I'll help with a FREE site .... (Score:2)
I have pop-ups blocked so I don't see them...hmm must see if there isn't some other free subdomain address somewhere else...
Sorry 'bout that....
Re:Or... (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Mod Up Parent (Score:2)
Anyway... There are two big problems with all of these public websites to find active 802.11b nodes.
1) No one knows were to find them (lack of advertizing and promotion). Now, being that they are free, why don't they get free banner ad space on places like OSDN, or supporting users sites? (Other "free" projects do, right?
2) The information is WAY to old. Who wants to go a couple miles away, only to find out the node is dead? Why not write a snmp query interface to the database, and then have the people running the nodes allow specific snmp access from the public database server? Then, you could have live information, not "230 day old" information...
Re:Mod Up Parent (Score:2)
Not another one... (Score:3, Funny)
OpenNodes [opennodes.com]
The Wi-Fi FreeSpot Network [wififreenet.com]
NodeDB [nodedb.com]
80211hotspots.com [80211hotspots.com]
The problem is that these are all incomplete, and don't keep up with each other. If someone starts another, please comb through these sites and take user comments on reliability, continued existence, free/price, etc.
This hotspot was brought to you by... (Score:5, Funny)
Wireless internet services brought to you by Anheuser-Busch - St Louis, MO
Re:This hotspot was brought to you by... (Score:2)
Matt
It's just advertising (Score:3, Interesting)
Where are these things? (Score:2, Troll)
one word: truck stops (ok, its two :-) (Score:5, Interesting)
Geeks want them in coffee shops, but the real growth markets for Hot Spot are airports and
Don't laugh - just start counting semis next time you're on the interstate - if you get 1% of all truckers using the service at the 100 busiest truck stops, you've got a winner. Market penetration will likely be more like 50%
Parent
Re:one word: truck stops (ok, its two :-) (Score:3, Funny)
The only people who hang out at coffee shops are rich arrogant college morons complete with $300 Tommy Hillfiger shirts, slick hair, and strong cologne getting their mack on to some groupie slut who is impressed by his parent's BMW.
Re:one word: truck stops (ok, its two :-) (Score:3, Informative)
Re:one word: truck stops (ok, its two :-) (Score:2)
Mind you, someone did spill a café latté or whatever all over their nice new shoes... aww diddums, Daddy'll have to buy you a new pair!
-Mark
Re:one word: truck stops (ok, its two :-) (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:one word: truck stops (ok, its two :-) (Score:2)
A national truck stop HotSpot infrastructure will allow smaller players to duplicate much of what Werner Enterprises has done with communications in their truck fleet.
Werner headquarters is just a few miles down the road from me and you better believe they're already aware that something like this is coming
Re:one word: truck stops (ok, its two :-) (Score:3, Informative)
I know, I used to drive truck.
These systems utilize satellite communcation which, while not perfect, would be much better then truckstop hotspots for all but the smallest fleets.
To be honest, there aren't many truckstops east of Pa, and the ones there fill up fast. Not to mention certain drivers, like me, only stopped at truckstops to fuel, using wayside rests to shut down for my break.
And don't forget there's a lot of places where drivers go where there isnt a local truckstop nearby. I would sure hate delivering a load and driving for 200 miles to hit a hotspot and find out my next load. I quite liked being out in BFE and still having a link to HQ right by my side.
Re:one word: truck stops (ok, its two :-) (Score:2)
A lot of truck stops also have internet kiosks. In fact, I have seen more internet kiosks in truck stops than anyplace else I have been. Truckers have a lot of communications needs - both for business and personal reasons.
BTW... if you take a road trip across America, truck stops are often the best place to stop for gas, quick food, and munchies! They normally have large stores with all sorts of goodies (from munchies to radio equipment to truck stuff). Many of them participate in a books on tape club so you can rent a book, play it in your car, and when you are done, drop it off at another truck stop. A favorite one in Amarillo, TX even has a Radio Shack inside of it. And truck stops now cater to non-truckers (hey, I don't drive a truck - not the smartest tornado chase vehicle).
I would LOVE to find WiFi hotspots in truck stops or anywhere else out in the boonies!
Well... (Score:2)
Re:Well... (Score:2)
A: Take names-- log your guest's activity against some sort of account system so that if somebody does something that starts to violate the TOS you agreed to to get your bandwidth you can figure out who did it, and cut them off.
B: Limit access-- firewall your guests so that they can only do what you allow them to do over your bandwidth, and have to follow your rules, which make sure that it's not possible to do anything that violates your ISP's TOS.
As far as this is concerned, there's no need to make a distiction between the terrorist who wants to blow up the USA, and the common lowlife spammer. When Internet traffic flows through your wire, you are responsible for it. If it's clear that your port is being used to send spam, but you don't know who's connecting to your Wi-Fi to send it, you're the one who's gonna be blamed. If your Wi-Fi turns out to be the one that the local Al Queda rep is using to communicate, you sure are going to wish you have something to give the investigators to move on the path beyond you.
And you really should double check to see if your TOS allows you do have an open Wi-Fi port in the first place. If your school's IT department depends on funding from sale of the in-dorm Internet connections, and some of the students around you are mooching off you instead of buying their own connection, you are setting yourself up to be cut off.
HotSpot? Not without encryption (Score:5, Interesting)
Our friends at Homeland Security view the uncontrolled internet access available via careless WISPs, careless wireless lan operators, and the like as a *major* problem. The telcos want to protect their monopoly so they're onboard with any efforts to squelch the booming wireless market.
I strongly suspect that we'll see legislation about such services before very long and the only cure for the complaint will be solid layer 3 encryption.
I run a WISP that covers five counties in a fairly large metro area and I'm already working this issue - business customers can get an affordable IPsec client like the Linksys firewall for around $100, Windows users have PPTP, and RouterOS from http://www.mikrotik.com provides a solid platform to terminate both sorts of connections.
If these guys are going to do a Hot Spot standard, which *is* needed on a national basis, it had better include a solid L3 encryption method.
Re:HotSpot? Not without encryption (Score:3, Insightful)
From your post I have a little trouble figuring out your stance on this. Do you disagree with HomeSec?
Completely anonymous high-speed Internet access *is* dangerous. What prevents some script kiddie from pulling up in his Honda Civic (with a huge spoiler of course) and using a public hotspot to launch every known attack against any site on the Internet?
At least with a cable modem or DSL there is the possibility of digging through log files and turning up an IP address. If he's using a public WiFi point then all you'll get is the WiFi owner's IP and the script kiddie will be long gone.
How do you host a public WiFi hotspot yet avoid being used as a script-kiddie (or spam) portal?
Re:HotSpot? Not without encryption (Score:2)
Anonymous wireless access isn't any more or less a "threat" than the same situation in the insecure-by-default, unaccountable wired world.
Hmm... do you also think that those evil anonymous postcards with no return address should be banned too? I mean... what if some scr1ptk1ddie terrorist laced it with acid and you accidentally licked it?! :-)
--
now long is it till 'never' (Score:3, Informative)
Anyway, even if you did create a distributed project, you would only be able to decrypt one internet session from one person. Not everyone's traffic. It would be entirely pointless.
Nice ..... (Score:4, Interesting)
Is it just me, or would anyone else feel used if they put up their logo????
Re:Nice ..... (Score:2)
Destroy Mom and Pop (Score:4, Interesting)
For "global brand" read "US Brand" and this brand gives you the right to...
Actually it gives you the right to do nothing. The point here is that they are aiming to be an "approved" networking solution, so you would only connect to "approved" solutions providers, and your local coffee shop would not be approved but Starbucks sure as hell would be.
Welcome to the corporatisation of community efforts. They don't like Mom and Pop doing this, so they are starting a plan
1) Create a brand
2) Start calling it "approved"
3) Complain to councils and goverments about "un-approved" networks that are causing interfernce.
4) Get unapproved networks stopped.
5) Ramp up the price.
Of course they'd need to sign up the hardware vendors to ensure proper lock down... oh.... they've already thought of that [wi-fi.org]
Who's behind all this? (Score:2)
*Sigh* Too much Conspiracy Zone for me...
maybe you don't understand what'unregulated' means (Score:2)
Re:maybe you don't understand what'unregulated' me (Score:2)
Re:Destroy Mom and Pop (Score:3, Informative)
Mom and Pop are not operating alone
http://www.part-15.org
http://www.wispcon.info
http://www.isp-lists.com - sign up for isp-wireless mailing list
Go to google and look for the industry leaders - "Michael Anderson" (part-15.org, wispcon.info founder)
"Patrick Leary" (Alvarion Chief Evangelist)
"Marlon Schafer" (agitator, comedian, business consultant)
"Allen Marsalis" (WispCon II award winner
"Roger Boggs" (Roger 'Obi Wan' Boggs - rf guru)
and there are a host of others who answer newcomer's questions and push on lobbying issues, FCC requests for comment, etc - Eje Gustafsson, Jeremy Parr, Neal Rauhauser, Bob Moldashel, Victoria Proffer, the guys at http://www.mikrotik.com, Lonnie Nunweiler, and we can't forget Steve Stroh at http://www.strohpub.com.
If
Re:Destroy Mom and Pop (Score:3, Interesting)
first of all - the marketplace hasnt solidified totally yet - this means that many possibilities for "markets" havent all been indentified yet.
Since this area is just starting to get major attention you can bet your bottom dollar that the deep pockets are already doing marjor development to ensure their ugly umbrella will cover this new market.
we can see this in the formation of Cometa. Cometa is largely funded by AT&T (& intel & IBM) - but there is a big problem with them: they are funded by companies that have major branding, people already dont trust, have crappy customer service & tend to monopolize their markets.
Cometa is definitely not a company I would want to trust.
anyway - another thing about cometa is that they want to be the leader in hotspots - like in malls, airports busy coffee shops etc. This is good and bad.
First - its good for an ISP to focus on hotspots initially, as this will only require them to put up the infrastructure as needed. As usage, awareness and demand rises - they can grow their coverage out.
This is bad because it will require them to maintain many many physical backhauling link ups. This means that for every hotspot - they will require a real traditional uplink like a T1.
Now - here is why AT&T is important - they can provide the uplinks at a loss indefinitely until they are in a monopolizing position. They can also hold the potential to sell access on those uplinks to other WISPs who want to just maintain a small wifi AP area....
so - we see the community wisp (cometa) appearing to come along and provide you with wifi service, but its really big corporate money (and the shitty service that goes with it) bringing up a new brand in an attempt to fool people into thinking that this is a good thing (tm) for them.
well, the issue that I have with this whole market (aside from the fact that I hate big telcos to begin with) is that we (the people) have a perfect oppotunity to actually take an industry and market over - and build it out on a proper foundation - like low cost high quality service where our users (not customers) are important to the integrity of the service.
a company like AT&T (in the guise of cometa) just absolutely cannot provide you with honest-to-goodness service.
Dont forget about AT&T wanting to provide you with every possible service (via an electronic means) in a package deal that stiffles competition and overcharges the consumer at every opportunity. You can forget about multiple providers for cable, cel, long ditance, wireless internet.
So - the 5 step process to building a monopoly above is in full effect in the infancy of the wifi market.
I just hope that we can see through lame attempts to control our information and demand (through our actions) that a proper model gets established.
There are many options that should be looked at and weighed and fleshed out.
For example - what if you had each city maintain (through multiple sub contracting companies) a mesh network that was the city's local wireless "cell" - the backhaul would be provided by multiple carriers who bid to the city for the traffic....
there is so much that can be donw with wireless that we need to be careful not to let it get monopolized so soon while we are not watching.
How does this differ from ... ? (Score:4, Insightful)
From a technology standpoint, can someone out there with alot of Wi-Fi experience reply back with how this will differ from products such as Joltage's [joltage.com] apps that turn hot spots into instant mini-Internet service providers? Or HotSpottzz [wifimetro.com], who has creats wi-fi networks via strategically placed antennas? Or is WiFi Zone more this more like the peer-to-peer approach taken by SkyPilot [skypilot.com]?
Re:How does this differ from ... ? (Score:4, Interesting)
Think of the cell phone network - you can sign up for a phone in Seattle and probably make a call in Miami. 802.11b access today is not a lot different than the private radio systems that the cell business is slowly consuming.
For wireless hotspots to take off there really needs to be a standard behind it - I'd suggest something along the lines of broadcasting SSID so they're easy to find, then requiring authentication and strong layer three encryption for each client - so what if they're netstumbled
Its going to be interesting
Parent
Roaming (GSM-like) (Score:5, Interesting)
I also hope that the requirement states that there's not f*cking additionnal software to install. I can also dream of requiring easy access from other OS than windows.
Better symbol (Score:3, Insightful)
bleh, such a stupid name... (Score:4, Insightful)
I guess this is probably going to go more towards pay sites, but if they really want to build a world of total wi-fi coverage, what they should do is build protocols that allow devices to see prices to get on the various Networks that surround them and allow for quick, instant payment for bandwidth used.
nice logo... (Score:2)
Forging ahead with out an ounce of caution (Score:2, Interesting)
How many times does it have to be said, "WEP IS BROKEN"? And worse than that--WEP is also OPTIONAL. Most people don't understand encryption, nor do they grok why they should at least turn WEP on, be it broken or not. The end result is, they don't. Take a quick drive around your neighborhood with Kismet and see for yourself...90% of the AP's you encounter are using the default settings (including the default ESSID of "linksys"), and are using absolutely NO encryption. It's even worse when they have the AP's DHCP server left on.
The solution is of course to use a good VPN, right? But setting up a VPN is not trivial--take a look at the docs on freeswan.org, it's fairly involved and well beyond joe average user. Never mind the myriad of different VPN clients that may or may not work with your VPN server.
802.11 is fundamentally flawed. It is -dangerously- flawed.
Re:Forging ahead with out an ounce of caution (Score:5, Informative)
You don't understand the point of WEP. It is an encryption standard to get you onto the wireless network segment. If you are using a shared access point, you must either have no WEP enabled, or everyone uses the same WEP key. How easily it can be broken is completely irrelevant in any discussion about shared access points. It's like being on a normal CAT-5 shared network segment (hub, not a switch). With the WEP key in place, all traffic is available to you. No different to being in a internet cafe, would you trust your packets in that enviroment?
WEP can be used by private firms or home users to lock down access to their own network. It is here that the weakness lies.
The net is an unencrypted and completely insecure network. Just because the last mile is suddenly insecure, it's no reason to suddenly start to panic. If you are concerned, get some good VPN software, or stick to encrypting by protocol. It's the only way to limit access to your communications. Oh, and avoid using the phone as well.
Personally, I'm more concerned that POP/IMAP over SSL is as rare as it is currently, especially given how easy it is to configure. You want something to worry about? Who's holding this back? Where's my tinfoil hat?
Parent
Turn off SSID broadcast (Score:2)
I just dont get the "802.11 is flawed" mantra that I keep hearing over and over again. A little security (WEP plus turning off SSID broadcast) is more than enough for home users. Neither JoeSix pack nor JoeSlashDotter needs military grade encryption. JoeSlashDotter seems to think he does for some reason.
spontaneous public domain logo/brand creation (Score:3, Insightful)
But reading this post I find myself trying to write down examples of public domain logos that are not controlled by any organization. And I think that there are relatively few. Of those that come to mind, like the pawn shop's three balls, and the Medical caducious, they are very ancient. A few modern examples are the radioactive and biohazard tri-foils.
We are now poised at a point where a new public symbol might have reached a critical public awareness where it might spring into existence. The Warchalked Wi-Fi hot spot.
Of course I'm glossing over those generic sorts of informational highway type signs that basically are pictographs (mens room, telephone, hotel bed).
Or maybe this is more common than I think. Can slashdot readers come up with other (non-generic) examples of "free" logos with no controlling entity.
I have also been working on this. - A free version (Score:2, Informative)
I have also been working on wi-fi hot spot branding for a while, with an identity sign (for free)
Beam Here mirror [startsimple.com]
Beam Here [beamhere.com]
Beam Here Identity Sign [startsimple.com]
I can put together a simple eps sign to print for anyone with a hotspot to use in about a week. And if anyone wants to team up for a database that would be great to.
Couple of problems (at least): (Score:5, Insightful)
2. If it's supposed to encourage more widespread adoption of WiFi, the fee will be a super-major downer for a lot of providers (especially in parts of the world where $100 still means something). Plus it sends the wrong signal (no pun intended), charging for something that is supposed to spread the gospel.
The $100 fee seems unnecessary (Score:2, Interesting)
FREE alternative (Score:2, Interesting)
ZomBvision's Web Icon [cy-co.com]
I'd have put this up hours ago but work kept getting in the way of my goofing-off time (I hate that).
I'll put up the original graphics I developed for this after I get home tonight-will be available tomorrow. I wish I had my professional graphics tools at work.
I'll also post links to existing sites that show available AP's and add my own list of Hot Spots. I'll start taking list suggestions at my email address (zombvision@cy-co.com) until I get a handy web form put up to automate the process. I'll gladly accept volunteer code and graphics for free distribution, as well as suggestions from arm-chair lawyers (or real lawyers, even) as to how my rules for use of the designs on this page should be amended/modified.