Wi-Fi Alliance To Brand Public Hotspots

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."

Comments

Or...

[mschoolbus]

Someone make a website that tracks all local access points... I know there are region specific sites out there, but it would be free.

It's just advertising

[GlassUser]

They're selling advertising. You pay them to list your "guaranteed quality" node in their database, and it reads back like the yellowpages. Expect the equivalent of full page ads soon.

HotSpot? Not without encryption

[puzzled]

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.

one word: truck stops (ok, its two :-)

[puzzled]

Geeks want them in coffee shops, but the real growth markets for Hot Spot are airports and ... truck stops! Really - I've been invited to consult on a couple of truck stop projects but haven't done anything - I knew it'd be too big for me to have any serious influence.

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% ...

Re:one word: truck stops (ok, its two :-)

[Fjord]

With truck stops, it wouldn't just be personal use. I work on logistics software and the current buzz is WiFi hotspots where a laptop with a GPS will call home when it enters the area. Carriers will pay quite a bit (but not too much) for access to these networks, since most of what they currently do is have the truck driver phone a representative who keys in the data (cellular service/equipment tends to be too expensive or nonreliable).By using these networks they can eliminate the rep (and the keying errors).

Nice .....

[mustangdavis]

You can display their logo for free until March 2004 ... then ou have to pay to keep the logo there .... that stinks!!! If you are one of the people that helps to get this organization off of the ground, wh should you have to pay???


Is it just me, or would anyone else feel used if they put up their logo????

Destroy Mom and Pop

[MosesJones]

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

Re:Destroy Mom and Pop

[_ph1ux_]

there are many problems with the evolution of the "wi-fi" market currently.

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.

I'll help with a FREE site ....

[mustangdavis]

If anyone wanted to make this web site, I'd provide free hosting for it! (provided that it was TOTALLY FREE for everyone to use ... and that it doesn't suck down ubber-bandwidth (more than a T-1's worth)

That is B.S. that you have to pay to use their logo and to essentially get listed on their site ... where is their community spirit??

Roaming (GSM-like)

[dago]

I can see one main advantage of this 'wi-fi zone', but I fear that it will not be implemented is roaming, so that you can just have a contract with your 'main' provider, use other hotspots and be billed on your normal contract. That would be nice.

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.

Forging ahead with out an ounce of caution

[Anonymous Coward]

This drive to put 802.11 (I refuse to use the stupid moniker "wi-fi") on everything from cars to wristwatches is not only careless, but dangerous.

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:How does this differ from ... ?

[puzzled]

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 ... perhaps we'll even see OSP (Open Settlement Protocol), which was developed for VoIP, applied to this problem.

The $100 fee seems unnecessary

[caseyc]

After all, when people start to see this logo everywhere, they're going to realize how valuable and pervasive WiFi is. I'd imagine that would translate into more sales of WiFi hardware, which would pay off for everybody involved in the WiFi Alliance.

FREE alternative

[zomB1kenoB]

If you're just looking for a logo to advertize to the public that you've got a WAP available to use, I'm working on that right now. Here's the rough website I threw together today:

ZomBvision's Web Icon

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.