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.

Re:Or...

[filtrs]

You mean like this? Free international listing of public / open wireless internet nodes ...

This hotspot was brought to you by...

[swordboy]

I can see it now... There'll be a little popup in the taskbar that says:

Wireless internet services brought to you by Anheuser-Busch - St Louis, MO

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.

Re:HotSpot? Not without encryption

[ryanvm]

Our friends at Homeland Security view the uncontrolled internet access [...] as a *major* problem.

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?

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 :-)

[First_In_Hell]

I have yet to see a coffee shop that has Internet access. People seem to think geeks hang out at coffee shops, this is not true.

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 :-)

[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).

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

[BluGuy]

Have you been to a Starbucks in the last 6 months? IIRC, the teamed with VoiceStream/T-Mobile to provide prepayed wireless access. And, depending on where your local Apple store is located, you should be able to leach from them, all their stores should have open 802.11b networks.

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

[Judg3]

I don't know if I'd totally agree with that. Trucking Companies already have what they need, Qualcomm OmniTracs - an all-in-one solution offering 2way text communication, email, vehicle tracking, trailer tracking, and load info. And they've had it for quite awhile. Every large scale company uses it, as well as most smaller fleets. It's essential, and cuts down on all the "let's call our dispatcher" downtime.
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.

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

[puzzled]

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 ... the biggest mom & pop out there)

"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 /. really wanted to interview some people who know whats going on in the wireless industry, they'd start with Patrick Leary and Steve Stroh, then they'd contact some of the other people I've mentioned.

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.

How does this differ from ... ?

[HealYourChurchWebSit]

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 apps that turn hot spots into instant mini-Internet service providers? Or HotSpottzz, 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?

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.

Better symbol

[Fjord]

I think the top one of these would be a better brand symbol.

bleh, such a stupid name...

[autopr0n]

Well, who is going to pay $100 to offer a service for free?

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.

now long is it till 'never'

[autopr0n]

Layer 3, at least as I read it refers to the layer in the physical network stack. He means that all internet trafic would be encrypted, rather then application spesific uses like SSH and https.

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.

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.

spontaneous public domain logo/brand creation

[goombah99]

Logo's and brands are usually controlled by an organization. Even organizations of "free" things like software or religion still have their own logo's like the Gnu or the cross.

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.

Re:Forging ahead with out an ounce of caution

[glesga_kiss]

How many times does it have to be said, "WEP IS BROKEN"?

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?

Couple of problems (at least):

[uradu]

1. Stupid symbol. It contains no symbology suggesting wirelessness or radio, and it contains English words (and parts thereof). This is supposed to be an international symbol, so it should use graphics only. Just look at simple symbols like those for radioactivity or biohazards, they're extremely simple and to the point. What's wrong with an idealized graphic of an antenna and radio waves, plus some sort of hint that it's digital?

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.

Not another one...

[kels]

We don't need yet another site to try to track access points. We need someone to consolodate the information that is already out there. E.g.,

OpenNodes

The Wi-Fi FreeSpot Network

NodeDB

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.