In today’s world of mobile computing, few technologies have excited users and improved computing as much as WIFI. With the ability to affect what we do, where we do it, when we do it and how we do it, WIFI has entwined itself in the fabric of mobile computing. With the ability connect to the Internet and its vast sea of shops, libraries, services and offices, WIFI users search out service in parks, libraries, airports, restaurants, hotels and more. This new trend is forcing business owner’s to provide WIFI connectivity not to be better then its competition or to satisfy its customers but just to keep pace. In doing so, owner’s have numerous questions and just as many misbeliefs. These concerns are addressed below in a manner that both technical and non-technical individuals alike will understand.

1. Why do I need to provide a high-speed connection for my customers/guests?
2. What is better (wired/wireless) Access?
3. What about the Security of Wireless?
4. What about the speed of Wired vs. Wireless?
5. Should I provide pcmcia cards for guest check out? (What are my alternatives?)
6. Why should I use 802.11b instead of 802.11g?
7. Will guests be able to use the service I provide?
8. How is the wireless network secured for my customer usage only?
9. Why shouldn’t I install the wireless myself?

1. Why do I need to provide a high-speed connection for my customers/guests?

There are several steps to providing high-speed Internet for customer/guest usage and several key steps to making it successful.

The first element in a successful high-speed Internet access (HSIA) rollout is the provisioning of adequate bandwidth. An owner must assess the needs of the property, standards required by franchises, and available Internet service providers (ISP).

To assess the bandwidth needs, the owner needs to answer questions such as:

1. How many users might typically use the service at once?
2. Are these casual Internet users or business connection users?
3. Am I willing to scale my connection as the need arises?
4. Do I have bandwidth standards that I must adhere to?

With answers in hand to these questions, owners may begin looking for an ISP or working with an HSIA provider to do so. Several types of ISP connections are available as shown below:

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2. What is better (wired/wireless) Access?

The choice between wired and wireless should not be based on what is better but on several criteria that you have set in place previously. These criteria may include:

• Cost
• Convenience of Installation
• Existing Infrastructure
• Preferred Vendor
• Customer Expectations

Wiring an entire hotel is an expensive procedure and affects the hotel guests and appearance for an extensive period of time. This type of installation is typically preferred for new construction properties and for current renovations where the construction does not affect the guests as greatly. It is still recommended t hat an owner install wireless even if he is fully wiring a property due to a growing preference for wireless due to the ease of connection and the great number of new laptops with built-in wireless capabilities.

Wireless Internet access is becoming more and more requested by guests due to the ability of their laptops to use wireless and the freedom that it provides. Property Owners are finding that it is a less costly solution and much cleaner and quicker to implement. Regardless of what may be better, this choice should be determined based on what fits the credentials put in place by the owner.

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3. What about the Security of Wireless?

Wireless network connectivity carries many of the same connectivity concerns that wired connections do. The franchise standards put in place depict this through the need for client isolation, this means that users on both the wired and wireless network should not be able to view shared network drives from other users on the network. This functionality is managed through the use of managed network switches utilizing port isolation on the wired network and through commercial access points with client isolation turned on within the wireless network.

A second concern is whether users on the network will be able to view the traffic of one another. This security concern is due to the sensitivity of both company information and e-commerce transactions. E-commerce transactions are browser-based transactions that are secured through the type of protocol used in the browser transaction. It is called Secure Sockets Layer or SSL traffic and is signified in the browser by the image of a small lock in the lower right of the browser in the closed position. When this mechanism is in place, all traffic flowing from the user’s browser to the receiving web server is encrypted and undecipherable to snooping techniques. Sensitive company information may be encrypted as well through the use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection. Employees utilizing a VPN connection have created an encrypted end-to-end tunnel that thwarts any prying eyes from interpreting any intercepted traffic. There are numerous additional security precautions necessary that are outside the scope of this document and will be covered by the next in this series of papers.

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Wireless and Wired networks run at different speeds. To understand the difference and impact of these speeds we must layout the network itself. A property will contract and Internet Service Provider (ISP) to provide a data connection to the Internet itself. This connection may be anything from 256 kb to 4 mb. This connection sets the pace for every outgoing connection to the Internet. Next, that connection is split to the wired and wireless segments of the network itself. The wired connection may carry either a 10 mb or 100 mb connection from computer to computer within the local network by may only connect to the public Internet at the speed the ISP has provided, as given earlier, from 256 kb to 4mb. As you see, the internal speed is vastly greater than the external speed and the external connection is the bottleneck for the user.

Very similarly, 802.11b wireless connections run at 11 mb and 802.11g wireless networks may run at 54 mb but again, the user may only connect to the public Internet at the speed of the ISP. This subject is covered much more in depth in several other documents available at www.ethostream.com

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This question is frequently asked by property owners and should definitely be looked at more closely. At first look, a PCMCIA card may seem like an effective solution for providing the wireless connections to users whom do not have their own hardware BUT providing hardware that requires software and driver installation by the user opens the owner up to immense liability and responsibility. Providing any software or application of any type forces the user to modify their computer without full knowledge of the implications it may have on any other software or configuration on their laptop.

The preferred solution would be to provide the user with a device such as a wireless bridge that makes use of the users existing Network hardware and drivers to connect to the wireless Internet. This prevents the user from installing or modifying any software configuration of their machine or damaging it in any way. Simply by plugging into their existing Ethernet port, the user is able to make use of the wireless network connection as if they had their own wireless hardware.

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6. Why should I use 802.11b instead of 802.11g?

Differences between 802.11b and 802.11g (Two different types of wireless network connections) are important in environments that perform a large amount of data transfer between users and machines on the same network. In an environment where there is no data sharing on the internal network but only through the Internet connection, the data rate difference between 802.11b and 802.11g is not as important. Owners must look at the cost of equipment and convenience to guests as well as any additional factors that may play into the decision. Many misconceptions exist regarding this topic that are not very clearly explained to potential buyers. Some of those are as follows:

802.11g works at 54 megabytes
Even though the speed of 802.11g is rated at 54 megabytes, the actual throughput once the overhead of the traffic is removed is actually 22 megabytes.

802.11g is backwards compatible, run on the same frequency and will talk with 802.11b clients.
These two types of wireless traffic are definitely compatible with the owner of one type of hardware being able to utilize the other and vice versa but the more important point here is that 802.11b hardware owners will only be able to operate on the 11 megabytes speeds of their hardware even when on an 802.11g network and additionally, by joining the 802.11g network, these users will effectively reduce the bandwidth of the network for all users to the 11 megabytes of 802.11b.

802.11g will be more popular the 802.11b.
Since there have been more than 1 million users with 802.11b installed in their homes and business over the last several years, few of these users will switch out this hardware in the near future with 802.11g because the speed benefits do not always apply to the home user where most of the work is over the internet which will always be the slowest network point.

802.11g is extremely fast.
802.11g is very fast and when a user is transferring data only to and from another user on the same network will they be able to enjoy those speeds. In a public access environment, the bandwidth bottleneck is not the speed of the wireless connection but the speed that the owner has provisioned for connecting to the Internet. Even at a T1 class of speed (1.5Mbs), the wireless connection is more than 7 times the speed of the Internet connection.

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7. Will guests be able to use the service I provide?

Wireless Fidelity Network, more aptly named WiFi refers to networking using a variety of wireless technologies from 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g to numerous emerging technologies. The most frequently adapted is the 802.11b technology due to its ratification as a standard by the IEEE standards body and its longevity on the market. Users with 802.11b and 802.11g hardware will be able to access your network without any additional hardware or software and users with combination networking hardware will be able to utilize the network as well.

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8. How is the wireless network secured for my customer usage only?

There are several built in security features of WiFi ranging from WEP to 802.1x. Each of these technologies has strengths and weaknesses in their own right but the largest weakness being the necessary configuration. In most public Internet access locations, the security implemented is not the built-in mechanisms but a level of security added on the networks edge that does not allow the user to access the Internet at your location until they have passed the authentication that you have chosen from a usage policy or username/password login to requiring payment for use of the service. This simplistic method of securing the connection allows users of all knowledge and experience levels to access and utilize your network easily and efficiently.

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9. Why shouldn’t I install the wireless myself?

In order to meet standards set by franchises and maintain a secure and safe environment for your customer computing, you should at least consult an HSIA solution provider regarding your interests and needs. Most providers are able to suggest extremely efficient and cost-effective means of accomplishing the task.

High Speed Internet Access in Hospitality is new and the liability that is placed on the service providers is still untested. All tier 1 vendors will carry Cyber Liability Insurance to protect against future cases in malicious use of Internet services.

Large decisions that affect one’s business are bound to be difficult and owners should ensure they ask the appropriate questions and receive the appropriate answers. This article does not attempt to be the answer to all questions and the solution to all problems but it begins to provide the necessary information for owners to make informed decisions. In doing so, owners may ensure that the chosen vendor is experienced and they are receiving the appropriate level of service. Technology continues to evolve as do its uses. Ensure that you have prepared yourself through investigation and education. In doing so, you ensure that you will do it once and only once. If you have any questions or would like further response, email marketing@ethostream.com.

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