What Is a Wireless Hotspot?
A hotspot is an area served by a Wi-Fi wireless access point to provide Internet service. Figure 14-1 shows the basic elements. A hotspot provider is the owner of the Internet service, and it can be a very large commercial operator, such as T-Mobile, or a small privately owned hotspot, such as a neighborhood shop. Some cities and communities are also starting to provide Wi-Fi service in downtown areas for use by citizens. Depending on whether the service is a free or pay service (which requires a subscription), the hotspot provider may have a membership database, which contains information about who is permitted to use the service.
Figure 14-1. Wireless Hotspot and Its Basic Elements
Connecting to wireless hotspot ...
Get Wireless Home Networking Simplified now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
