Wi-Fi Hotspot News

Since the beginning of time, Tuesday has always been the busiest day at our Wi-Fi Hotspots. 

For a short time earlier this year, it looked like Thursday was going be our busiest Wi-Fi Hotspot usage day. We're pleased that Tuesday's up there again.

What's everyone actually doing on Tuesday's? We're still not sure but suspect it's the early week blues that's forcing people out of their homes and offices into the cafes around the UK to use their PolkaSpots Wi-Fi Hotspot Service.

According to various sources on the Internet, Tuesday's is the busiest day for e-newsletters and Monday is supposed to be the busiest day. Not according to our statistics!

Four in five people around the world believe that the Internet is a fundamental right - a poll for the BBC world service suggests.

The survey which consisted of more than 27,000 adults in 26 countries found strong support for Internet access.

Dr. Hamadoun Toure, the secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) told the BBC that "The Internet is the most powerful potential source of enlightenment ever created". He goes on to say that governments must "regard the internet as basic infrastructure - just like roads, waste and water".

It is for such reasons that we support Linknet, an African Co-operative with their Wireless Hotspot installations in rural Zambia.

Most people ask us why we're bothering to install a Wi-Fi Hotspot Service over there when surely food and running water are more important. We don't disagree that these services are important, we just feel that without access to the world wide web through Wi-Fi Hotspot deployments, a whole nation stands to get left behind. Can you imagine your children being brought up in a world with no computers, no internet, no Wi-Fi?

You can read more about the story on the BBC website here.

If you want to help connect Africa - recommend a friend for a Wi-Fi Hotspot today and we'll donate £10 towards the cost of a Wi-Fi Hotspot Controller for Linknet. Alternatively, donate directly to Linknet here.

The benefits of being an Authorised PolkaSpots Wi-Fi Hotspot are many: our reselllers get fantastic discounts on Supafly Wi-Fi Hotspots plus their customers love them just a little bit more for providing or recommending the best Wi-Fi service!
Reseller


And now, we're proudly presenting all resellers with the official Authorised PolkaSpots Reseller rosette for their website :)

What a treat I hear you saying! We know that rosettes might seem 20 years out of date, but we're bringing them back with style!

Enjoy!

It's been an interesting and worrying week for Wireless Hotspots and the UK Internet Service Industry.

There's been talk of banning public WiFi hotspots completely; news that the UK government's trying to take control over what sites we look at and finally copyright infringement policies on video sharing sites such as vimeo and youtube.com

Banning our access to the Internet via Wi-Fi Hotspots is not the answer - instead we need strong controls over how they're operated. At PolkaSpots we have so many discreet controls in place, it's pretty hard to abuse our network. And, our customers never notice unless they're doing something illegal.

But is it just the fault of public Wi-Fi hotspot companies? Probably not, what about the ISPs - shouldn't they be trying a little harder.

If you're thinking about setting up a free or pre-paid Wi-Fi Hotspot in your cafe, restaurant, hotel or bar; think twice before you do it yourself as your business may be at risk.

Follow these simple steps to keep yourself safe online.

Rule 1 - Never use a Wi-Fi Hotspot that’s unprotected. We’ve discovered numerous networks that claim to be a commercial hotspot but are simply someone’s laptop set up to hijack your login details (bank, email etc). They even look legitimate with fancy login screens.

Rule 2 – Make sure you're not on a rogue network - ask your cafe what their network name is.

Rule 3 – Any website where you have to enter confidential information should be protected using SSL – to check this you should see a little padlock. If it’s not there, don’t login! Always check this before buying online or logging in to your bank.

Rule 4 – Don’t use your email client (outlook, mac mail, entourage etc.) unless you know your mail provider uses a secure connection. Most email providers now use webmail protected by SSL as above.

Rule 5 – Turn your firewall on and sharing off. Modern operating systems all have a firewall built in. These are great at stopping some threats but can’t protect against everything. Turn off file share and other such services in your control panel. Finally, using Virtual Private Network (VPN) software may help further but it’s important to get the right kind.

Rule 6 – Keep updated – always ensure your laptop’s software is up to date. Ideally do this before you visit a Wi-Fi Hotspot.

Did you know? A more detailed version on this can be found in Cafe Culture Magazine this month!

Don't fancy paying £14.99 per month for your pre-paid Wi-Fi Hotspot service, or don't want to sign-up for a 12 month contract? If not, you can now buy our PolkaSpots Supafly Wi-Fi Hotspot box outright and pay nothing monthly.

You can get our smallest Wi-Fi Hotspot controller, which is suitable for small locations, for just £179.99 plus VAT. And, we'll throw in some Internet Vouchers to get you started. 

And, dont forget - it only takes 60 seconds to set your PolkaSpots Wireless Hotspot up! Watch the Wi-Fi Hotspot setup guide here.

Buy your Wi-Fi Hotspot online here or call freephone 0800 321 3106

This morning, we've all arrived in the PolkaSpots offices soaked through to the skin. There are clothes strewn everywhere and barely one person is smiling. 

And while we sit here, it's hard to imagine that Linknet are setting another Supafly Wireless Hotspot that will help connect the people of rural Africa to the world.

Almost 8,000km away from our office (as the crow flies), a small village called Minga in the Eastern Province of Zambia has just received a satellite connection and PolkaSpots Wireless Hotspot to help distribute and control their Internet Access.

You can help connect Africa too! We're donating £10 towards the cost of a Wireless Hotspot for Linknet every time someone signs up for a PolkaSpots Supafly Wi-Fi Hotspot! Recommend a friend or sign-up now. Read more here...

Or risk losing customers...

On a recent stay in a well known road side hotel, I was shocked to see that their Wi-Fi prices were stuck in 2001. One hour cost £5; 24 hours was an extreme £10 - I didn't even look at the cost for a week although I was there for a few days.

Next door I discovered a Little Chef and although they don't have PolkaSpots Wi-Fi installed, they were offering a free Wi-Fi service. On the first morning I popped in, bought a coffee and breakfast and tried to use the Internet. Registration was required and I filled the form in using a fake email address to avoid being spammed by the company in question. Happily, I used the connection for an hour. 

False economy? Maybe, I'd spent more on the coffee and food than the £5 but at least I was content and full. Little Chef 1, Hotel 0.

The next day I dropped in again but this time sat down and didn't buy anything. Out came the laptop and there I was online again.

This is the point, if you're going to offer a paid Wi-Fi service, price it right otherwise you'll lose customers to your neighbours. And if you're giving it away for free, make sure you use an access code to prevent people coming in and using your connection without making a purchase.

We were so excited about the new reporting facility, we forgot to write about it!

You've been asking for it, now we've done it. You can now all see who's doing what and when at your PolkaSpots Supafly Wi-Fi Hotspot!

If you're already a customer, please contact us for your login details. If you're not, sign up soon.

Alongside the magificent news from the PolkaSpots factory about being able to check who's using your PolkaSpots Free Wi-Fi Hotspot, we have some more for you...

You've been able to re-brand your own login pages with PolkaSpots since time began. Now you can host them yourself and change them as often as you want. A good plan.

Integrating the Wi-Fi Hotspot login screens with your own website means you have even more control over your Wi-Fi Hotspot Service. 

For more information, call 020 7183 1471 or email us!