Switch from KeZone Hotspot Software by Timico

I don't know how many people are out there who may want to change their KeZone hotspot software provided by Timico.

It's not an easy thing because there is only ssh access to the router so they have to use tftp to change the hotspot software.

The solution can be found in this forum thread: http://forums.linksysbycisco.com/linksys/board/message?board.id=Wireless_Routers&message.id=129417

Only people that were/are connected to KeZone/Timico are able to obtain the password as it's their broadband password.

Wi-Fi Hotspot Statistics for 2009

First, we would like to wish a happy new year to all of our operators and wi-fi users as well :)

We have collected some statistics using our global database of thousands of sales from hundreds of locations worldwide. It may help you as a guideline however we know that each operator has to find out what works best at their location, what prices to use, what access lengths to offer, etc.

PAYMENT METHODS

Pre-Paid Vouchers 49,54%
Credit Card Sales 44,02%
PayPal Sales 6,44%

TYPE OF CREDIT CARDS USED FOR BUYING HOTSPOT ACCESSES

Visa 54,82%
MasterCard 36,23%
Visa Delta 8,19%
Laser 0,34%
Solo 0,30%
Visa Electron UK Debit 0,09%
Maestro 0,03%

MOST POPULAR ACCESS PERIODS

1 HOUR 44%
24 HOURS 18%
3 HOURS 12%
2 HOURS 10%
1 WEEK 9%
30 MINUTES 8%
1 MONTH 6%

AVERAGE SALE PRICE BY CURRENCY

17.35 AUD
8.52 CAD
12.68 CHF
24.16 DKK
7.62 EUR
4.77 GBP
47.31 HRK
1952 HUF
73.79 NOK
11.66 NZD
97.53 SEK
552 THB
7.86 USD
60 ZAR

AVERAGE SALE PRICES BY ACCESS PERIODS and CURRENCY

30 MINUTES

2.9 USD
3.3 EUR

1 HOUR

4.73 USD
5.09 EUR


24 HOURS

7.44 USD
6.54 EUR

1 WEEK

16.7 USD
15.6 EUR

1 MONTH

21.9 USD
26.27 EUR


MOST POPULAR SALE PRICES BY CURRENCY

4.99 USD
3.5 EUR
1.99 GBP
3.95 CAD
6.5 AUD
8 NZD
70 ZAR

AVERAGE BANDWIDTH LIMITS USED

Download speed: 784 Kbit/s
Upload speed: 204 Kbit/s

Mesh Billing Solution for Open-Mesh Routers

We are now supporting Mesh Networks, using Open-Mesh.

Open-Mesh creates ultra low-cost zero-config, plug & play wireless mesh network solutions. It is open source and free.

What is "Mesh Network"?

Mesh networking is a type of networking wherein each node in the network may act as an independent router, regardless of whether it is connected to another network or not. It allows for continuous connections and reconfiguration around broken or blocked paths by “hopping” from node to node until the destination is reached.

For more information you can read Mesh Networking Wikipedia entry.

To configure mesh billing using HotspotSystem.com, you only need to choose HotspotSystem as your radius config and tweak some settings. For complete instructions, please visit the Open-Mesh Billing Setup page!

NOTE: If you want to use Mesh-Networking for one or more locations, you need to use a default Skin!

New Skin Released for Hotels

If you operate a Hotspot in a Hotel or Apartment, you can use our new Hotel Skin.

Click here to view all the available Skins.

Full NZD support

NOTE: We are continuously updating this article in our Knowledgebase.

NZD is now fully supported. Wi-Fi Hotspot Operators from New Zealand can accept payments in NZD and will be paid out in NZD without currency exchange conversions.

So as of today the following currencies are fully supported with direct credit card payments and PayPal:

USD - U.S. Dollar
EUR - Euro
GBP - British Pound
AUD - Australian Dollar
NZD - New Zealand Dollar
SEK - Swedish Krone
HUF - Hungarian Forints

Operators using these currencies can accept payments using RBS Worldpay and PayPal in these currencies and will be paid out in the same currency.

Also, the following currencies are available for direct credit card transactions and/or PayPal:

BRL : Brazilian Real **
BWP - Botswana Pula **
CAD - Canadian Dollar
CHF - Swiss Franc
CZK - Czech Koruna *
DKK - Danish Krone *
HKD - Hong Kong Dollar *
HRK - Croatian Kuna **
IDR - Indonesian Rupiah **
ILS - Israeli New Shekel *
JPY - Japan Yen *
MYR - Malaysian Ringgit **
MXN - Mexican Peso *
NOK - Norwegian Krone
NZD - New Zealand Dollar
PHP : Philippine Peso *
PLN - Polish Zloty *
SGD - Singapore Dollar *
THB - Thai Baht
TWD : New Taiwan Dollar *
ZAR - South African Rands **

*Customers can only pay via PayPal only (they can also use their credit cards via PayPal), direct credit card payments are only available after purchasing the additional currency
**PayPal is not available for this currency, but users can pay by credit cards directly for payments

Please note that while you're able to accept payment in different currencies, direct credit card payments via RBS WorldPay will be paid out in U.S. dollars (except for EUR, GBP, AUD, NZD, HUF and SEK which are paid out in their native currency). Currency conversion is done by RBS Worldpay using their daily exchange rates.

The following additional currencies are available to use with RBS WorldPay by request:

AED : United Arab Emirates Dirham
ANG : Netherlands Antilles Guilder
AOK : Angolan New Kwanza
ARS : Argentine Peso
AWG : Aruban Guilder
AZM : Azerbaijanian Manat
BBD : Barbados Dollar
BDT : Bangladesh Taka
BGN : Bulgarian Lev
BHD : Bahraini Dinar
BMD : Bermudian Dollar
BND : Brunei Dollar
BOB : Bolivian Boliviano
BSD : Bahamian Dollar
BZD : Belize Dollar
CLP : Chilean Peso
CNY : Chinese Yuan Renminbi
COP : Colombian Peso
CRC : Costa Rican Colon
CYP : Cyprus Pound
CZK : Czech Koruna
DKK : Danish Krone
DOP : Dominican Peso
DZD : Algerian Dinar
ECS : Ecuador Sucre
EEK : Estonian Kroon
EGP : Egyptian Pound
ERN : Eritrean Nafka
ETB : Ethiopian Birr
GIP : Gibraltar Pound
GNF : Guinea Franc
GTQ : Guatemalan Quetzal
GYD : Guyana Dollar
HKD : Hong Kong Dollar
HNL : Honduran Lempira
ILS : Israeli Shekel
INR : Indian Rupee
IQD : Iraqi Dinar
IRR : Iranian Rial
ISK : Iceland Krona
JMD : Jamaican Dollar
JOD : Jordanian Dinar
JPY : Japanese Yen
KES : Kenyan Shilling
KRW : South Korean Won
KWD : Kuwaiti Dinar
KYD : Cayman Islands Dollar
KZT : Kazakhstan Tenge
LBP : Lebanese Pound
LKR : Sri Lanka Rupee
LSL : Lesotho Loti (Maloti)
LTL : Lithuanian Litas
LVL : Latvian Lats
LYD : Libyan Dinar
MAD : Moroccon Dirham
MGF : Malagasy Franc
MKD : Macedonian (FYR) Denar
MTL : Maltese Lira
MUR : Mauritius Rupee
MVR : Maldives Rufiyaa
MWK : Malawi Kwacha
MXN : Mexico Peso
NAD : Namibian Dollar
NGN : Nigerian Naira
NIO : Nicaraguan Cordoba Oro
NPR : Nepalese Rupee
OMR : Omani Rial
PAB : Panamanian Balboa
PEN : Peruvian Nuevo Sol
PHP : Philippine Peso
PKR : Pakistan Rupee
PLN : Polish New Zloty
PYG : Paraguayan Guarani
QAR : Qatari Rial
ROL : Romanian Leu
RON : New Romanian Lei
RUB : Russian Ruble
SAR : Saudi Riyal
SCR : Seychelles Rupee
SDP : Sudanese Pound
SGD : Singapore Dollar
SIT : Slovenian Tolar
SKK : Slovak Koruna
SLL : Sierra Leone Leone
SRG : Suriname Guilder
SVC : El Salvador Colon
SYP : Syrian Pound
SZL : Swaziland Lilangeni
TND : Tunisian Dinar
TRY : New Turkish Lira
TTD : Trinidad and Tobago Dollar
TWD : New Taiwan Dollars
TZS : Tanzanian Shilling
UAH : Ukrainian Hryvnia
UYU : Uruguayan Peso
VEB : Venezuela Bolivar
VND : Viet Nam Dong
XAF : CFA Franc BEAC
XCD : East Caribbean Dollar
XOF : CFA Franc BCEAO
YER : Yemeni Rial
YUM : Yugoslavian New Dinar
ZMK : Zambian Kwacha
ZWD : Zimbabwe Dollar

Please note the following:
- Some of the above currencies may no longer be avaialble.
- Each additional acquistion currency has a one time setup fee of 50 USD.

If you'd like to accept payments in a currency that is listed above, then contact us.

HotspotWRT 1.2 Hotspot Firmware Released

We have released HotspotWRT 1.2 Today.

Additions/Improvements/Fixes in this release:

- Based on CoovaChilli version 1.0.11
- Fixed Stability Issues
- Better hotspot startup times: you only have to wait about 2 minutes after the boot process to have your hotspot up and running
- Ability to reset the firmware to Factory Defaults under Status > System

You can find the download links in the Install Guide.

New Skins: Transparent and Basic

We are happy to introduce 2 more Skins: Transparent and Basic.

You can easily use Transparent Skin with your own background to give a branded customer experience. The steps can be found here.

Basic Skin has a basic black and white layout but it's easier to customize further than the other coloured Skins.

You can view the full Skin Gallery here: http://www.hotspotsystem.com/customer/skinpreview/