WiFi Hotspot

A WiFi hotspot is a physical place where people can get onto the internet over WiFi - a cafe, pub, hotel lobby, airport terminal, campsite or town square - served by one or more access points that the location's operator runs for visitors.

Types of hotspot

• Open - no sign-in at all; simple, but the operator learns nothing and has no terms-of-use record.
• Portal-gated free - free access after a captive portal sign-in; the standard model for hospitality, combining free WiFi with data capture and accepted terms.
• Voucher-based - access via codes handed out at the counter or with a room; see WiFi vouchers.
• Paid - time- or speed-based plans bought at the portal; see paid WiFi.
• Roaming - Passpoint / Hotspot 2.0 networks that suitable devices join automatically and securely with no portal at all.

Hotspot vs guest WiFi

The terms overlap heavily. "Hotspot" describes the place and the service from the user's point of view; "guest WiFi" describes the operator's setup - a segregated, internet-only network for visitors, separate from staff systems. A pub's guest WiFi is a hotspot; the hotel trade tends to say hotspot, the networking trade tends to say guest network.

A personal hotspot is something else

Confusingly, "personal hotspot" or "mobile hotspot" means a phone sharing its mobile data connection over WiFi with other devices (tethering). It has nothing to do with venue hotspots beyond the name.

Making a hotspot pay its way

For a venue, the hotspot is a marketing asset as much as an amenity: every connection can capture a consented contact and a visit record. That is the premise of WiFi marketing.