WAP Wireless Internet access is quickly gaining popularity among people seeking high-speed Internet connections when they are away from their home or office. The signal from a typical wireless access point (WAP) extends only about 300 feet in any direction, so the user must find a hotspot to be able to access the Internet while on the road.
Sometimes hotspots are available for free or for a small fee. You work for a sales company, SalesTek, which has a sales force of 25 representatives and customers concentrated in Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Your sales representatives are constantly on the road and they require 24/7 Internet access. You have been asked to find hotspots for your colleagues to connect while they are on the road.
It is critical that your sales force can access the Internet 24/7 to connect with customers, suppliers, and the corporate office. Create a document detailing how your mobile workforce will be able to stay connected to the Internet while traveling. Here are a few tips to get you started:
• Use websites such as www.wifinder.com and www.jiwire.com to determine which commercial hotspots would be the most appropriate for your sales force and the commercial network service that these hotspots use.
• Search the websites of two or three commercial networks that seem most appropriate to discover more about pricing and services. (Hint: T-Mobile is one example.)
• Use www.wifinder.com and www.wififreespot.com to determine how many free public hotspots are available in these cities. Are there enough for your company to rely on them or should you use a commercial Wi-Fi system. If so, which one?
• You might also research www.fon.com to see alternative methods of using home broadband connections.