Community Open Access Wifi AP’s

A distributed network of open access WiFi access points can serve both as a means of (effectively free) marketing, display charitable community outreach, and provide a small stream of recurring revenue as well. The configuration of these access points involves the following:

• A Unifi Controller hosted by a reliable cloud provider. This controller serves two functions:

1. Providing remote management, monitoring, and configuration for this disparate network of Unifi AP’s
2. Hosting a capture portal that the user is greeted with upon connecting.

Network Architecture

Connection Flow

• User is presented with a “Missoula Valley Internet Co-op” SSID to connect to.
• Upon connecting they are presented with a capture portal that looks similar to this:

• The user is presented with the option to select a free session (e.g. a 1hr trial, speeds rate limited to 5mbs/2mbs) – these trials are open per user once every 24-48hrs (actual connection speeds, prices, duration, and frequency of free trials are TBD).
• If the user wants / needs longer access (8hrs / 12hrs / 24hrs / 48hrs / 1 week) along with being able to connect at faster speeds, they can pay for extended passes on a sliding scale (Stripe credit/debit payment integration is built in to the Unifi capture portal software). Additionally we can release marketing campaigns where free longer / faster passes are provided to people in small batches, as promotional material, via social media campaigns, etc.
• Upon selecting their session time (free / paid / voucher) they are presented with a page to enter their personal information (name, phone number, email, maybe address) – we will feed this data into a “leads database” to follow up with these users, provide them with a survey of their experience, and provide an offer to sign up for our service.
• Once they have completed this flow they are redirected to our website / facebook page / pre-registration page, and then provided access to the internet.