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Difference between "access point solution" and "hot spot solution"

fabio.marino
Level 1
Level 1

‎04-28-2011 03:29 AM - edited ‎07-03-2021 08:08 PM

Hi to all, i'm Fabio.

My customer has a bookshop and wants to allow to his customers access to the internet using wifi connection.

Here in Italy there are a lot of laws and is very hard to create this type of solution without legal permission, authorization and so on.

However, i'm reading some technical website, and lot of them propose solution based on hot spot and not access point.

Now my question my doubts:

-Is there some difference (technical and "conceptual") between hot spot and access point?

-How are the law outside Italy, in order to satisfy this type of request?

You have to think that here, based on the Italy rules, my customer should become a telecommunication operator to allow him to install ten access point for public use!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Fabio Marino.

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29 Replies 29

Nicolas Darchis
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee

‎04-28-2011 05:06 AM

Hi,

there is no difference.

Hotspot is a friendly/marketing term to qualify an access point that offers wifi access for guest users.

If your access point has one public open SSID and one private/encrypted SSID, it's half a hotspot, half an access point :-)

Can't help on the italian laws but I'm very suspicious about it. What if somebody has a home and several access points (the house is big) and he has an open SSID ? How do you differentiate that with a public hotspot ?

Maybe the problem is if you make the people pay for access ...

fabio.marino
Level 1
Level 1
In response to Nicolas Darchis

‎04-28-2011 05:19 AM

Ok Nicolas thanks for your time, but i not agree with you.

Basically my question is due to the fact that onto the website of a commericial brand of wifi solution, i read there is a clear demarcation between access point and hot spot.

So i think that there is some difference.

What do you think about this: two or more hot spot share the same SSID, whereas in the case of access point there is one SSID for each one.

About the italian law, actually, you have to call an authorized technician in order to install an access point and also for a bookshop you need a lot of burocratic stuff to satisfy...

Nicolas Darchis
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee
In response to fabio.marino

‎04-28-2011 05:29 AM

Well one one side you have a commercial brand website, and on the other a senior tac engineer ...

Technically, there is NO difference.

Maybe that brand makes a difference and the product has different features, but that's not the point of your question.

fabio.marino
Level 1
Level 1
In response to Nicolas Darchis

‎04-28-2011 05:44 AM

In order to complete my question i can give you the website where i read this information http://www.cdaweb.it/Articoli_Vista/tabid/94/articleid/305/Default.aspx?dnnprintmode=true&mid=421&SkinSrc=[G]Skins%2F_default%2FNo+Skin&ContainerSrc=[G]Containers%2F_default%2FNo+Container.

But they are in italian so i think is not feasible to you.

Besides this link i can give you more and all suggest to the reader that in order to have an access to the network sure and with some QoS policy, they have to implement a solution based on hot spot and not based on access point.

They ssy, using few words, that using access point you can not have knowledge of user that are connect and the type of the traffic that they produce, On the contrary, using a solution based on hot spot you can have track of the user and implement some type of QoS policy.

So Nicolas, i'm sorry but for the second time i not agree with you. May be  based on the technical licterature sure there is no difference but commercially there are  two types of solution: hotspot solution and access point solution. Repeat, there are a lot of website that propose hotspot solution instead of access point solution and all of them explain the difference as reported above.

Anybody else have some idea?

Thanks.

Nicolas Darchis
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee
In response to fabio.marino

‎04-28-2011 05:54 AM

"A hotspot is a common public application of WAPs, where wireless clients can  connect to the Internet without regard for the particular networks to  which they have attached for the moment


hotspot=application of wireless access points ...

A iphone can be a hotspot (but it's not an access point) it defines the feature where it can grant internet access to wifi users nearby it.

every single access point can be a hotspot ...

fabio.marino
Level 1
Level 1
In response to Nicolas Darchis

‎04-28-2011 06:00 AM

Thanks Nicolas we read the same website..and your information are all right.

I know the difference and i know that you have your idea about this point, thanks for your time.

But now i just want to understand the difference about two commercial proposed solution: hotspot solution and Access Point solution.

Maybe someone else have any idea about this?

Nicolas Darchis
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee
In response to fabio.marino

‎04-28-2011 06:03 AM

I still think you didn't get my point.

Cisco does not have such a differentiation, we only provide access points solution. And you can have hotspot SSIDs on them if you want.

If another vendor makes this differentiation (and I have never seen one so far from our main competitors to be honest), then ask THEM what difference they make between the 2 products. Because I keep insisting that there is "2 commercial solutions" :-)

fabio.marino
Level 1
Level 1
In response to Nicolas Darchis

‎04-28-2011 06:24 AM

Ok Nicolas, thaks for your time.

I don't need to ask to "THEM" because my question was not commercial but i wanted only to open a discussion about this proposed solution that is not a solution of a specific brand but repeat only a proposed solution by technical licterature in order to implement internt access in a public shop.

How you can view from my profile this is not my first request of discussion but may be so far, i didn't understand how to use "The Cisco Support Community".

I believed that here we can discuss also of technical solution without take care which type of devices to use, i.e. Cisco or what else.

I close here this discussion and move it in a different forum.

Thanks for your time

Regards Fabio.

dmantill
Level 4
Level 4
In response to fabio.marino

‎04-28-2011 11:33 AM

+5 for you ndarchis

FOR THE COMMON USE, HOTSPOT is basically locations with free WIFI access (You need an AP for setting up a WIFI network)

HOTSPOT=FREE ACCESS WIFI(no security)+AP

ACCESS POINT= HARDWARE OR DEVICE FOR SETTING UP A WIFI network.. EITHER with or without security.

http://capisci.org/images/title1_reduced.jpg


SO THE APPLICATION IN MARTKETING IS JUST SENSELESS... IS THE SAME AS KNIFES... YOU CAN USE IT TO KILL, OR YOU CAN USE IT IN YOUR KITCHEN... CALL IT THE WAY YOU WANT TO CALL IT OR USE IT THE WAY YOU WANT TO USE IT.. IT WILL ALWAYS, ALWAYS BE A KNIFE..

Peter Nugent
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee
In response to dmantill

‎04-28-2011 01:08 PM

Have to come in here and agree there is no difference.

Ask the"company" what they use to create their hotspot.

I bet my house they say an "access point"

Marketeers are great at fudging, Cisco being no different, features are features.

What do you drive a Mercedes, Audi BMW, no its a car. A hotspot is an access point but an access point may not necessarily be a hotspot it could be a rogue detector, a sniffer a monitor etc. These are feature sets available that let the access point be different things.    

ROBERT911
Level 1
Level 1
In response to Peter Nugent

‎10-29-2016 03:57 AM

The individual carrier of each must be considered. I can use a Hotspot  from a cell provider and cellphones may not  go down with local power outages. My cellphone  service has both phone service and internet. I can buy a hotspot that is not expensive but may not have access to both phone and internet  And if you are the user you may not see the bill. Start up companies may offer free hotspot service for 500mb but get real expensive after getting you started. I've heard of people spending 4 times as much money using the internet on a phone. During a power outage if you have service you would be willing to pay that price

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fabio.marino
Level 1
Level 1
In response to dmantill

‎05-02-2011 07:39 AM

Pete i think that you start to clear my question...i think you get what i'm looking for...thanks

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fabio.marino
Level 1
Level 1
In response to dmantill

‎05-02-2011 08:02 AM

thank for your uppercase letter...if you are able to write italian i think you are able to read italian..so i can provide these link

http://www.cdaweb.it/Articoli_Vista/tabid/94/articleid/305/Default.aspx?dnnprintmode=true&mid=421&SkinSrc=[G]Skins%2F_default%2FNo+Skin&ContainerSrc=[G]Containers%2F_default%2FNo+Container

http://www.alias.it/news/2011/wifi-libero-insieme-a-raytalk-per-lo-sviluppo-del-wireless-in-italia/

Can you read it? Can you provide a logical response?

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Leo Laohoo
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

‎04-28-2011 06:08 PM

Sorry Fabio I'll have to disagree with you with every documents you've posted between the "difference" between an "AP" and "hotspot".  I'm no TAC engineer.  I'm no radio/telecommunications technician and I'm no expert in wireless.  But I'll tell you this:  Without an AP, you can't do wi-fi "hotspot".

"Hotspot" is a term commonly used for the un-initiated or "legal-ese" for wi-fi service (free or not).

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