Nomadix Patents Hotspot Landing Pages

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Nomadix has secured a patent used in HTML-based
pop-up windows that launches when an Internet browser is opened at a
hotspot, the company said Wednesday.

Sometimes referred to as a landing page or a slash page, the proxy
site usually advertises the provider and some additional information
about the hotspot. Newbury Park, Calif.-based Nomadix calls the technology an
Information and Control Console (ICC).

Kevin Jaskolka, a senior channel
marketing manager with Nomadix, said the technology lets users select
bandwidth and billing options when they want, courtesy of a pull-down
menu. It also provides post-paid and RADIUS users with a
logout button to terminate a public access session. Nomadix boasts that
its technology powers more than 15,000 points of presence.

“For example, a user may want to download an extremely large file and
requests additional bandwidth,” Jaskolka told internetnews.com.
“That gives the service provider the additional revenue. For us, it is a
strategic value-add instead of making it just a licensing or service
fee.”

But USPTO Patent No. 6,789,110 — “Information and Control Console
for use with a Network Gateway Interface” — can also let carriers and
hotspot providers monitor their users by monitoring
bandwidth and elapsed or remaining network time. Because the provider
has the network information, Nomadix said ICC provides a direct
marketing and advertising opportunity for public access service
operators.

“We are seeing more and more service providers outsource the
software and the development to us,” Jaskolka said. “It is not combative
technology, but there are things that we do better than other companies,
and we are talking to the major providers to see how can we cooperate.”

Currently, Nomadix has service contracts with Sprint, Quest, MCI and
China Netcom, and it is currently working on adding Verizon to the mix via
its Proxim property.

Jaskolka said ICC is an opt-out technology that allows the hotspot
owner to monitor the user even if the provider does not. V-Link and its
contract with the Embassy Suites hotel chain is an example of this
relationship.

While there are a few similar competing technologies available on the
market, Jaskolka said Nomadix does not have any plans on the table to
aggressively defend its patents.

The ICC is just one part of a five-step, service-branding process that
Nomadix is offering. The company’s Nomadix Service Engine software
powers its access gateways, including the Universal Subscriber Gateway
IITM, the HotSpot Gateway and the AG-2000w Wireless
Gateway.

The company also recently launched new roaming software that helps
consolidate the number of times a mobile user needs to log in and get
billed. Dubbed Nomadix Interconnect Services, the service
aggregates more than 4,000 venues operated by carriers, wireless ISPs
and service providers. Jaskolka said the company will spend the next
year expanding the service.