Wireless public access point maker Nomadix of Westlake Village, CA, this week released two new gateway products. The first, the Nomadix Hotspot Gateway HSG-25 is for small organizations looking to take customers online wirelessly, specifically in public areas like coffee shops and bookstores. The second, the Hospitality Service Gateway HSG-100 directly targets the motel/hotel industry.
Both products provide Internet access and network connectivity to any IP-based product in its vicinity. Using a feature called Dynamic Address Translation a user is redirected to a sign-up portal page specified by the venue owner that installed the hotspot using the HSG product.
Getting users from various hotspot networks to sign in using Nomadix products is pretty easy due to the company’s partnerships.
“We have strong alliances with companies like Boingo, GRIC, iPass, so smart clients are built into that,” says Barry Bomzer, Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Alliances at Nomadix. Security features include 802.1X support, and a built in RADIUS client so providers can track information like customer connect time and simultaneous users.
“For the implementer, it simultaneously supports port based authentication,” continued Bomzer. And “It allows easy billing.” Both products are meant to be plug-and-play out of the box.
The HSG-100 differs in its focus on the hospitality industry. It features a meeting room scheduler, mirrored billing information to multiple servers, a property management system for direct room billing, and a walled garden so the venue can serve up informational Web pages without requiring the user to log in. Logins are secured using secure socket layer (SSL) on the browser. Hotel owners cans also provide a help Web page.
“It’s a great way for mid-size hotels to [offer] guest hotspots,” says Bomzer. “The broadband wireless could go to rooms, and a number of hotels charge [for access] per room for a day. Business travelers revolve [staying decisions] around where they can get the access.”
Both HSG products run on the company’s Universal Subscriber Gateway II platform, a stand-alone turnkey system for providing mobility and security for wireless users.
The HSG-25 has a list price of $1995; the HSG-100 is $2995. The company is filling orders for products now.
