WISPiab ingredients - research archive

WISPiab ingredients - research archive

A2Billing

• Type: Hardware + Software platform
• Description: "full featured telecom platform and softswitch providing converged services, with self contained billing (pre or post-paid), reporting and statistics for IP and TDM based voice networks"
• URL: http://trac.asterisk2billing.org/cgi-bin/trac.cgi
• Contacts:
• Relevance: YES - see a.o. connections to Dabba and Trixbox

AdvancedVoip

• Type: Software Vendor
• Description: "wide range of telecom billing and OSS products ideally suited for telecommunication service providers, Internet telephony service providers and ISPs. Our high-end solutions are designed with business model flexibility and are tested at various levels to ensure reliability and accuracy for the most important element of your business - your billing. With over 300 satisfied customers worldwide, we offer you a complete suite of billing solutions catering the whole range of your requirements.

If you are an enterprise level company and looking for solutions for your medium sized telecom business, you can take a look at Enterprise Solutions. For large sized companies such as telecom operators, we offer Carrier Class Telecom Billing Solutions."

• URL: http://advancedvoip.com/wifi_hotspots/wifi_hotspot_billing.html
• Contacts:
• Relevance: None for now. Wrong size, target group. White papers might be relevant input though.

Alepo

• Type: Software Vendor
• Description: "RBS VOIP, RBS Hotspot, RBS ISP: Award winning all-in-one solution for ISPs/WISPs - Invoicing and billing, Customer management and automated care, Web customer self-care and signup,End-to-end prepaid management,Top performing RADIUS, Credit card clearing "
• URL: http://alepo.com
• Contacts:
• Relevance: None because of pricing, license, business model mismatch

Aradial

• Type: Software Vendor
• Description: "Aradial Hotspot radius software server is a top performance full-featured RADIUS server. Boasting excellent performance and technological superiority, Aradial is the unquestioned market leader in its class.

Aradial Radius Hotspot Edition, A special Hotspots/WISP version of our market-leading RADIUS/AAA server, that lets hotspots providers easily and profitably offer wireless Internet access to customers, while eliminating the overhead associated with customer provisioning, authorization and accounting.

Aradial HotSpot Server for wireless includes a RADIUS server that is particularly suited for the security and authentication requirements of wireless based network and easy connectivity module for an existing billing system that allows to update the billing system in real time on customers activities. Aradial allows reporting and easy export of usage to other systems. "

• URL: aradial.com
• Contacts:
• Relevance: Low because of pricing, license, business model. Only supplies the AAA part which can be covered by other means. Oversized for our target area.

Azotel

• Azotel
• Type: Corporate platform
• Description: Supported by Motorola in South Africa, "The Azotel WISPer platform offers wireless broadband operators a one-stop outsourcing service and Core Network for all their customer and network support system needs, from customer provisioning through billing, and network monitoring through advanced technical support. The service significantly reduces the time-to-market and upfront investment requirement for potential operators."
• URL: http://www.azotel.com
• Contacts
• Relevance: low. cost and business model (centralized, franchise) mismatch.

Chillispot

• Type: SW
• Description: Chilispot captive portal, standard in FLOSS captive portal world - "ChilliSpot is an open source captive portal or wireless LAN access point controller. It is used for authenticating users of a wireless LAN. It supports web based login, which is today's standard for public HotSpots, WISP "smart-client" authentication, and it supports Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2). Authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA protocol) is handled via RADIUS (on board or remote).

Development on the original project continues, but slowly for some. The Coova-Chilli is an active project and has since added many new features and is an integral part of the CoovaAP firmware.

As of mid 2007, ChilliSpot appears to be dead. The developer Jens Jacobsen has vanished, and the chillispot.org domain has lapsed. Fortunately CoovaChilli has forked from ChilliSpot 1.0 and development continues with an active user-base." See Coova instead.

• URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChilliSpot
• Contacts:
• Relevance: YES - in its Coova form - probably an ingredient

Colubris

• Type: HW, SW, solutions
• Description: Colubris SW covers the whole rnage of wireless operations. Fantsuam used their billing module, with mixed experience.
• URL: http://www.colubris.com/ partners: http://www.colubris.com/partners/service-partners.asp --> HookMeUp system
• Contacts:
• Relevance: Probably low. license, price, opennness, ... interesting to study though

Coova

• Type: Software: Firmware for WRT54G etc
• Description: "Hotspot setup and management software .... includes firmware, authentication and management services, and captive portal solutions.... . .. Builds on OpenWrt, ChilliSpot, WifiDog, OpenVPN ...web interfaces for wifidog.conf and other conf files"
• URL: URL
• Contacts:
• Relevance: YES relevant! test and evaluate

Cuwin

• Type: Software, community project
• Description: "The CUWiN Foundation develops decentralized, community-owned networks that foster democratic cultures and local content. Through advocacy and through our commitment to open source technology, we support organic networks that grow to meet the needs of their community."
• URL: http://www.cuwin.net/
• Contacts:
• Relevance: yes- explore overlaps and coop

CwISPy

• Type: Software, billing package,
• Description: "cwISPy - Features - Automatic Invoice generation and emailing - Automatic emailing of Receipts and Statements - FreeRadius Integration - Unlimited number of customers - Unlimited number packages - Unlimited number of Taxes - Unlimited number of VISP billing profiles - Seperate Customer Interface - Customer Event tracking - Trouble tickets - User configurable Bill Intervals - Staff ACL's (Access Control List)"
• URL: http://sourceforge.net/projects/cwispy/ http://www.cwispy.com/cwISPy/
• Contacts:

* Relevance: No Last activity on SF 2005 - continued by project ISPBill

Dabba / Orange Farm

• Type: Village telco and ISP (e.g. Community project, Company, Hardware vendor, Software Vendor, ISP, Telco, ...)
• Description: SW based off openWRT, OpenSER, coova,
• URL: dabba.co.za
• Contacts:
• Relevance: high! uses and brings together best-of-breed usual suspects

Fadeco

• Type: Community project
• Description: an impressive example of an organically grown bootstrapped

network project. Ian Howard interview: "a true social entrepreneur at work." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErXK29u4Pf8

• URL: URL
• Contacts: Josepg Sekiku
• Relevance: high. interview and study business model. less relevant wrt software and implementation.

Fantsuam Foundation

• Type: Community project, network
• Description: Fantsuam has implemented a communtiy network, including interesting experiences with voucher based billing
• URL: fantsuam.org
• Contacts: Alberto and Ochuoko through Sebastian
• Relevance: yes. Analyse experience with Billing implementation

Firkant.net

• Type: Communtiy owned fiber network
• Description: Though outside region (Denmark), an interesting case story of successful CON (fiber).
• URL: firkant.net
• Contacts: through Sebastian
• Relevance: low in this phase, but interesting re: community owned fiber. to learn from. interview!

FirstSpot / PatronSoft

• Type: Software Vendor
• Description: "PatronSoft is a fast-growing Wi-Fi hotspot management software company. FirstSpot, its flagship product, is the only Windows-based wireless gateway software deployed in more than 35 countries. For further information on FirstSpot, please visit http://www.patronsoft.com/firstspot ." "In development since 2002, FirstSpot® is a Windows-based Wi-Fi hotspot management software (sometimes also known as hotspot software, hotspot access controller or wireless gateway) designed to track and secure your Wi-Fi Hotspots or visitor-based networks in a centralized way. Based on captive portal technology, FirstSpot® lets your hotspot users to login simply by a web browser."
• URL: http://www.patronsoft.com/firstspot
• Contacts:
• Relevance: none. Wrong OS.

Freifunk

• Type: Community project, Software
• Description: Freifunk is arguably the most succesful mesh movement and source of one of the best GUI integrated firmwares for the Linksys WRT54G and other boxes
• URL: freifunk.net
• Contacts: see URL
• Relevance: high

Green-Wifi

• Type: Community project, Hardware
• Description: "Green WiFi has developed a low cost, solar-powered, standardized WiFi access solution that runs out-of-the-box with no systems integration or power requirements. All that is required is a single source of broadband access. "
• URL: http://green-wifi.org/
• Contacts: see URL
• Relevance: high - hardware experience, sw aspects (?), rollout coop?

Inveneo

• Type: Hardware/Software solutions, Implementer
• Description: "The Inveneo WiFi Outdoor Access Point is a rugged wireless router that can be used in multiple network configurations, for long-distance point-to-point links or to connect multiple locations. The WiFi Access Point requires very little network and device setup, as the integrated software has an internal webserver with easy-to-use interface accessible from any standard web browser. - The Computing Station is an ultra-low-power, affordable and fully functional desktop computer designed for use in rural locations such as schools, clinics, field offices, community centers and Internet cafes. - The Inveneo Hub Server|| "
• URL: http://www.inveneo.org
• Contacts:
• Relevance: high. Low power focus extremely relevant.

ISPBill

• Type: Software
• Description: "ISPBill is an ISP billing and management system. It features automatic generation and emailing of invoices, receipts and statements, a customer interface, a ticket system, and much more. ISPBill is intended to continue where cwispy left off"
• URL: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ispbill/
• Contacts:
• Relevance: yes - test it

ISPConfig

• Type: Software
• Description: "ISPConfig is an open source hosting control panel for Linux. ISPConfig is licensed under BSD license."
• URL: http://www.ispconfig.org/
• Contacts:
• Relevance:'yes - check against webmin

LessNetworks

• Type: Software, SW/HW bundles
• Description: "This Austin Texas based group, part of the Free WiFi Movement, offers the Hotspot Server open source software that you can use to create your own free hotspot. When you run their software installation it creates a Linux system with the appropriate settings. Lessnetworks provides downloads of the software, sells their software on disk for a nominal cost, and even sells some preconfigured wireless servers on eBay that you can purchase as a package."
• URL: http://www.lessnetworks.com/index.php
• Contacts:
• Relevance: yes. check out!

Meraki

• Type: SW/HW/ "Global" Mesh ISP
• Description:" Meraki’s mission is to bring affordable Internet access to the next billion people. Meraki’s new approach to wireless networking empowers individuals and groups to bring access to local communities, anywhere in the world.

Meraki has focused on changing the economics of access since its beginning as a MIT Ph.D. research project that provided wireless access to graduate students.

Using their research, Meraki got its start at a low-income housing community in the US. News about Meraki’s products spread by word of mouth into dozens of countries around the world. Every day, new Meraki networks bring access to locations ranging from urban apartment complexes in London to villages in India.

Meraki is based in Mountain View, California, and is backed in part by Google and Sequoia Capital. "

• URL: http://meraki.com/
• Contacts: site
• Relevance: NO - inappropriate business model, EULA outlaws modification of software. Maybe still interesting as hardware, if flashing/modding is allowed. Watch company anyway in case they adjust their business model to the needs of "the next billion".

Musimi

• Type: Village Telco of sorts
• Description: Though outside region (Denmark), an interesting case story of successful (but also problematic?) Asterisk based Telco startup -
• URL: msuimi.dk
• Contacts: through Sebastian
• Relevance: to learn from. interview! Sebastian

phpMyPrepaid

• Type: Software
• Description: An interface for the creation and managment of prepaid cards and accounts designed to work with a MySQL database and FreeRadius.
• URL: http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpmyprepaid/
• Contacts:
• Relevance:Yes - possible candidate for billing integration

Rodopi

• Type: Software, Solutions
• Description: see site
• URL: http://www.rodopi.com
• Contacts:
• Relevance: None back office software, Windows.

SingleDigits

• Type: Software, Solutions
• Description: see site
• URL: http://www.singledigits.com
• Contacts:
• Relevance: low. business model, target size, price mismatch.

Soekris

• Type: Hardware
• Description: Low cost, low poer comms boards, e.g. net4521 - This compact, low-power, low-cost, advanced communication computer is based on a 133 Mhz 486 class processor. It has two 10/100 Mbit ethernet ports, up to 64 Mbyte SDRAM main memory and uses a CompactFlash module for program and data storage. It can be expanded using a MiniPCI type III board and up to two PC-Card/Cardbus adapters.

It has been optimized for use as wireless router using PC-Card wireless adapters, but has the flexibility to take on a whole range of different functions as a communication appliance. The board is designed for long life and low power.

It is available in any volume in the standard version, and as board only or with a small metal box and various power supplies. The board can be customized according to requirements when ordering higher volume."

• URL: http://soekris.com
• Contacts:
• Relevance: maybe - potential hardware ingredient

Softvision Explorer

• Type: Software, Solutions
• Description: see site
• URL: http://www.cyber-cafe-software.com/index.asp
• Contacts:
• Relevance: None - Windows only.

SputnikNet

• Type: Software, Solutions
• Description: "SputnikNet™ enables you to remotely manage Wi-Fi hotspots, hotzones, or complete networks over the Internet. With SputnikNet, there is no software to install or run; we host Sputnik Control Center for you. Simply plug Sputnik-Powered APs (Access Points) or Gateways into broadband, and you’re ready to offer free, branded, or fee-based Wi-Fi service.

Free If you don’t need to authenticate or bill end users, check out SputnikNet Express, our free service for free, single-location hotspots that put your brand front and center.

It costs $49.95 to set up a SputnikNet Account, with monthly charges starting at $19.95 per Sputnik-Powered AP (range extenders are free, of course). Sputnik takes no cut of your transactions."

• URL: http://www.sputnik.com/products/sputniknet.html
• Contacts:
• Relevance: low. business model mismatch.

Surf and Sip

• Type: Software, Solutions
• Description: "The Surf and Sip™ Access Manager allows businesses to set up their own public Internet access location. Businesses can turn their high speed Internet data line into a revenue generating business by installing the Access Manager in their location. The Access Manager manages both wireless and wired connections to the Internet. "
• URL: http://www.surfandsip.com/ps_accessman.htm
• Contacts:
• Relevance: None

Tranzeo

• Type: Hardware vendor
• Description: Interesting wireless hardware
• URL: tranzeo.com
• Contacts:
• Relevance: possibly?.

Trixbox

• Type: SW, distro
• Description: formerly known as Asterisk@Home, is an Asterisk distro aimed at ease of use. It is used by e.g. Uninet to provide community Voip. Their intgrated HW/SW product "Trixbox in a box" ... "... makes it even easier for business to get trixbox phone systems up and running. Why buy separate hardware, download and install software, configure the hardware, and test it all yourself?"
• URL: URL
• Contacts:
• Relevance: medium - probably covered already

Ubiquiti

• Type: Hardware vendor, solutions
• Description: Vendors of WISP targetted high quality, low budget gear
• URL: http://ubnt.com/
• Contacts:
• Relevance:yes

Webmin

• Type: SW management, GUI based admin, etc
• Description: "Webmin is a web-based interface for system administration for Unix. Using any modern web browser, you can setup user accounts, Apache, DNS, file sharing and much more. Webmin removes the need to manually edit Unix configuration files like /etc/passwd, and lets you manage a system from the console or remotely."
• URL: http://www.webmin.com
• Contacts:
• Relevance: yes

Wificom SAB

• Type: SW - WISP management, hotspot manegement
• Description: " Wificom SAB Server™ is a centrally managed all-in-one solution that streamlines the rollout of hotspot services and minimises associated costs. SAB Server™ is an open solution that seamlessly integrates various vendors’ access controllers, access points and other network equipment into one reliable, unified system.

- Wificom open source SAB Gateway™ is a software-based access controller that delivers easy-to-use broadband access at hotspot without requiring the user to install any client-side software. SAB Gateway is now available as open source under the GNU Public License."

• URL: http://www.wificom.com/products.html
• Contacts:
• Relevance: no - open source leg on sourceforge last seen active in 2004 :(

Wifi-Soft

• Type: WISP management, hotspot manegement
• Description: " WiFiLAN Trial

WiFiLAN Trial lets you convert your unmanaged Wi-Fi hotspot into a managed one without incurring heavy setup and operational cost. This entry-level subscription is ideal for small hotspot operators who want to take control of their hotspot and offer a reliable Internet service to its customers. - WiFiLAN Professional - WiFiLAN Professional lets you build a customized, feature-rich operational support system (OSS) for any sized Wi-Fi network. The subscription comes with standard features and addon modules can be purchased separately based on your needs. "

• URL: http://www.wifi-soft.com
• Contacts:
• Relevance: none. model, price, target mismatch.

Worldspot

• Type: WISP management, hotspot manegement
• Description: builds on DD-WRT, Coova. Adds billing, multiple schemes and models.
• URL: http://worldspot.net
• Contacts:
• Relevance: medium. tech ingredients are coova and dd-wrt. better go direct, Billing part might be interesting to look at, though business models might be incompatible.