Wi-Fi hotspots provide wireless Internet access within public areas. They enable people to keep up-to-date with their digital world in places such as cafés,, convention centers, libraries, hotels, shopping complexes, restaurant and others. Users can connect to hotspots from mobile computers, such as laptops and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Other media devices with Wi-Fi capability, such as the PlayStation Portable (PSP) or mobile phones, can also take advantage of hotspots. Wireless hotspots allow people to do such tasks as browse the webpages and send and receive e-mail. Wi-Fi hotspots are similar to wireless networks that are used in homes and businesses; however, they are not as secure, and they are intended for public use.

Hotspots provide high-speed Internet access. This type of connection is much faster than traditional Internet connections, such as dialup access using a telephone modem. However, the Internet speed that individual users experience while connected to a wireless network varies, depending on many factors, including the following:

• The size and configuration of the hotspot
• The number of concurrent users
• What the users are doing on the network

For example, the Internet speed for individual users on a hotspot might be faster if a few people are synchronizing e-mail, rather than a dozen users downloading large files or viewing streaming video on a website.

Many types of hotspots exist throughout the world. Traditional hotspots provide coverage in and around a building or small group of buildings, such as restaurants, coffee shops, airports, and hotels. Access to hotspots can be free or fee-based. Even if Internet access on a hotspot is free, users might be required to register or view advertisements before accessing the Internet. Fee-based hotspots require users to register and purchase access time. These rates and times differ between each hotspot network.

E-mail and web browsing are available through most mobile phone service providers. However, these phones have limited keypads and displays. Devices such as the Blackberry offer quick and simple e-mail access and have had great success in the market. However, creating or viewing larger e-mail messages and viewing most websites are not practical. In addition, the data rates available through the phone systems are relatively slow. Therefore, people who have laptops and PDAs equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity can benefit much more by connecting to the Internet via a Wi-Fi hotspot, which offers a more effective user interface and much higher speed.

Most hotspots display a splash screen the first time a user connects and accesses the Internet with a web browser. With free hotspots, this splash screen might require the user just to accept terms and conditions (the “fine print”) or view advertisements before accessing the Internet connection. If the hotspot is fee-based, a user would enter his logon information or sign up and set up payments if he has not used that hotspot network before. In most cases, the fee-based hotspots accept payments by having the user securely enter credit card information.