Wi-Fi is invisible. Without signage or “sniffer” software like Boingo®’s (which requires turning on your computer) there’s no way to know a hotspot is present. To date the industry has placed insufficient attention on advertising hotspot availability. This is beginning to change, but much more needs to be done.
Even if a user is aware that a signal is present, without software like Boingo’s, actually getting connected is a complex ritual. Users are expected to know things like “SSIDs” (“Service Set Identifiers” – the technical identifying names given to individual Wi-Fi networks), how to turn on and off security settings and how to program often clunky configuration software on their laptops.
Fragmentation and the need for multiple accounts means users must remember multiple SSIDs for various HSOs, and must navigate different login screens at each HSO they encounter. (As the first company to make accessing hotspots easy, Boingo's system completely resolves this problem.)
