Best solution - mobile wifi hotspot

[Jim Stapleton]

On Fri, May 30, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Chris Whitehouse <cwhiteh at onetel.com> wrote:
> Jim Stapleton wrote:
>>
>> My dad makes instruments and goes to a lot of festivals. They are
>> typically in the middle of nowhere, without internet. Many vendors
>> still bring notebooks as they provide quick & easy access to many
>> things, but there is no internet. For credit cards, many use their
>> cell phones to make the transaction. My dad wants to get a satellite
>> connection (pure sattelite, no phone), and set up something to offer a
>> wireless hotspot.
>> - Some shows will just pay a flat fee, and have the hotspot open.
>> - Some shows won't pay a fee, and so he'll want to charge to recover
>> some of the cost.
>>
>> For the open hotspots, a simple wireless router will do. For the
>> charge hotspots, we'd want something a little more flexible. My first
>> thought was 'FreeBSD can do that!'. The trick is that we will be using
>> battery power most of the time. Low power is the key. I'm thinknig
>> sub-20W max power drain worst case, SUB 10-15W is ideal.
>>
>>
>> With that background info, my questions are:
>> 1) Is building a low power computer based on FreeBSD the right way to
>> go? Or would you all recommend something else? What?
>> 2) Does anyone have experience with the GeodeNX or VIA C7 boards
>> available on NewEgg? Heads ups and pointers?
>> 3) Does anyone have experiences with these and a given wireless
>> adaptor, How good/bad is/was it?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> -Jim Stapleton
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>
> This particular wheel has already been invented several ways :)
>
> http://psand.net/
>
> https://en.wiki.aktivix.org/SquatTelecoms

Well, my dad wants to provide something for cheaper than hiring a
third-party vendor to come out into the middle of nowhere and do this
(amongst other things, since he's out there, he doesn't have to use
hundreds of miles of gas + extra man hours).

As for the second, that seems to be 'how to get an ISP', which he
already has researched, he is more looking to /be/ the ISP.

> To keep power down you probably want to opt for a dedicated wireless router
> box not a computer (unless you are also saving bandwidth with squid etc).
> And to generate electricity use wind or solar.

Do you know of a wireless router that can provide individual user
authentication, without requiring a complex setup? Some places may not
want to pay for the internet connection, so he'll need to 'rent out'
connection bandwidth to other vendors.

Thanks,
-Jim Stapleton