iiNet users can run their own hotspot and make $$$

Stuart Corner
Friday, 17 August 2007 13:23

Your IT - Home IT

As foreshadowed in iTWire back in April,   iiNet has launched a service from New Zealand company, Tomizone enabling its customers to set up their own WiFi hotspots through which they will be able to offer Internet access to friends and neighbours at no charge, or for a fee. Users connect a Tomizone-enabled Wi-Fi device to their broadband connection. The Tomizone software routes traffic from the user's broadband router into the Internet via the Tomizone server which collects revenue, governs usage and enables funds distribution to the owner of the Tomizone hotspot. The Hotspot owner can also choose to offer free access to friends using a "friends list" built in to the software.

iNet CTO, Greg Bader, said; "We will also be working with Tomizone to deploy our own hotspots in major population areas, which also gives small business operators a simple solution for providing Wi-Fi access to customers...We have already started work on integrating the systems, we hope to have our first hotspots operational in November."

iiNet says that, as an added incentive, it is giving iiNet customers 100 megabytes monthly Wi-Fi access to Tomizone hotspots anywhere around the world is also part of the agreement. However the number of such hotpots is presently rather small.

Tomizone signed a similar agreement earlier this year with New Zealand ISP, Orcon. Tomizone CEO Steve Simms, said: "Whilst Tomizone is a new company, we already have deployments with leading chain stores in New Zealand and are in negotiation with key carriers in a number of other countries".

Bader said: "We see this as a way of extending an iiNet customer's home broadband connection. When travelling, customers will simply "login" with their iiNet credentials and away they go. The flip side is that there are also opportunities for customers to actually start generating income from their broadband connections."

 He added: "the rollout is somewhat self fulfilling - the more people use it, the more it will expand. Our initial targets will be the capital cities but there is no reason why this cannot extend to non-metro areas."  iiNet customers will be given a free data allocation of 100Mb per month, if they exceed this allocation, then they will be able to "top up" their plan.

Back in April iTWire reported "So far Tomizone's are rare beasts: The locator on the Tomizone website shows one in Wellington (NZ), five in Auckland and two in Australia, both in iiNet's Perth offices. As at 17 August there were 22 in Auckland, five in New Zealand and three in Australia, at 420 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction NSW; 1 Burton St, Darlinghurst NSW and at Forest Lodge Apartments, 140 Central Ave Indooroopilly QLD. There are now none listed anywhere in Perth.