Boosting Your Wifi Range

[Chiefluvvie]

Hi - just thought I'd share this great, cheap little device with you.....AnOther suggested I may like to based on my comments in a different thread....

I have a FON Spot-in-a-Box with a Fontenna ariel attached. I bought them for 71€ delivered by UPS from Madrid. I did this after having researched many incredibly costly and impractical alternatives.

 Link here :  https://shop.fon.com/FonShop

I have 2 gites approx 200m from the house on independant electricity supplies - so CPL and any other mains connections are out of the question! The FON Simpl (Spot-in-a-Box) is connected to my SFR Neufbox via a simple short ethernet cable. The Fontenna (booster ariel) is connected to the FON Simpl via a 3m cable. The Fontenna is stuck to a window pointing in the direction of the gites. The Wifi signal received in the gites is as strong as it is in my house - job done!

What's more - the gite guests receive 30mins per day of free access via there own secure log-on - totally separate to my own private access (Hadopi etc!). After that they buy top-ups and I receive 50% of the revenue generated - direct into my Paypal account.

And another thing...because I have opened up my SFR Neufbox to FON public wifi access - I also have free access to over 4 million FON hotspots worldwide.

Chiefluvvie

[Salty Sam]

Well done Chiefluvvie!

The FON network is widespread through the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Portugal, but sadly still someting of a rarity in France and other European countries.

[Chancer]

That could be of interest to me but the link does not work even if cut and pasted, I tried removing most of the characters to just get to the main web site but no joy.

[Chiefluvvie]

Sorry about that Chancer - I've re-pasted the link!

Chiefluvvie

[Nimportequoi]

Sounds good, but if I was looking for a gite and had the choice between free unlimited access to internet which many gites offer, or 30 mins per day free with the rest to be paid (you don't say how much it cost!) I know which I'd choose.

[Benjamin]

That's the problem with the letting industry. They see it

as a way of earning an extra few €uros per week (i e peanuts) but fail

to think of how many people they put off. Grabbers!!!!!

Owners, look on it as a selling point and not as a profit centre.  [:D]

[NickP]

Without getting involved with the rights and wrongs of the holiday industry, this WiFi enhancer seems great, unfortunately in most of France it's about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.

[Chiefluvvie]

[quote user="Benjamin"]That's the problem with the letting industry. They see it as a way of earning an extra few €uros per week (i e peanuts) but fail to think of how many people they put off. Grabbers!!!!!

Owners, look on it as a selling point and not as a profit centre.  [:D]



[/quote]

Game on Benjamin!

I'd like to make a few comments on your insulting, yet naive comments above.......quite obviously you have never run a business so let me help you out......

1. Running Gites IS a 'business' with an incredibly short window of 'opportunity' - not a charity. I'm always looking for additional revenue streams - one day I may even make a decent profit, or is that a dirty word?

2. There is no such thing as 'FREE' - be it Wifi access or anything else. The day my ISP offers me a 'free' deal, I will immediately offer the same facility to my gite clients. I choose to offer the FON payg serice to my clients so that their usage and associated costs are entirely their concern - i.e. transparent and legal (hadopi etc). Some owners are able to offer unlimited, free wifi access to their clients but don't think for one minute that it's not costed in to their overall pricing structure - just like electricity, gas, linen, telephones etc etc. I could quite easily bump up my weekly rental rates but I choose not to.

3. My clients tend NOT to be saddos who spend hours on-line whilst on holiday, exploring, enjoying themselves outside etc. For most them 30 mins per day on-line is more than enough. Although I would say that 90% of them are already customers of FON partners (SFR, BT, Belgacom, Zon etc) and therefore they receive unlimited Wifi access via my hot-spot in any case! But then you'd know that.... having looked at the FONsite....

4. Just like our clients choose us based on a wide range of criteria ( I don't think Wifi access has ever been a clincher!) - we also choose them.

Hope this helps, I certainly feel better anyway!

Chiefluvvie

 

  

[Chiefluvvie]

[quote user="NickP"]Without getting involved with the rights and wrongs of the holiday industry, this WiFi enhancer seems great, unfortunately in most of France it's about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.[/quote]

Hi NickP

Not sure what you mean here - France has one of the higest ADSL coverage / penetration in Europe - so if you've got an ADSL router you can use FON.

Chiefluvvie

 

[Nimportequoi]

Well, I agree with Benjamin - I run a gite business and it costs me nothing extra to give free unlimited internet access to my gites as I have it myself.

I don't think you have to be a saddo not to want more than 30 mins per day, particularly if you are "working" on holiday, which some people are. Or you have teenagers staying.

Other people bring internet radios, iphones, ipads and they want to send photos home etc....the requirements are increasing for internet access.

I don't like 'add ons' and I'd never stay anywhere I was charged for wifi access.

[Chiefluvvie]

OK - interesting N'importequoi - don't really want to argue about it though.

You offer 'fully' inclusive rates do you - no 'add-ons' at all? Bearing in mind that offering some types of 'service' can significantly alter your tax regime......

Chiefluvvie

[Nimportequoi]

[quote user="Chiefluvvie"]OK - interesting N'importequoi - don't really want to argue about it though.

You offer 'fully' inclusive rates do you - no 'add-ons' at all? Bearing in mind that offering some types of 'service' can significantly alter your tax regime......

Chiefluvvie[/quote]

Thanks, I know that and am in the appropriate tax régime for all the services offered [:)]

[Nimportequoi]

[quote user="Chiefluvvie"]OK - interesting N'importequoi - don't really want to argue about it though.

You offer 'fully' inclusive rates do you - no 'add-ons' at all? Bearing in mind that offering some types of 'service' can significantly alter your tax regime......

Chiefluvvie[/quote]

Thanks, I know that and am in the appropriate tax régime for all the services offered [:)]

[Chiefluvvie]

Yeah but the question was - do you offer fully inclusive rates with no add-ons ?

Also - how do you provide your internet access?

Chiefluvvie

[Nimportequoi]

No add ons at all - the heating, pool heating, use of bikes, bed linen, towels etc. all included.

I just use ethernet cable with Airport Express for the gites, but they are all connected to my one and only router. Yes, I know there is a risk with Hadopi. But I've done it the same way for 5 years now and never had any problems. My bandwith is only 2Mo so it isn't easy to download or stream films and guests are informed about this in advance.

[Chiefluvvie]

Jolly good - all the best for 2012!

Chiefluvvie

[Benjamin]

[quote user="Chiefluvvie"]

Hope this helps, I certainly feel better anyway!

[/quote]

A fairly predictable and presumptious load of old tosh highly reminiscent of the O'Leary joke about the pint of Guiness ("and would you like a glass to put it in because that costs extra?").

I think I prefer the N'importequoi business model, which, hopefully, is already making a decent profit.

[AnOther]

Can't quite put my finger on it but somehow I don't think I'd want to stay in Chievluvvies gites, sounds like it might be the sort of place which has a slot meter for electricity as an 'additional revenue stream' [Www]

I'll preempt the obvious retort that I probably wouldn't be welcome anyway [:D][:D][:D]

[NickP]

[quote user="Chiefluvvie"]

[quote user="NickP"]Without getting involved with the rights and wrongs of the holiday industry, this WiFi enhancer seems great, unfortunately in most of France it's about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.[/quote]

Hi NickP

Not sure what you mean here - France has one of the higest ADSL coverage / penetration in Europe - so if you've got an ADSL router you can use FON.

Chiefluvvie

 

[/quote]

Well I looked at the Fon hots spots map and it 'ain't very orange outside of Paris, so I base my comment on that. Also I am lucky enough to be married to a lovely Irish woman and because of that relationship I have 14 Brother and Sister in laws, between us we have loads of children and Grandchildren so in our French cottage we probably have more visitors in the summer than most B&B's or Gites. The kids have no problems at all using their lap tops, smart phones, PS P's etc. with our old fashioned WiFi. When we go on our hols we always stay in Hotels and the ones we use don't charge for internet access, and neither do our relations[:)]. Seriously though; I just think that it is another thing that I don't need and certainly don't need to pay for. But I'm sure it will and indeed does have it's supporters. P.S. are your gites in the back of the plane or at the front. [:D]

[Benjamin]

[quote user="AnOther"]

I'll preempt the obvious retort that I probably wouldn't be welcome anyway [:D][:D][:D]

[/quote]

Saddo!!!!!   [:P][:'(][:@][6]

[Chancer]

I wasnt looking at using it as a revenue stream but as a way of keeping a little bit of bandwidth for myself.

I am interested in what NickP had to say about multiple guests, I have a Freebox and have a speed of 6.35 wotsits of which 3 is taken up by my television, 2 on bas débit, there could be another 6 apartments sharing this either by ethernet cable or WiFi, would I need another ADSL connection and router, or could my existing system cope with that and still have enough speed for me?

I dont do anything other than surf the net and use this and one other forum so dont need big downloads myself and can cope with things being a little slower but once the tenants who may well be students start doing whatever it is they do would it affect me?

Also what about this Hadopi thing, would I not still be responsable even if I had a seperate router, I could at the moment allow some of y bandwidth for open access to other Free users, how is one protected in that scenario and could that help me?

[pachapapa]

Glad to hear you are in form again.

Anecdote: today the hyper U promo arrived and I short listed a Wi Fi extender for evaluation.

Popped into Leclerc and checked it with sales staff....price € 59,90.

Bought bread at Hyper U and visited the media area.

Although I tend to use CPL plugs, not Develo too expensive, for point to point connections; I quickly saw the advantages of a Wi Fi extender for a more general Wi Fi function in an area like the garden or terrace.

The promotional price at € 29,90 with a 3 year guarantee looked quite serious.

So guess what I bought one.[:D]

Link to the promotion which started today, bottom right.

http://www.promo-conso.net/page_zoom_2.php?x=phyp140212_1_012

P.S It has a LAN or WLAN facility so fairly versatile.

Manual in english:

http://www.tp-link.fr/resources/software/20104239332114.pdf

[Salty Sam]

[quote user="Chancer"]

I wasnt looking at using it as a revenue stream but as a way of keeping a little bit of bandwidth for myself.

I am interested in what NickP had to say about multiple guests, I have a Freebox and have a speed of 6.35 wotsits of which 3 is taken up by my television, 2 on bas débit, there could be another 6 apartments sharing this either by ethernet cable or WiFi, would I need another ADSL connection and router, or could my existing system cope with that and still have enough speed for me?

I dont do anything other than surf the net and use this and one other forum so dont need big downloads myself and can cope with things being a little slower but once the tenants who may well be students start doing whatever it is they do would it affect me?

Also what about this Hadopi thing, would I not still be responsable even if I had a seperate router, I could at the moment allow some of y bandwidth for open access to other Free users, how is one protected in that scenario and could that help me?

[/quote]

PPP's option is for a booster which effectively means your bandwidth is available to one and all within your apartments, simply by you providing log-on details in order for your tenants to go on-line.

The FON network works differently in as much as you provide a Hot-Spot where anyone within range can pay to connect and use the service and yes, once connected they will be using a portion of your allowance. If it's anything like the UK, speed of their connection is limited to around 512 kbps.

Once you've signed up to the FON network, you'll have free access to any and all Hot-Spots elsewhere.

You'd obviously need to check the finer details of how the FON system works in France and why for example, it isn't as popular there as in Belgium. 

[Chiefluvvie]

Salty Sam - I think FON is a bit of a hidden gem here in France but things should ramp up as they are now an SFR partner and their modems / routers link straight into the SFR Neufboxes using a simple ethernet cable. I get great speeds with mine - same as my Neufbox Evolution connection.

The range booster FONTenna ariel is just great at extending the WiFi spot range to outbuildings / gites etc.

You don't HAVE to pay to access a FON WiFi spot. If you're an SFR customer who's opened up the public access option - you get free access to FON Spots around the world. All SFR neufboxes have by default 2 WiFi channels - one private and one public all with unlimited access included in the monthly fee's. Importantly you can opt to provide free or payg access to anyone without automatic access rights.

Simple, effective, cheap and a seriously competitive product - all reasons why it probably hasn't taken off in France yet!!

Chiefluvvie

[Salty Sam]

[quote]You don't HAVE to pay to access a FON WiFi spot. If you're an SFR customer who's opened up the public access option - you get free access to FON Spots around the world. All SFR neufboxes have by default 2 WiFi channels - one private and one public all with unlimited access included in the monthly fee's. Importantly you can opt to provide free or payg access to anyone without automatic access rights.[/quote]

Yes, you get free access to FON spots around the world IF you are a subscriber to one of the partner schemes. You certainly can't obtain free access otherwise, certainly not in the UK!