In brief
How to read monthly login quotas, per-user fees and SMS bundles in a guest Wi-Fi subscription, and what happens at the cap. A line-by-line guide to any offer.
The small print of the offer
A guest Wi-Fi subscription page usually opens with one number: "this much a month". The real cost and the real limits live in the lines beneath it. This article shows you how to read those lines. It is about pricing patterns common in the industry, not about any particular vendor.
Look for these items in the offer:
- A monthly or yearly login (session) quota
- A per-user or per-device fee
- A per-location fee
- An SMS bundle and its overage price
- A clause on what happens when the quota is reached
- Commitment period and yearly price increase clause
- Where the data is kept and what happens when the subscription ends
If an item is missing from the offer, ask, and get the "none" in writing.
How a login quota fills up
A "login" is usually one sign-in event: the guest requests a code on the portal, is verified, gets online. If the same guest comes back in the afternoon, that may count as a second login. With device memory, a returning guest does not request a code, but in some models a remembered device reconnecting still counts. Ask for the definition.
A simple multiplication shows whether the quota will last:
Monthly logins ≈ daily logins × days open
To estimate daily logins, count how many times tables turn on a busy day and how many phones connect per table. Example scenario (assumption): 100 logins a day and 30 open days make 3,000 logins a month. If the quota in the offer is below that, you overrun every month; if it is only slightly above, you still overrun in busy months (season, events, holidays). Pick the quota for your busiest month, not the average one.
Three possible behaviours at the cap
Find which of these three the contract says:
| Behaviour | Effect on guests | Effect on you |
|---|---|---|
| Portal refuses new logins | Guests cannot get on Wi-Fi | Complaints, empty tables |
| Overage fee applies | Nothing changes | The bill grows unexpectedly |
| Automatic upgrade to next tier | Nothing changes | Permanent price increase |
All three can be acceptable. What is not acceptable is not knowing which one applies. Also ask whether the quota follows the calendar month or the billing period; days shift between the two.
What does "per user" mean?
A business owner who sees a per-user fee should first ask for the definition of "user". Possible answers:
- Unique phone numbers per month
- Unique devices (MAC addresses) per month
- Every session
- Every active device (concurrent at peak)
For the same café, these four definitions produce four different bills. Phones that randomise their MAC inflate the "unique device" count; returning guests inflate the "session" count. Without knowing which definition is written down, you cannot estimate your monthly cost.
The SMS bundle: its own line
SMS has a cost, and it still has one when it is folded into the bundle. Three questions:
- How many SMS does the bundle include?
- What is the unit price beyond that?
- Are messages to foreign numbers counted at the same price?
Voucher and e-mail logins consume no SMS. In accommodation, a voucher valid for the length of the stay shrinks the SMS line.
How our SaaS model works
In our SaaS product:
- No login quota. A monthly or yearly subscription; we do not count how many guests sign in.
- No per-user fee. So no definition debate either.
- No device on site: the portal and verification run in the cloud, and your existing router or AP controller redirects guests. Law 5651 records are not part of this service; for legal records you need the Box or the Virtual Appliance.
- The concurrent-user limit is the technical limit of your router and access points; it is not a billing item.
- SMS is a separate line: 1,000 / 2,000 / 10,000 credit packs, or your own provider account. You get an alarm when credit drops below 100.
With SaaS the SMS code is sent from the cloud portal; the number is processed only to send and verify the code and never turns into a guest count or a fee. With the box and the virtual appliance the number never reaches the platform at all; the box sends the SMS straight to the provider, and the platform only hands out API credentials and counts credits.
Offer-reading checklist
Whenever a subscription offer lands on your desk, write these questions next to it:
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Is there a login quota, and how is "login" defined? | Do returning guests eat the quota? |
| What happens at the cap? | Do guests get cut off, or does the bill grow? |
| Is there a per-user fee, and what is a "user"? | To estimate the monthly cost at all |
| Is SMS included, how many, what is the overage? | The hidden second bill |
| Commitment and yearly increase clause | The five-year total |
| Where are the records kept? | Location of and access to Law 5651 records |
| Does archive access continue after the subscription ends? | The 2-year retention outlasts the subscription |
Pay attention to the last one: records are expected to be kept for 2 years. If a one-year subscription ends, you should know in advance how you will reach the archive.
More questions are answered in the FAQ, or write to us and we will read your offer with you.