Food and drink

Cafés and restaurants

The first question at the table is the Wi-Fi password. Hotspot-Box moves that question to a portal; you look after service and the record stays on the box.

No IT staff needed
Timed session + top-up
QR menu after login
Coupon on the receipt

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Password on the wall, no record

In cafés the Wi-Fi password is written on a sign above the till or asked of the waiter. Anyone who learns it once, people passing the door included, connects as much as they like. Dozens of devices you know nothing about share your line.

The business has no IT person. With nobody to fiddle with the modem or keep records, the Law 5651 question usually gets postponed. Yet when a complaint comes, it is you who is asked for the record.

Table turnover is a cost too. A customer who sits for hours over one coffee downloading video on a laptop holds a table that someone is waiting for at lunchtime.

What the law expects from a café

A café or restaurant that opens internet access to its customers counts as a collective-use provider under Law 5651. The law expects internal IP allocation records to be kept, protected with a time stamp and retained for 2 years. The size of the business does not change that expectation. This page is not legal advice; seek counsel for your own situation.

This page is not legal advice; confirm your obligations with your legal adviser.

Setting up in a café

1
The box plugs in between the modem and the Wi-Fi access point. The modem stays, no static IP is needed, and it works behind a 4.5G backup line.
2
Till, POS terminal and kitchen display go on a separate VLAN or a MAC exemption; they do not share the customer network.
3
The customer SSID is pointed at the portal and client isolation is enabled on the access point.
4
You set the post-login redirect to your QR menu; the menu opens on the customer's screen as soon as the code is entered.
5
Installation is an hour's work; afterwards the panel is managed from a phone and you do not touch the box.

Login method

Sign-in method

SMS code
Coupon

SMS code is the primary method: the customer enters a number and types the code. Recommended plan template (standard): 10/5 Mbps, 2-hour session, 15-minute idle timeout, 2 devices, 1 GB/day. High-turnover venues can shorten the session to 60 minutes and hand out top-up coupons from the till; export the coupon pool as CSV and have the codes printed on the receipt.

Ready-made plan templates

Speed, session and device count are set per plan on the box, independent of the access point brand. The values below are our own lab recommendations and can be changed in the panel.

Recommended for this sector
Standard
Cafés, restaurants, shops, bakeries, salons, gyms
Speed (down / up)
10 / 5 Mbps
Session
2 hours
Idle timeout
15 min
Devices
2
Daily quota
1 GB
Remembered device
Off
Keeps tables turning; a guest who wants more gets a coupon from the till.
Conference
Events, fairs, waiting lounges, cinemas, bank branches
Speed (down / up)
5 / 2 Mbps
Session
4 hours
Idle timeout
10 min
Devices
1
Daily quota
500 MB
Remembered device
Off
Low speed and one device for many simultaneous users; capacity 250 concurrent devices.
Staff-guest
Offices, factories, office towers, logistics, tutoring centres
Speed (down / up)
20 / 10 Mbps
Session
10 hours
Idle timeout
30 min
Devices
3
Daily quota
None
Remembered device
30 days
Registered users or coupon groups; separate groups for suppliers and subcontractors.
Extended stay
Hotels, serviced apartments, dormitories, hospitals, residential complexes
Speed (down / up)
15 / 5 Mbps
Session
24 hours
Idle timeout
30 min
Devices
3
Daily quota
5 GB
Remembered device
7 days
No new code every day; in dormitories the remembered window can span the whole term.

What is recorded

Verified phone number (encrypted, masked in the panel) or coupon code
Device MAC address and internal IP
Session start and end time
Daily hash chain and time stamp

What is not recorded

Websites visited
Message content
Location
Order or payment details

Example scenario

Example scenario: a two-floor coffee shop

Problem: A two-floor coffee shop in a student neighbourhood. Same password for years; the upper floor full of laptops at lunchtime, speed dropping, waiting customers walking out. The owner is not technical.
Solution: The box was installed behind the modem and the single SSID put on the portal. Plan: 10/5 Mbps, 60-minute session, 15-minute idle timeout, 2 devices, 1 GB/day. 60-minute top-up coupons were loaded into the till software as CSV; the code prints at the bottom of the receipt. The post-login redirect points to the QR menu.
Outcome: Customers log in with their number and the menu opens. When a session ends, the receipt for a new order carries the code to extend it. The owner checks the hourly density report in the panel; records sit on the box, signed and kept for 2 years.

An illustrative example; no real business is named.

Frequently asked

I have no technical knowledge. Who installs the box?

The box goes between the modem and the access point; installation takes about an hour. After that you do not touch the box in daily work. Plan changes, coupon batches and reports are done from a phone browser.

A customer sits for hours on one coffee. What can I do?

Set the session to 60 minutes and hand out top-up coupons from the till. A customer who orders again extends by an hour with the code on the receipt. Wi-Fi becomes a companion to the order rather than an entitlement, and you never have to argue with anyone.

How do I print coupon codes on receipts?

From the panel you generate as many single-use coupons as you need and download the list as CSV. Most till software can print that list in sequence in the receipt footer. Validity period and speed plan are chosen when you generate the coupons.

Can I send customers to the menu after login?

Yes. Put the link to your QR menu or promotion page in the post-login redirect. The page opens the moment the code is entered. The same slot can carry a survey or an announcement.

The neighbouring shop's customers connect to my network. Is that a record problem?

With the portal in place, everyone verifies with a phone number and enters the record; whoever connects, the record is in their name. If you prefer, shorten the session, lower the daily quota or allow login only with the coupon on the receipt. Signal strength is an access point setting.

A 20-minute demo for your own venue

Let's work out your device count and sign-in method together.