Outdoor

Outdoor venues: beaches, parks, fairs and marinas

On a beach, in a park, at a fair or in a marina the problem is not coverage but how many people connect in the same minute. Hotspot-Box handles the logins and keeps the records; the outdoor access points are your installer's job.

250 concurrent devices/box
SMS to foreign numbers
Box can be moved
Records stay on the box

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Not coverage, but the rush in a single minute

The hard part of outdoor Wi-Fi is not coverage; your installer places outdoor access points and the signal question is settled. The real question is this: in the five minutes before the concert, at the fair's opening hour or at the busiest midday on the beach, how many people try to log in at once?

If the login page slows down at that moment, visitors give up, while your record-keeping duty remains. Each box is designed for 250 concurrent devices. For a large fair or beach event you place several boxes, one per zone; each box keeps the records for its own zone.

Marinas add one more issue: most visitors carry foreign numbers. The SMS code goes to foreign numbers too, and you can route those through a separate SMS provider if you prefer.

A three-day event carries the same duty

A municipality, operator or organiser that provides internet access in a public space, even free of charge, falls under the mass-use provider definition in Law 5651. The law expects such a provider to keep internal IP assignment records, protect their integrity with a timestamp and retain them for 2 years. The duty is the same whether the event lasts three days or all year.

At a temporary event, whether the venue owner or the organiser is responsible depends on your contract; get legal advice on this. Either way the box collects the records, timestamps them and hands them to the authorised person through the panel. This page is not legal advice.

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

Set-up: one box per zone

1
The box sits between the modem and the switch that feeds the outdoor access points. No static IP is needed; it works behind CGNAT links such as a 4.5G connection.
2
The guest network runs on its own VLAN and SSID; your installer turns on client isolation (guests cannot see each other) on the access points. The event crew's network stays separate.
3
Divide a large site into zones, one box per zone. The 250 concurrent device limit is per box.
4
Keep ticket turnstiles, printers and cameras outside the portal with a MAC exemption.
5
When the event ends, power the box down and move it to the next site. The hash chain and the records stay on the box; the same chain continues at the new site.

Login: SMS code, coupon on the badge

Sign-in method

SMS code
Coupon

An SMS code verifies in seconds and reaches foreign numbers too. For fair attendees or marina boat owners you can print a coupon on the badge. Our recommended 'conference' template: 5/2 Mbps, 4-hour session, 10-minute idle timeout, 1 device, 500 MB per day. Shorten the session to match the length of the event.

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
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.
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.
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
The device's MAC address and assigned internal IP
Session start and end time
NAT details where applicable
Daily SHA-256 hash chain and RFC 3161 timestamp

What is not recorded

Websites and addresses visited
Messages and content
The visitor's location
Which boat or stand they were at

Example scenario

Example scenario: a three-day beach festival

Problem: A municipality is running a three-day festival on the beach. The installer sets up outdoor access points along the shore. Thousands of people are expected to log in at the same moment when the concert starts, and the municipality knows it has a record-keeping duty.
Solution: The beach is split into three zones with one Hotspot-Box per zone. Login is by SMS code; the 'conference' template applies, with sessions capped at 4 hours. The sound and lighting crew's devices are kept outside the portal with MAC exemptions. After the festival the boxes move to the municipal sports hall.
Outcome: Each box collects the records for its own zone and the daily digests are chained with timestamps. When needed, the municipality exports a given day's archive from the panel as a ZIP and verifies it. The boxes keep running on the same chain at the new site.

An illustrative example; no real business is named.

Frequently asked

How many boxes do I need?

The measure is not visitor count but devices connected at the same time. One box is designed for 250 concurrent devices. Split the site into zones, estimate the peak device count in each, and plan one box per 250 devices. We are happy to work through the numbers with you and your installer.

Do you install the outdoor access points?

No. The box runs behind your existing modem, switch and access points; it is independent of the access point brand and needs no extra licence on them. Poles, cabling and the choice of outdoor AP are your installer's job.

Will foreign visitors at the marina receive the SMS?

Yes. The SMS code is sent to foreign numbers too. You can set up a separate provider for foreign numbers or use your own SMS provider account. If you prefer, boat owners can also be given a coupon valid for the length of their mooring.

Can I move the box to another site after the event?

Yes. The records and the hash chain live inside the box; when you move it to another site the chain carries on where it left off. If the new site has no internet yet, the box keeps collecting records; days that could not be stamped are stamped once the connection comes back and show as pending days in the panel.

Our beach connection is 4.5G. Is that a problem?

No. The box does not need a static IP; because connections go outward from the box, it works on 4.5G links behind CGNAT. If the connection drops, record collection continues; only the timestamp waits for the link.

A 20-minute demo for your own venue

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