Skip to content
Hotspot-Box

All industries

Residential

Residential complexes and common areas

Lobby, pool, gym, clubhouse: permanent access for residents, temporary access for their visitors. No per-unit fee, and the records stay on site.

  • No per-unit fee
  • Registered resident login
  • Coupons for visitors
  • Device remembered 7 days
Request a demo

Whose responsibility is common area internet?

The site management wants internet by the pool, in the gym and in the kids' club. Residents expect it, the board says the service charge must not go up, and the caretaker asks what to say if someone wants to know who was connected.

The usual answer is to write the modem password on the door. A week later the whole neighbourhood has it: no guest network, no records, and nobody knows who is slowing the line down.

Common area users also come in two kinds: the resident who comes every day and the visitor who comes for one afternoon. One needs permanent access, the other temporary, without building two separate networks.

Law 5651 for site management

Whether a residential site management that opens internet access in its common areas counts as a mass-use provider under Law 5651 is a debated question; the answer may depend on how the site is run, so get legal advice. The box does the same job either way: it collects internal IP allocation records daily, seals them with a timestamp and retains them for 2 years. If you are found to be liable, the records are ready; if not, the answer to 'who was connected at that hour' is still on site.

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

Setting up on a residential site

  1. 1

    The box sits behind the management's modem and switch, at the exit of the common area VLAN; existing access points stay, with no extra licence.

  2. 2

    Lobby, pool, gym and clubhouse access points are gathered on one common area SSID; security cameras, the barrier and the management office stay on a separate VLAN.

  3. 3

    Client isolation is switched on at the access points, so two neighbours by the pool cannot see each other's devices.

  4. 4

    Fixed devices such as the clubhouse TV and the gym display connect through a MAC exemption and never see the portal.

  5. 5

    A registered user list is created for residents, and a stack of visitor coupons is left at reception. The record chain starts on installation day.

Login for residents and visitors

Sign-in method

  • Registered user
  • Remembered device
  • Coupon
  • SMS code

A resident is set up once as a registered user; with device memory, their phone does not see the portal for 7 days. A visitor picks up a coupon at reception or logs in with an SMS code. Our recommended 'long stay' template: 15/5 Mbps, 24-hour session, 3 devices, 5 GB per day. The licence is perpetual and not priced per person; the fee does not rise as the number of residents grows.

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

    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.

  • 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.

What is recorded

  • Verification detail: registered user, coupon code or encrypted phone number
  • Device MAC address
  • Assigned internal IP with session start and end times
  • Daily SHA-256 chain and timestamp
  • Explicit consent given on the portal

What is not recorded

  • Which websites a resident visited
  • URLs, content and messages
  • Location data
  • Camera footage or gate access data

Example scenario

Example scenario: a residential site with a clubhouse

Problem
An open modem password circulates around the pool and gym. The line is slow and nobody knows who is using it. The board says it does not want a system priced per person.
Solution
Common area access points were moved to one VLAN with its exit through the box. Residents were set up as registered users with 7-day device memory. One-day visitor coupons were printed for reception. The 'long stay' template set a limit of 3 devices and 5 GB per day.
Outcome
Password sharing ended; every connection is tied to a resident or a coupon. The quota keeps a single user from consuming the line. Management paid for a perpetual licence, and a change in the number of units created no extra charge.

An illustrative example; no real business is named.

Frequently asked

Is site management a mass-use provider?

This is not legally settled and the interpretation may depend on how the site is run; get legal advice. From the box's point of view it makes no difference: in both cases internal IP allocation records are chained daily, timestamped and retained for 2 years. If needed, you export them from the panel and hand them over.

Is there a fee per unit or per resident?

No. Box + Software is a perpetual licence for 250 concurrent devices; there is no separate charge for the number of registered residents. The only variable cost is the SMS code, and when residents log in as registered users no SMS is used at all.

Does a resident enter a password every time?

No. With device memory on, the phone does not see the portal for as long as you set (we suggest 7 days), then logs in once more as a registered user. If the phone uses a randomised MAC address it may count as a new device; the resident can turn that off for the site network.

How does a visitor connect?

Reception or the clubhouse attendant hands out a coupon, which can be short-lived, such as one day, and on a separate plan. You can leave the SMS code open as well. Coupons are generated in bulk from the panel, printed, and become invalid on their own when they expire.

Can the cameras and the barrier be on the same network?

They should not be. Security cameras, the barrier and the management office stay on a separate VLAN; the box manages the common area guest network only. For devices that must stay on the guest network, such as TVs and displays, a MAC exemption is used.

A 20-minute demo for your own venue

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

Request a demo