Broadband, wifi advice needed please

MarilynMcI

This may be really basic and I'm a bit embarrassed to post this thread but do I have to have a phone line for wifi access? We don't know the best way of doing this but we want to be able to offer wifi in a holiday cottage and have been told we should offer this to make it more attractive. We are new to holiday letting as well, so all advice welcomed please.

Cycrow

I assume you are wanting to create a wifi hotspot for people to use to access the internet ?

wifi on its own wont give you that, you will need it connected to some internet connection.

most require a phone line, but not all, if you are in a virgin area, you can get it without a phone line

macman

You need a BT-based landline, a cable service (VM) if available, or a satellite service (though the later will be expensive).
Remember that if you offer a free broadband service and people start streaming films on it, or gaming heavily, then you'll be paying the surcharges if you re not on an unlimited tariff.
W-fi is just the provision within the property.

eddddy

Hi MarilynMcI

There are a few options:

1) Is the holiday cottage 'stand alone', or is it perhaps in the grounds of your house? If it's in the grounds of your house, there are options for extending the main house broadband to offer wifi in the holiday cottage.

(Or would a neighbour with broadband let the holiday cottage 'piggy-back' off their service? Although this may be breaking the supplier's t&cs)

2) Via a BT phone line

3) Via Virgin Cable (if it is in a cabled area)

4) Via satellite (very, very expensive)

5) Via Mifi....

If you get a good mobile phone signal, MiFi could be a good option. It's broadband via the mobile phone network. But as it's a holiday home, it maybe hard to stop visitors going over your data allowance. (e.g. by watching back-to-back internet movies on rainy days.)

And if it's a remote location, you might need to test MiFi for a while before advertising it's availability, to make sure you get a strong reliable service.

MarilynMcI

Thank you so much, some really excellent advice here! I will do a postcode search on reception too. Had thought of seeing of the people upstairs would let us piggyback but if someone did start streaming films this could be really embarrassing, so best go it alone I suspect. Thank you all again, hugely appreciated!
:j

macman

Sharing the service across 2 properties is a breach of the T&C's, although rarely enforceable.