Analysis of a Wi-Fi Hotspot Network

Wireless hotspot networks have become increasingly popular in recent years as a means of providing Internet access in public areas such as restaurants and airports. In this paper we present the first study of such a hotspot network. We examine five weeks of SNMP traces from the Verizon Wi-Fi HotSpot network in Manhattan. We find that far more cards associated to the network than logged into it. Most clients used the network infrequently and visited few APs. AP utilization was uneven and the network displayed some unusual patterns in traffic load. Some characteristics were similar to those previously observed in studies of campus WLANs.