LAS VEGAS (Channel Partners Conference & Expo—Viasat Booth #452), April 9, 2019 – Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, announced today the launch of Viasat Business Hotspots—a new service designed to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) securely extend their Viasat Business Internet connection to provide free, in-store Wi-Fi to customers. With this hotspot service, SMBs are provided with an enterprise-grade managed Wi-Fi service that will securely partition their business internet operations from customer activity—all at an affordable price point.
The business hotspot service essentially creates two separate networks from a single internet connection: a secure and private network for business operations and second public guest network. The Wi-Fi service can be set up indoors or outdoors, and enables the SMBs to customize the guest network with a branded login page and network name.
New engagement opportunities
Surveys show that customers spend more time and money in stores that provide free Wi-Fi. While larger retailers have been taking advantage of this for years, SMBs have had few managed Wi-Fi options, often having to set up a ‘do-it yourself’ solution or go without. Now SMBs, regardless of where they decide to set up shop, can deploy a secure and robust customer Wi-Fi service without the hassle.
Management and security features
SMBs will be able to monitor and manage their hotspots around-the-clock through Viasat’s Business Hotspot management portal. In the portal, they can see the status of their Wi-Fi equipment, manage administrative user access, run usage and email-collection reports and customize their guest login screen. In addition, by partnering with content filtering company, TitanHQ, Viasat will provide a secure Wi-Fi experience for guests while protecting business applications and data. Content filtering features include anti-malware protection, URL filtering, anti-phishing, granular policy engine, full reporting suite, application controls and whitelists-blacklists.
“The Viasat Business Hotspot service allows SMBs to easily deploy free Wi-Fi to their customers, increasing interactions, enhancing their in-store experiences and creating new sales opportunities,” said Cody Catalena, vice president and general manager, Global Business Solutions, Viasat. “We’re helping businesses adopt new ways to improve their business while also increasing their value to customers.”
Plans & Availability
Viasat Business Hotspots are available with plans starting at $40 per month and can be used with any Viasat business internet plan. For more information, please visit the Viasat Business Hotspot webpage.
