Hotspot packages
A package is what a customer buys on your captive portal, for example “1 Hour – 5Mbps – KES 10”. It sets the price, how long it lasts, the speed, and how many devices can use it.
Where packages live
Section titled “Where packages live”- Hotspot → Packages (
/dashboard/hotspot/packages) lists every hotspot package in a table with Name, Price, Speed, Validity, Sessions, Device and Restrictions. Use Reorder to drag packages into the order they appear on the portal, then Done Reordering. Click a package to edit it. - Settings → Hotspot Configurations → Paid → Manage is where you create packages, and also edit and delete them. The Packages tile on Services → Hotspots takes you there too. This page also has Export CSV.
Create a package
Section titled “Create a package”- Go to Settings → Hotspot Configurations and click Manage on your Paid configuration.
- Under Packages, click the + (Add Package) button. The Create a new Package form opens.
- Fill in the Details (see the table below) and click Save Package.
- The package goes on sale on the captive portal straight away. Open it again to reach the other tabs: Burst, FUP, Customize, Notifications, Sharing Code, Time & Day of Purchase and Other.
Details tab
Section titled “Details tab”| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | The name customers see, e.g. Daily 5Mbps. |
| Price | The price in your currency. You can pick a different currency next to it. It defaults to your ISP’s currency. |
| Assign to Device | Optional. Sell this package on one router only. Leave it empty to sell it on all routers. |
| Download Speed (Mbps) / Upload Speed (Mbps) | The speed limit for this package. |
| Expires After | The time unit: minutes, hours, days, weeks or months. |
| Expires after how many … | How many of those units the package lasts, e.g. 1 hour or 7 days. |
| Idle Timeout (Minutes) | How long a device can be inactive before the session drops. A sensible value means fewer forced reconnects. |
| Max Sessions | The total number of sessions allowed on this package at once, across all customers. |
| Max Sessions Per User | How many devices one customer can connect at the same time. Set it above 1 for family or shared bundles. |
| Accounting Interval (Minutes) | How often the router reports usage. This sets how fresh the usage figures are on the dashboard. |
| Features (Use new lines) | Short selling points, one per line, shown on the portal. |
| Max Upload Data (GB) / Max Download Data (GB) | Data caps. 0 means unlimited. Once a package exists, these are on the FUP tab. |
Other tabs
Section titled “Other tabs”Lets customers go faster than the package speed for short periods while their average use is low. For each direction, set the Limit (Mbps) (the speed during the burst, higher than the package speed), the Threshold (Mbps) (the average rate that allows a burst) and the Time (sec) (the window used to work out the average). For example, a 10Mbps package with limit 20M, threshold 8M and time 16s bursts to 20Mbps until the 16-second average reaches 8Mbps.
FUP (fair usage)
Section titled “FUP (fair usage)”- Data Limits: the GB caps described above.
- FUP Policy: switch on Enable FUP Policy, then Add Rule. Each rule has a Data Used % (10–90%), a Time Passed % (max) and a Speed Reduction %. If a customer uses that share of their data within that share of the package time, their speed drops to that percentage. For example, Data 50%, Time 25%, Speed 25% means a customer who uses half their data in the first quarter of the package time is slowed to a quarter of the speed. Most ISPs use fair usage to slow heavy users instead of cutting them off.
- Time FUP: sells time online instead of a fixed period, so the clock only runs while the customer is connected. Set a Time allowance and Unit. You can’t combine it with Customize.
On a customer’s page you can clear their fair-usage throttle with Reset fair usage. See Hotspot customers.
Customize
Section titled “Customize”Switch on Customizable to let customers choose how much to buy (for example 4 hours or 3 days) at a Price per unit, with a Minimum quantity and Maximum quantity. You can add a discount for buying more: No discount, Tiers, or Every time it doubles. Customers who don’t customize still buy the package at its normal price.
Notifications
Section titled “Notifications”- Expiry Notifications: send alerts When Expired and/or at set times before expiry (2, 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day). Only the times that make sense for the package’s length are shown.
- Data Usage Notifications: Add Tier to alert customers at a Data Used % by SMS and/or push. For example, 50%, 80% and 100% gives two warnings and a final notice.
Sharing Code
Section titled “Sharing Code”Only shown when Max Sessions Per User is above 1. Issue a Sharing Code on Purchase shows the customer a code after payment that they can enter on another device to join the same bundle. You can choose Code Characters (numbers, letters, or both), Code Length (4–12), and Also Send the Code by SMS. The SMS option costs one message per purchase.
Time & Day of Purchase
Section titled “Time & Day of Purchase”Limit when the package can be bought. Use Enable Time of Use Restrictions to pick hours, and Enable Day of Use Restrictions to pick days. A package bought inside the window still runs for its full validity afterwards.
- Package Disabled: keeps the package but takes it off the portal.
- Hide from landing page: still for sale on the hotspot, but not listed on your own landing page or through the branding API.
- Free Trial Package (and Allow Older Customers Free Trials): makes this the free trial package.
- Earned package: Earned by watching ads or Earned by passing a quiz. Earned packages are never on sale. They are granted from the portal’s advertising or quiz settings.
On the package page
Section titled “On the package page”When you open a package from Hotspot → Packages, you get Edit … Hotspot Package with the same tabs, plus:
- Popular: highlights the package on the portal.
- Speed override: shapes this package’s sessions at a different speed from the advertised one, without changing what customers see. Clear it to go back.
Delete a package
Section titled “Delete a package”On the configuration’s package table, use the delete action and confirm. Only owners and admins can delete packages.
- Keep a few clear price points. Customers decide in seconds on a phone screen.
- Fixed-validity packages (hours or days) are the simplest to understand. Add data caps and FUP only if heavy users are a problem.
- To make internet free for everyone for a while (after an outage, or on a holiday), use Free mode instead of a zero-price package.
Related
Section titled “Related”- Captive portal & branding: how packages are shown
- Vouchers: give out a package for free
- Hotspot customers
- Promotions: promo codes and loyalty points