By the SightShield team · · 3 min read
Guests expect Wi-Fi — on your terms
Hotel guests, patients waiting at a clinic, café customers and visitors to an office all expect Wi-Fi. Handing out the office password is the worst way to provide it: visitors land on the same network as your billing PC, cameras and NVR, and the password spreads indefinitely. A proper guest network is simple to set up on business access points and a firewall.
The essentials
- A separate guest network (SSID) on its own VLAN, with access to the internet only.
- Client isolation, so guests cannot see each other’s devices.
- A bandwidth limit per user, so one person’s download does not slow everyone.
- A password or login page that you can change without affecting staff Wi-Fi.
- Content filtering to block malicious and inappropriate sites.
- Logs on the firewall, with accurate time.
Login pages (captive portals)
A captive portal is the page that appears when a guest joins — asking for a mobile number and OTP, a room number, or a voucher code, and showing your terms of use. Hotels often link it to the room booking; clinics and cafés commonly use OTP login. Portals can also show your brand and offers, which turns Wi-Fi into a marketing touchpoint.
Rules for public Wi-Fi in India
India’s telecom rules require that Wi-Fi offered to the public be secured and that users be authenticated — historically through KYC or an SMS OTP to the user’s mobile number — with records maintained. The Department of Telecommunications updated guidance for the PM-WANI public Wi-Fi framework in May 2026, and TRAI has consulted on simplifying authentication. Because the details change, the simplest route for hotels, cafés and other businesses offering public Wi-Fi is to use a hotspot service or portal from your ISP or a registered provider that handles authentication and record-keeping, and to confirm the current requirements with them.
Wi-Fi offered only to known visitors in an office, with a password you control, is a different situation from open public Wi-Fi, but the same good practice — isolation, logs and changing passwords regularly — applies.
Wi-Fi for Hotels and Guest Rooms →Coverage where guests actually are
Plan guest coverage for lobbies, waiting areas, rooms, terraces and restaurants. In hotels, an access point in the corridor often cannot reach through room doors and bathroom walls; in-room or every-other-room access points give far better results. We plan placement from a survey and test signal in each area before handover.
Plan guest Wi-Fi with us →Setup by business type
| Business | Typical guest Wi-Fi setup |
|---|---|
| Café or restaurant | Guest SSID with OTP portal or printed voucher; bandwidth limit |
| Clinic or hospital | Guest SSID for waiting areas; separate network for medical devices |
| Hotel | Portal linked to room number; access points in or near rooms |
| Office | Guest SSID with a password changed regularly; internet only |
| Co-working space | Per-member logins; separate networks for members and visitors |
Quick answers
Can guests see my CCTV or billing PC on guest Wi-Fi?+
Not if the guest network is on its own VLAN with client isolation and firewall rules allowing internet only.
Do we need OTP login for café Wi-Fi?+
Public Wi-Fi in India is expected to authenticate users. Using a hotspot or portal service from your ISP or a registered provider is the easiest way to meet current requirements.
Will guest Wi-Fi slow down our office internet?+
Not if each guest has a bandwidth limit and the firewall gives staff traffic priority. A second internet line can be dedicated to guests if needed.
Can the login page show our logo?+
Yes. Most portals can be branded with your logo, terms and a link to your website or offers.
Should guest Wi-Fi have a time limit?+
For cafés and public areas, session limits keep bandwidth fair. Hotels usually allow access for the stay.
Can guest Wi-Fi run on a separate internet line?+
Yes. A dedicated line for guests protects business traffic completely.