IT'S STILL FREE - BUT OUR HOTSPOT IS NOW A
HOTSPOT*

This is why we have now changed the Horsted Keynes Hotspot to a Hotspot!

We have been offering a free Hotspot to visitors to Horsted Keynes since 2001, however this has in the past been abused by people logging in and using it for long periods at a time. We hope that we have now solved this problem by making our hotspot a "Fon" spot. This is how it works...

Just connect to the signal that you will see in the southern part of the village called FON_HOTSPOT and go onto the internet where you will be redirected to the log in page.

If you are a BT customer just use your normal BT Internet log in for a free connection or if with any other ISP just click the "Free 15 minutes" link or the "Pay for a day or an hour by SMS" link. Enter some basic details (first time only) and away you go!

This signal is expected to be repeated from several addresses so if you can't get a good signal the first time just try again a few metres further on.

If you are in the village for some time and want a medium term connection please send the webmaster an email. In exchange for a donation we can give you a password which bypasses the log in procedure and allows unlimited access.

(These instructions are being completed)

These are the technicalities.

You can opt to share a small proportion of your bandwidth with other broadband customers. In exchange for this you can connect using others broadband connections when you are away from home. The two connections are TOTALLY SEPARATE there is no chance of people seeing into your home computers and no chance of them downloading naughties and you getting the blame. It really is just like having two separate connection to the internet - in fact this is what it is! By the way if you need to use your full connection for downloading a file etc. then the system simply turns the second connection off while you finish. There really is nothing to lose!

If YOU are a BT Broadband customer then we urge you to sign up to this scheme as you already have the necessary equipment, there is nothing to lose and a lot to gain if you travel with your computer.

If you are not a BT Broadband customer then all is not lost as you can still set up using a separate box.

Simply log into our network and you can have 15 minutes free connection - you get 15 minutes free each day if you wish. After this like everything else on the internet you are required to pay a little to stay connected. The present price is €3 Euros for a day pass, or just £1 for one hour by sending a text from your mobile - which is a lot cheaper than others charge! Remember if you are a BT customer it's FREE to connect for up to 500 minutes per month unless you are on the top tier in which case there is NO TIME LIMIT at all!

We reckon that most visitors can get their email done in 15 minutes so you really don't have to pay for your connection.

By the way if you prefer to use wireless broadband then both Three and Orange seem to work in many of the higher up parts. Near the church is a wireless blackspot so better to try again nearer the Green. Either way Horsted Keynes is one of the better areas to use your computer on line!

100 Meg

11 Meg

"Thought you might like to know that I just connected to your network from outside The Green Man. I can now read my emails and have a drink at the same time. Thanks a lot for the service. I have donated £5. (Signed) Martin"

How do we do it for free? We don't know (in fact if we don't get some help soon we may have to drop the idea anyway), but at present as another service to village visitors we have set up the first wireless hotspot in this area - in fact the next nearest is nearly 8 miles away! So what is a wireless hotspot and what do I do with it?

If you are in our area with your laptop computer and need to get on line or check your emails then this service offers you the opportunity to borrow a portion of our dsl connection. There is NO CHARGE for this service but we are monitoring matters closely, if we see overuse or abuse (see above) we can and will pull the plug on your connection and block your computer from all further access. Use the connection responsibly and occasionally as much as you like however. Like many other free hotspots we are limiting the downlink speed to 1 Meg per second which will give perfectly good email and browsing but will deter larger downloads. Again, this service is provided for occasional use only, for visitors, or if your main connection has gone down, but NOT for you to avoid having to pay for your normal internet connection! ;-)

 All you need to connect to the world via us is an aerial pointed at Sugar Lane, Horsted Keynes, West Sussex (RH17 7EH) and the login which is Horsted_Keynes_Network with the capitals and underscore characters exactly as shown here.  Both high and low speed 802.11g and 802.11b wireless computers can be used although the low speed 10Meg service is now using a new transponder and aerial with the maximum permitted signal level so you might want to select the 802.11b transponder if your system gives you the choice. We don't know the exact range that our signals travel but as you will see from above visitors have managed to connect from outside The Green Man. (We bet it's a lot further now. Try scanning for Horsted_Keynes_Net_Free.)

Want to help us extend the hotspot?

If you are in the village and would like to help extend the HotSpot range please get in touch. You do NOT need to be with a particular ISP, it will work with any one - except AOL! There is no reason why we couldn't build up a large local network using data bridges to cover the whole village. It really is an easy and social thing to do which will not interferer with your browsing at all. However judging to the response to our requests for donations don't expect to receive any financial reward! We would suggest that the pub(s!) would be ideal places to site a hotspot. It would draw customers and visitors to the village.

How about it? We will supply the necessary equipment for free. All you need is a router (wireless or plain) which we can put a plug into. You would help keep the village web site on line.