It the circumference of the area within with one can accesses the data from an access point. Or it is the area within which the signals of WiFi work. For users of portable computers equipped for wireless, a hot spot is a wireless local area network node that provides Internet connection and virtual private network (VPN) access from a given location

Provides

For example, a business traveller with a laptop equipped for WiFi can look up a local hot spot, contact it, and get connected through its network to reach the Internet and their own company remotely with a secure connection. Increasingly, public places, such as airports, hotels, and coffee shops are providing free wireless access for customers.The WiFi-planet.org provides a list of hot spots through its WiFi Zone program. A number of companies such as Sprint and Cometa plan to provide a nationwide network of hot spots.

Ranges

The range of the hot spot varies according to the strength of the hotspot signals. Some time it is bounded within a large organization, sometimes it ranges from few metes from the source point or the organization and sometimes it covers the total city. One can access the data or Internet from his office. In a particular city we can find many hotspots mingled. Sometimes people confuse while assessing the signals.

Range varies in a WiFi network depending on the type of WiFi radio you have, whether or not you use special antennas, and whether your network is in an open environment or in a building with lots of walls and furniture. The composition of your walls and floors can also have a major impact. WiFi is a very low powered radio signal and does not penetrate metal, water or other dense materials.

The WiFi Alliance does not measure or compare different products and their range. However, it has found that a WiFi network generally provides a range of about 75 to 150 feet in a typical home or office. In an open environment like an empty warehouse or outdoors, a WiFi network may provide a range of up to 1,000 feet or more. With the right antennas and optimal placement, a range of up to a mile is possible.

With WiFi technology (802.11b or 802.11a), a "gradual degradation" in range occurs. This means that, instead of stopping all together, your data transmission rate just becomes slower as you move farther away from the access point. For example, with WiFi 802.11b technology, within 100 feet of the access point, the WiFi radio in your laptop computer will get about 11 Mbps data rate. As you move farther away, that rate will drop down to 5.5 Mbps, then to 2 Mbps and finally to 1 Mbps.

In other words WiFi hotspot is defined as any location in which 802.11 (wireless) technologies both exists and is available for use to consumers. In some cases the wireless access is free, and in others, wireless carriers charge for WiFi usage. Generally, the most common usage of WiFi technology is for laptop users to gain Internet access in locations such as airports, coffee shops, and so on, where WiFi technology can be used to help consumers in their pursuit of work-based or recreational Internet usage.