Edgecore provides the perfect solution to address the coffee shop Wi-Fi squatter dilemma. By limiting free Wi-Fi access by duration or time, venue owners can better maintain open seats for new purchasing customers. Multiple billing plans can also be enabled to create tiered Wi-Fi service with different usage quotas, price, and network access privileges. Finally, a tablet-based billing plan selection interface provides a simple way to create accounts for guests.

Edgecore's Service Zones feature creates virtualized controllers inside a single controller, each with independent network configurations, authentication settings, and Wi-Fi captive portals. By directing the traffic of different access points to different Service Zones, network administrators can allow users to see different login pages with location-specific advertisements as they move through a venue such as a shopping mall. For managed service providers (MSPs), Service Zones also allow MSPs to quickly segment multiple customer’s networks.

With readily available interfaces between the Edgecore controller to external platforms such as payment gateways and social media, Edgecore's simplifies the deployment and configuration for guest self-registration in public Wi-Fi deployments. Current available interfaces include:

Compared to traditional Wi-Fi deployments consisting of access points and a central WLAN controller, the all-in-one wireless hotspot gateway (ECH) is a Edgecore product designed specifically for SMBs such as coffee shops and restaurants. Although similar in functionality, it provides a unique advantage of having hotspot functionality such as guest Wi-Fi, user authentication, billing plans, and on-demand accounts all in the access point itself. No additional cabling is necessary, and small business owners can quickly get an enterprise-grade manageable Wi-Fi up and running.