Sputnik Announces Major Upgrade 
to SputnikNet Cloud-Managed Wi-Fi Service

Oct. 20, 2011 - PRLog -- San Francisco - Sputnik, a leading provider of cloud services for Wi-Fi networks, announced several new features in SputnikNet, the company's flagship application. New innovations include:

Content Caching at the Edge
SputnikNet now enables customers to add a Sputnik-provisioned USB flash drive to popular devices, such as the Cisco E3200, Cisco E4200, and ASUS RT-N16 Wi-Fi routers, and enable content caching. This both improves network performance and saves bandwidth by storing frequently accessed web content locally, improving Wi-Fi user experience at the venue. In addition, new caching reports enable providers to view bandwidth savings and performance statistics.

Per-User Bandwidth Controls
Wi-Fi providers can set a maximum upload and download rate per subscriber, per session, and per Wi-Fi router.  In addition, quality-of-service (QoS) throttling enables providers to limit popular peer-to-peer protocols such as BitTorrent.

SMS Authentication
SputnikNet offers a new SMS authentication system, enabling providers to text login codes to subscriber cell phones. Wi-Fi users simply enter their cell phone number into a captive portal and are texted the login code.

Sputnik has partnered with Essendex Limited for SMS messaging. As with all of Sputnik's payment-based authentication systems (for example PayPal, Credit Card, Prepaid), Sputnik does not charge any usage or revenue share fees.

Session Queueing
SputnikNet now enables providers to set the maximum number of Wi-Fi sessions on a router, after which users are given a place in line. (Similar to numbered tickets at a deli counter.) Wi-Fi users see a dynamically updated estimate of how long it will take for them to move to the front of the queue and get online.

Assets
SputnikNet now includes a new content management system for assets used in captive portals such as images, javascript, css, and html snippets. This feature enables providers to quickly upload graphics and other files into SputnikNet for reuse in portals. It also enables them, for example, to quickly change selected graphics across a range of portals.

Other Enhancements
SputnikNet contains many other improvements, including:

- Enhanced user interface for faster, easier access to useful information and controls
- Context-sensitive help, integrated documentation search and live support chat
- Quick MAC lookup to survey Wi-Fi devices on networks
- Radio scheduling to turn Wi-Fi off and on at defined intervals
- Improved user session reports, enabling time and bandwidth summaries by router, subscriber, authentication system and captive portal
- Captive portal preview in list view
- Ability to harvest subscriber emails for building marketing lists

"Our engineers have been working hard to bring great new capabilities to SputnikNet," said David LaDuke, CEO Sputnik, Inc. "But we're not resting. Expect to see new innovations over the coming months as we maintain a laser focus on building the best, easiest-to-use application for cloud-managed, access controlled Wi-Fi in the world."

Pricing and availability
After a one-time $49.95 account setup fee, SputnikNet is $19.95/month, or $199.50/year, per managed router. Volume discounts kick in automatically as providers add managed Wi-Fi devices to their networks. Certain features require Sputnik Pro subscriptions at $49.95/month or $499.50/year, with volume discounts available. Providers can sign up for SputnikNet at http://store.sputnik.com.

Sputnik Agent firmware, which enables Wi-Fi routers from leading vendors such as ASUS, Cisco, EnGenius,  NETGEAR and many others, is free. Sputnik firmware is available at http://www.sputnik.com/support/download.

Pre-formatted Sputnik USB cache drives are $49.95 and can be ordered at Sputnik's online store.

About Sputnik, Inc.

http://www.sputnik.com

Sputnik Inc. is a leading provider of cloud-based software that enables ISPs and wireless service providers to build custom-branded, access-controlled Wi-Fi services and manage them over the Internet. Sputnik's remote network and subscriber management features allow cost-effective operation in locations without onsite technical support. The company's easy-to-use, flexible software supports a wide range of businesses, service providers, and educational institutions, and has been adopted by customers in more than 100 countries around the world. The company is based in Sausilito, California.

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Sputnik Inc. is a leading provider of cloud-based software that enables ISPs and wireless service providers to build custom-branded, access-controlled Wi-Fi networks and manage them over the Internet.