iPass service FAQs

What is the iPass service?

The iPass service is a mobile network connectivity service. In other words, the service allows WHOI travelers to connect their own laptop to the Internet from anywhere using a local Internet Service Provider.

Why is WHOI using iPass?

For two major reasons:

1. High quality dialup access to the Internet world-wide. iPass selects ISPs to work with around the world and monitors their performance and rates them to give iPass customers best possible service for an area.
2. Cost savings. iPass charges for US and Canada are much less than WHOI currently pays for the 800 number. Rates in other countries are substantially less than using calling card or long distance dialing (plus the connection speed is almost always better.)

What happens after I get connected through iPass?

Your iPass connection gives you access to the Internet, but does not make you part of the internal WHOI network. As far as WHOI is concerned you are an unknown external Internet user and access to protected information will be restricted.

How do I get access equivalent to connecting through WHOI ?

To get to access to Internal websites, computers protected by the firewall, or in general anything that non-WHOI users can't get to, you must establish a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection after you are connected through iPass. For more information on VPNs at WHOI see WHOI's VPN service.

Other reasons to use VPN over iPass connections are:

• VPN is just a good security practice
• iPass uses a secure method for authentication to WHOI, but data transmission is not secure end-to-end.
• VPN is necessary in order to send mail to addresses outside of WHOI (unless you use Webmail)
• VPN is necessary in order to reach internal resources (WHOI internal, FSRs, etc.)
• VPN will prevent snoopers from seeing everything you type on wireless and broadband (these are 'always on' technologies that are quite easily exploited by snoopers and hackers)
• Even if you intend to use ssh to connect to a computer at WHOI, you may be denied access to the machine unless it has been registered for sshd through the firewall. Also, the computer itself may be secured against ssh access except from within WHOInet.

Can I use iPass from my home?

Yes and we encourage it. If the WHOI RAS number is a local call for you, use it through the iPass client (enter Woods Hole as the city.) If the RAS is long distance call for you and you currently use the RAS 800-number, please use iPass and choose a number local to your home instead.

How will my laptop know how to connect to a local ISP, in Japan for example?

The iPass service involves installing a client on each laptop. This client maintains a phonebook, which is updated each time you connect to the Internet. The phonebook contains the best phone numbers for each iPass ISP partner around the globe.

How will I know which local number to choose?

In general, choose the first number listed. The iPass company monitors connection reliability and speed offered by its partnered ISPs and lists the phone numbers in order of descending quality.

What are the rates for iPass dialup access?

What about iPass connections other than dialup?

iPass provides high speed broadband and wireless access in locations such as airports, hotels and coffee shops. Your account will always be billed for this usage, even if you have connected from the US or Canada.

Check the current rates for iPass broadband.

Can I just always use the 'TOLLFREE' numbers listed by iPass?

No. Use this guideline when selecting an iPass number:

• Choose the local numbers at the top of the list as presented in the iPass client. The iPass service closely monitors service performance and will order the phone numbers accordingly.
• Some foreign countries have "All cities" numbers, which are less expensive than TOLLFREE connections.
• Finally, if only TOLLFREE numbers are listed, then select one. If you are in the US or Canada, it may be less expensive to use the WHOI RAS 800-number.

iPass charges us 5 times more for TOLLFREE use in the US than for the local numbers. WHOI will bill you for the TOLLFREE charge. If there are LOCAL numbers available, it makes a lot of sense to use them.

How is CIS billing for iPass usage?

All iPass usage is logged and billed to WHOI on a monthly basis. CIS will not bill back for usage in the US and Canada (except as noted above for use of US-TOLLFREE numbers) as this is equivalent to coverage currently provided by the WHOI 800 number.

iPass usage from other countries will be billed to the project associated with the 4-digit telephone billing code that you must enter at connection time. If you have different projects that you want to bill for different calls, be sure to enter the appropriate billing code when connecting.

What exactly will CIS bill my project for?

WHOI will charge for iPass usage according to these guidelines:

• No charges for dialup non-800 use (local numbers) in US and Canada.
• Dialup TOLLFREE (800) numbers in US and Canada - charged to you as billed by iPass.
• Wireless and broadband use - charged to you as billed by iPass.
• Foreign countries (except Canada) - charged to you as billed by iPass.
• We will charge the billing code you supply at connect time. Please note: if none is supplied we will pick a code assigned to you. If that is the wrong code, you will have to tell accounting and use your preferred code in the future.

Why not just use the WHOI 800 line for data calls?

If high-quality connections were possible throughout the world using our 800 data line, we would probably do just that. However, we could not enable wireless or broadband connections for you throughout the world unless we partnered with an outside, commercial firm.

Sprint charges WHOI $.12 per minute for the RAS 800-number usage. Remember: our RAS 800-number is only available in the US and Canada. Using an iPass local phone number to connect to the Internet from the US and Canada only costs us $.04. In this example, you can see that WHOI's cost for you to use the RAS 800-number is 4 times more.

In fact, we will be charging for the RAS 800-number calls beginning on 6 September 2005. But we will continue NOT to charge for iPass local phone connections.

What if there is NO local phone number available where I travel?

If the location is remote or sufficiently rural, there may be cases where there are no local iPass numbers. For example, in Alaska there are only 3 local phone numbers listed for the whole state.

In these cases, the user has to assess whether to use:

• an iPass US-TOLLFREE number. Cost is $.19 per minute.
• WHOI's RAS 800-number. Cost is $.12 per minute.
• Pay for the long-distance calls to an iPass number nearby.
• Use your hotel or host-facility resources.

I've used iPass and it is convenient, but I sometimes have trouble getting a connection.

According to the data that iPass makes available to us about WHOI connections, most failures to connect are due to premature disconnections by the user. The connections may take longer to complete than you would expect. Please be patient and let the process complete. It will probably take longer, for example, than connecting locally to the WHOI RAS without the iPass client. To understand why the process may be longer with iPass, consider what is happening to get your connection to the Internet:

• Dial the local number to the local ISP
• Modem answers and gives an initial (login) connection to you
• You enter your WHOI access information
• The local ISP machine sends the information to WHOI via an iPass hub
• WHOI receives the information and must validate it and send back an OK
• The local ISP gets the OK and gives your computer an Internet address
• Note: you are on-line at this point, but do not have a WHOI address

If you have questions, please contact the CIS Helpdesk at x2439.