ISP Billing Systems: PPPoE vs Hotspot Billing Explained

Two Ways to Bill Internet Subscribers

Most ISP billing systems in Kenya support two core models: PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) and Hotspot. They are not competing options so much as different businesses — different customers, different cash flow, and a different amount of your time. Choosing wrong is expensive to unwind once you have subscribers on it.

PPPoE Billing

PPPoE assigns each subscriber a unique username and password. When their router connects to your network it authenticates against the PPPoE server on your MikroTik using those credentials, and the billing system controls whether that authentication succeeds based on payment status.

PPPoE suits fixed home and office internet — customers paying a monthly fee for a dedicated connection into their premises.

What it means operationally: you install something at the customer's location. That is a site visit, a cable or a dish, and usually a router. Your revenue is predictable, your customer relationship is long, and your support burden is concentrated at installation.

Hotspot Billing

Hotspot works through a captive portal. A user connects to your WiFi, their browser is redirected to a login page, they choose a package, pay via M-Pesa STK Push, and get access for the duration they bought.

Hotspot suits public and shared WiFi — cafes, estates, bus parks, apartment blocks, markets — where people pay per session or per day.

What it means operationally: no installation per customer and no contract. One access point can serve hundreds of people who never speak to you. Revenue is smaller per transaction but there are far more transactions, and it fluctuates with foot traffic, weather and paydays.

Key Differences at a Glance

• Billing cycle — PPPoE is monthly and recurring; Hotspot is per session, hour or day.
• Customer identity — PPPoE customers are known and registered; Hotspot users are often anonymous.
• Setup cost — PPPoE needs equipment at each customer; Hotspot needs coverage at one location.
• Revenue pattern — PPPoE is predictable and easy to forecast; Hotspot is higher volume but variable.
• Churn — PPPoE churn is visible and slow; Hotspot "churn" is simply someone not coming back, and you rarely know why.
• Support load — PPPoE generates calls about outages; Hotspot generates questions about payments that did not open access.

Which Should You Start With?

Hotspot generally has the lower barrier to entry. You can cover one building or a market and start earning without installing anything at a customer's home, which makes it a common first step for new WISPs in Kenya.

PPPoE builds a more durable business. Recurring monthly revenue is easier to plan against and easier to grow, but each new subscriber costs you a site visit and hardware before they pay you anything.

If you have capital and a target estate, PPPoE compounds faster. If you are testing demand in a location, Hotspot tells you within a week whether people will pay.

Can You Run Both?

Yes, and many Kenyan ISPs do. A common pattern is PPPoE for households in an estate and Hotspot in the common areas, gates and shops. The same infrastructure serves both, and the Hotspot side often introduces customers who later take a PPPoE line.

What matters is that both run from one dashboard. Splitting them across two systems means reconciling two sets of payments against one bank balance.

Common Mistakes

Using Hotspot for fixed homes. Session-based access for someone who wants always-on internet creates constant re-login friction and support calls.

Pricing Hotspot like PPPoE. Hotspot buyers compare against bundles from their mobile operator, not against monthly broadband. Price against what they would otherwise spend on data.

Ignoring the captive portal experience. Most Hotspot revenue is lost before payment, not after — a portal that does not open on some phones is invisible lost income.

Running Both on Jasiyo

Jasiyo manages PPPoE and Hotspot billing from one platform, with M-Pesa integration for both. PPPoE plans are a flat KSh 25 per active client per month; Hotspot is billed at 3% of revenue. A single KSh 1,000 monthly minimum applies across your whole account, not per service, so running both does not mean paying two minimums.

See the full pricing breakdown →