This really highlights the problem that we need a proper technical solution for and not hacky traffic interception/redirects!
I also created http://httpforever.com/ for this purpose until such a time that the problem is solved properly.
I also created http://httpforever.com/ for this purpose until such a time that the problem is solved properly.
Operating system maintainers have added captive portal detection to improve user experience. Hotspot owners often sabotage captive portal detection by whitelisting Apple and Google's CPD URLs! AAPL & GOOG have to change these URLs periodically and 802.11 vendors add the new ones in a cat and mouse game. So the customer's phone and thus customer think they're connected but they end up hitting a CP. Why? Because the CPD browser will close immediately upon receiving unencumbered Internet access. While many just want the legal liability limiting I Agree button to be tapped, many others owners want customers to see their store promotion/ad flyer page for longer than a second, place a tracking cookie, and do other value adds.
The interests of Wi-Fi network operators and users are not aligned. Right now only equipment manufacturers directly profit off Wi-Fi service. Hotspot owners can only indirectly earn money through attracting more hotel guests, cafe customers, etc. Some now harvest customer MAC address and in-store walking behavior. Ideally hotspot owners could receive a revenue share for offloading traffic from LTE, which would give them an incentive to be more loyal to users and maintain quality of experience.