Documentation
Outage Compensation
After a power cut, fiber break, or router downtime, customers lose paid Hotspot or PPPoE time (and sometimes data on 2GB/5GB plans). Outage Compensation lets you give that time and/or data back — safely: preview first, exclude anyone you want, then apply with a full history and undo.
What it is
An operator tool that extends Hotspot voucher expiry / session time and/or raises the data quota on capped plans, and does the same for PPPoE package assignments. You choose the outage window, who is included, and whether to credit time, data, or both.
It is not a money refund, wallet credit, payment deletion, or Free Access (open Wi‑Fi with no login — see Free Access). Use Free Access only when you want everyone online without vouchers.
Where to find it
- Open Compensation in the sidebar (near Free Access), or go to
/your-org/compensation. - You need the Manage outage compensation permission (
manageCompensation). Managers, Technical Team, and Full Access presets include it by default. - At least one router must have Hotspot and/or PPPoE enabled — otherwise the page shows an empty state.
- You can also ask Eric (NettPilot) to preview and apply compensation in chat after you confirm.
How to use (wizard)
The flow is always When → Who → Apply. Never skip the preview.
Step 1 — When
- Choose services: Hotspot vouchers, PPPoE customers, or both.
- Choose scope: whole organization or selected routers. For routers, NettPortal can suggest completed outages from the last 7 days (when the router came back online). Older outages (up to 30 days) can still be entered manually.
- Choose what to credit: Time, Data, or Both (details below).
- Optionally turn on Only users active during the outage and/or limit to specific packages.
- Set the outage start and end times, and a clear reason (at least 10 characters). Presets cover power, fiber, router, maintenance, and weather.
- Click Preview who gets credit.
Step 2 — Who
- Review eligible vs skipped counts, total time, and total data. Expand skip reasons if many were skipped.
- Use Hotspot / PPPoE / Skipped tabs. Untick rows (or bulk exclude visible) to leave people out before apply.
- Optionally enable SMS for online Hotspot buyers and PPPoE customers who have a phone on file.
- If more than 50 users are eligible, type
COMPENSATEto confirm. - Export CSV if you need a record, then click Apply.
Step 3 — Apply & history
After apply you see how many users were credited and can download a CSV. Past events appear in the history list. Use Undo within 7 days if you made a mistake (NettPortal restores previous expiry / data limits when still safe to do so).
What to credit: time, data, or both
Time
Extends Hotspot voucher session/calendar time and PPPoE package expiry. Choose how much time each eligible user gets:
- Match lost time (recommended) — credits only the paid time that overlapped the outage (1:1).
- Full outage length — same full window for every eligible user (still capped by anti-abuse limits).
- Fixed minutes — same fixed amount for everyone (1–1440 minutes).
- Goodwill multiplier — overlap × 1.0–2.0 (e.g. 1.5× turns 2 hours lost into 3 hours credit).
Data
Adds a fixed number of GB (up to 10 GB) to each eligible data-capped voucher or PPPoE assignment — ideal for 2GB / 5GB plans after an outage. Example: credit 1 GB on a 2GB plan → 3GB total.
- Unlimited-data plans are skipped for the data portion.
- Hotspot: the voucher's own data limit is used when set (including promo bonuses); otherwise the package limit.
- PPPoE: the assignment data limit is raised (and “data limit reached” is cleared).
Both
Applies the time policy and the fixed GB credit together. A user can get time only, data only, or both, depending on eligibility for each part.
Who is eligible
NettPortal builds a preview of every matching Hotspot voucher and PPPoE assignment, then marks each as eligible or skipped with a reason.
Hotspot vouchers
- Must not be disabled; unused never-activated codes are skipped.
- Time credit needs an expiry to extend (session time and/or calendar
validUntil). - With active only: RADIUS/session activity in the outage window, or time that ran out during the outage, counts as in use.
- Time-only mode skips vouchers that hit a data limit while they still had time left (not a time loss). Data / Both can still add GB for those.
- Vouchers that expired during the outage can be reopened to in-use after a time credit is applied.
PPPoE customers
- Active package assignment must overlap the outage window.
- Time credit extends package expiry (and PPPoE Grace Period when present).
- Data credit raises the assignment data quota on capped plans.
- Unlimited-time or unlimited-data plans skip the matching portion.
No double credit
If a user was already compensated for an overlapping outage window, they are skipped. Always review the Who tab before apply.
SMS notifications
Optional at apply. The message apologizes for the outage and states the time and/or data credited.
- Hotspot: only vouchers bought online / captive portal / agent purchase with a phone on the payment (or guest phone). Printed offline vouchers are not texted.
- PPPoE: customers with a phone on their account.
- Up to 200 SMS per apply event (uses your org SMS credits).
Limits & safety (anti-abuse)
| Rule | Limit |
|---|---|
| Max outage window length | 48 hours |
| How far back the outage can start | 30 days |
| Outage end time | Must not be in the future |
| Reason length | At least 10 characters |
| Time credit per user | Max 24 hours per user in any 7-day window |
| Applied events per day | Max 5 |
| Large batch confirm | Type COMPENSATE if more than 50 eligible |
| Data credit per user (per event) | Fixed GB, max 10 GB |
| Undo window | 7 days after apply |
| Router outage suggestions | Completed outages from the last 7 days |
Using Eric (NettPilot)
Tell Eric about a power cut or outage. With manageCompensation, Eric can:
- Load routers and recent downtime suggestions.
- Build a preview (time, data, or both).
- Apply only after you explicitly confirm (and type COMPENSATE when required).
- List past events and undo within the undo window.
Prefer the wizard UI? Ask Eric to open Compensation, or open Compensation yourself.
Tips
- Start with Match lost time and a single router — review Who, then widen scope if needed.
- For 2GB/5GB Hotspot plans after a long outage, use Both (overlap time + 1 GB data) so customers get fair time and data back.
- Turn on active only when you only want people who were actually using the service during the outage — unused printed codes stay out.
- Always preview. Export CSV for your records before large applies.
- Undo quickly if something looks wrong — you have 7 days.
Related docs
- Voucher Management — Hotspot vouchers and limits
- IP Bindings — reserve printers / POS by MAC (no captive portal)
- PPPoE Customer Management — packages and assignments
- Package Management — Hotspot packages and data limits
- FAQ — common questions