About Fon
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5 must-Have Travel Gadgets
March 1, 2012
Using the internet on your phone when abroad generally costs megabucks. Instead, power up this tiny wi-fi router, giving you fast, free access to over 4 million Fon Spots worldwide. All you have to do in return is share a bit of your home WiFi with other users.
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Fon WiFi
March 1, 2012
Fon are building the biggest WiFi network in the world. How does THAT work?
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Fon, Netia Announce WiFi Partnership in Poland
February 28, 2012
Fon, the world’s largest WiFi network, and Netia, one of Poland’s biggest telecommunications operators, today announced a partnership to create the largest WiFi community in Poland. Due to Fon’s quick time-to-market, the Netia Fon network already has thousands of hotspots in Warsaw and will have over 100,000 hotspots throughout Poland available by spring. Netia subscribers and Fon customers can access these hotspots and the over 5 million hotspots in the global Fon network for free. Netia customers can get access to the Netia Fon WiFi network by registering with Fon from their Netia Spot.
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Netia Partners with Fon
February 28, 2012
Polish operator Netia has agreed to work with Wi-Fi provider Fon. The Netia Fon network already has thousands of hotspots in Warsaw and will have over 100,000 hotspots throughout Poland available by spring. Netia subscribers and Fon customers can access these hotspots and the over 5 million hotspots in the global Fon network free. Netia customers can get access to the Netia Fon Wi-Fi network buy registering with Fon from their Netia Spot router. The Fon Wi-Fi sharing technology is built into the Netia Spot. This technology makes it possible to broadcast two dedicated Wi-Fi signals: a private signal for the owner and a public signal that shares the internet connection with Fon members. Non-sharing members can also connect to the Fon network by purchasing access passes at Fon hotspots.
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Fon Introduces New, Faster Wireless Router for their Network
February 28, 2012
At Mobile World Congress today, Fon announced a new wireless router that should make their Wi-Fi network better and faster. The Fonera Simpl features faster processing and, more importantly, EAP-based authentication. EAP is a universal authentication framework, making it much more easy and straightforward for Fon users to connect to other Fon wireless routers on the go.
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Fon adds 2 mln Wi-Fi hotspots in 2011
February 23, 2012
Global community Wi-Fi provider Fon has surpassed 5 million Wi-Fi hotspots. Fon added 2 million hotspots in 2011 and predicts over 50 percent growth this year. Partners use Fon to differentiate their services by allowing customers to share in Fon's global Wi-Fi network, where users can share a small portion of their unused bandwidth in exchange for free Wi-Fi at any Fon hotspot in the world.
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Two companies want to help you share the Wi-Fi love
February 22, 2012
Sometimes it’s just not easy to get a Wi-Fi connection, which is why two companies making news this week see a business model in helping users pool their wireless resources. Wi-Fi network provider Fon has been around since 2005, and founder Martin Varsavsky announced today that his company now has more than five million hotspots established worldwide. These aren’t just any hotspots either. Every Fon member, called a Fonero, agrees to share his or her own Internet connection in exchange for Wi-Fi access at user hotspots around the globe. In other words, when you sign up with Fon, you become part of a network of hotspots, with free access to all of them.
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Crowdsourced Wi-Fi Network Fon Passes 5 Million Hotspots Worldwide
February 22, 2012
When serial entrepreneur Martin Varsavky launched Fon in late 2005, his goal was to blanket the world with easily-accessible, crowdsourced Wi-Fi. While the service hasn’t quite made it everywhere yet, Fon has just announced that they now have over 5 million hotspots in operation across the globe.
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Belgacom, Fon Roll Out WiFi Network
November 14, 2011
BRUSSELS and MADRID -- Fon, the world’s largest WiFi network, and Belgacom, Belgium’s biggest telecommunications company, today announced 100,000 Belgacom Fon WiFi hotspots will be available to Belgacom internet customers and Fon customers by the end of the year. In 2012, this network will be extended to more than 500,000 WiFi hotspots, establishing Belgacom Fon as the largest WiFi network in Belgium and adding to the 4.5 million hotspots already in the Fon WiFi network worldwide.
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Belgacom to launch shared WiFi service with FON
November 14, 2011
100,000 Belgacom Fon WiFi hotspots will be available to Belgacom internet customers and Fon customers by the end of the year. In 2012, this network will be extended to more than 500,000 WiFi hotspots, establishing Belgacom Fon as the largest WiFi network in Belgium and adding to the 4.5 million hotspots already in the Fon WiFi network worldwide.
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Fon, Belgacom set up Belgium's largest WiFi network
November 14, 2011
Fon, the world’s largest WiFi network, and Belgacom, Belgium’s biggest telecommunications company, today announced 100,000 Belgacom Fon WiFi hotspots will be available to Belgacom internet customers and Fon customers by the end of the year. In 2012, this network will be extended to more than 500,000 WiFi hotspots, establishing Belgacom
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Belgacom begins Fon roll-out
November 14, 2011
Belgacom has begun the roll-out of its Wi-Fi network, as part of the agreement signed with Fon in June. Belgacom customers will be able to use the more than 100,000 Wi-Fi hotspots for free from their laptop, tablet and smartphone (Android, iOS and BlackBerry) before the end of the year. The network will be expanded to over 500,000 Wi-Fi hotspots by the end of next year. Spain's Fon serves more than 4 million customers worldwide. Fon modems are configured to allow not only an own network, but also a semi-public network which users can log on to. Both networks are separated so that the security is not compromised. Belgacom will explain the configuration of the semi public network to customers with a secure BBox2 modems. Customers will be able to choose if they want to use the hotspots. A no however will also halt access to other Wi-Fi hotspots. Public traffic will not be charged to the individual users but the traffic used by the Wi-Fi hotspot user will be added to the customer's monthly bill. Customers with an Internet Favorite and Intense deal will have unlimited data use both at home and on the move via the hotspots, available in Belgium and abroad.
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Fon and Belgacom Set up Largest WiFi Network in Belgium, Launch 100,000 Hotspots
November 14, 2011
Fon, the world’s largest WiFi network, and Belgacom, Belgium’s biggest telecommunications company, today announced 100,000 Belgacom Fon WiFi hotspots will be available to Belgacom internet customers and Fon customers by the end of the year. In 2012, this network will be extended to more than 500,000 WiFi hotspots, establishing Belgacom Fon as the largest WiFi network in Belgium and adding to the 4.5 million hotspots already in the Fon WiFi network worldwide.
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Oi teams with Fon to launch Wi-Fi project in Brazil
November 03, 2011
Three months after acquiring internet access provider Vex for BRL27 million (USD15.7 million), Brazilian telecoms operator Telemar Norte Leste (Oi) has revealed details of its strategy plan to expand its Wi-Fi footprint and capabilities in the country. Under the plan, the telco is looking to integrate three different networks under a single umbrella – dubbed ‘Oi WiFi’ which will comprise: 1,600 Vex hotspots in Brazil and more than 40,000 globally through roaming agreements; Fon’s Wi-Fi network, which will be shared by users, and which comprises a pilot project in the neighbourhoods of Ipanema and Leblon, in Rio de Janeiro; and thirdly, Wi-Fi metro networks to be built by Oi as part of an ‘open phase’ pilot project in Rio de Janeiro. It is understood that Oi’s fixed broadband (Oi Velox) customers with a greater than 5Mbps broadband connection, Oi Velox 3G users and some other users on Oi data plans, will have free access to the network until January 2012. Meanwhile, other Oi customers can try the service free of charge for 30 minutes before deciding if they want to sign up for the service on a pay-as-you-go basis. Prices range from BRL2.90 (USD1.7) for one hour, BRL5.90 per day, and BRL11.90 for five days.
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Oi launches shared WiFi project with Fon
November 01, 2011
Oi, a pioneer in convergent services in Brazil, today announced the start of a shared broadband WiFi project in Rio de Janeiro. The project was developed in partnership with Fon, a Spanish company responsible for over 4.5 million WiFi hotspots in over 11 countries such as Portugal, Japan and the United Kingdom. This initiative reinforces Oi’s strategy to invest in the expansion of mobile internet coverage to cater to the increasing demand generated by the mass use of smartphones, tablets and laptop computers. The partnership with Fon will stimulate and improve the user experience when logging into broadband WiFi, offering even more quality, mobility and comfort for local internet users.
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Oi launches shared Wi-Fi project with Fon
October 31, 2011
Brazilian operator Oi has started a shared broadband Wi-Fi project in Rio de Janeiro. The project is developed in partnership with Wi-Fi network Fon. Oi Velox customers with plans starting at 5 Mbps, as well as Oi Velox 3G users and sew subscribers to Oi data plans starting at 2 Gbps, will be able to access all of the network's hotspots free of charge until January 2012. Other Oi customers and those subscribing to any other operator's data plans will be able to try Oi's Wi-Fi network free of charge for 30 minutes upon their first connection. To continue using the network, they will have to purchase passes by using their credit cards. Customers will be charged BRL 2.90 for one hour, BRL 5.90 per day, and BRL 11.90 for five days access. Hotspots have been installed in restaurants, clubs, malls, salons, cafés, bars, gyms and homes in the Ipanema and Leblon neighbourhoods of Rio de Janeiro.
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Fon expanding WiFi hotspots to Latin America, starting with Rio de Janeiro
October 31, 2011
Are you one of Fon’s community of seven million members? If so, you’re already familiar with the company, whose ambition is to offer free WiFi everywhere thanks to shared broadband.
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In AT&T/T-Mobile Debate, How Is DOJ Ignoring the New Competition for Wireless Services?
September 7, 2011
A rapidly growing innovative alternative is the Fon network, where individuals, by agreeing to buy a special router and share access to their own home or office wi-fi, can access other Fon member' wi-fi around the world, with a global network of 4 million hotspots that grew by 30% just in the first five months of 2011.
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Travel advice: data roaming charges revisited
September 04, 2011
Cheaper still, if you have broadband at home, join the Fon network (www.fon.com). In return for sharing some of your home bandwidth with other travelling Fon users, you get free access to all their hot spots worldwide.
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Open Access
September 1, 2011
Martín Varsavsky wants to turn the world into a giant WiFI hotspot through his company Fon, three business models later, he thinks he has the answer
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Fon creates largest WiFi network in Belgium – Here's an awesome graphic to explain why
June 28, 2011
Global WiFi network Fon is partnering up with Belgacom, Belgium’s largest telecommunications company, to create the largest WiFi community in Belgium. Of course, that means Belgacom internet customers now get access to the than 4 million+ hotspots in Fon’s global WiFi network.
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Spanish WiFi startup expands into Belgium
June 28, 2011
Fon members freely share or sell WiFi access, which will now be available to Belgacom subscribers. This is the sixth deal of its kind with a major European telecom firm.
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Some Hard Facts About Wi-Fi and Its Future
March 16, 2011
Where is all the money coming from? Offloading of data from 3G to the Wi-Fi networks. For Fon, the growth has come in the U.K. and in Japan. Nearly two million Fon access routers with auto connectors to the Wi-Fi network are handed out to buyers of Android-based smartphones and the iPhones
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Fon offers free Wi-Fi access in Japan
March 14, 2011
Wi-Fi network Fon has started offering free Wi-Fi access to everyone at 500,000 Fon hotspots across Japan for the next days in order to help people affected by the recent earthquake that hit Japan reach their family and friends as many mobile phone networks are not working. To get free access at Fon Spots, users need to enter their desired url in the browser without logging in. Fon urged Fon community members (Fonero) in Japan to lend a hand by keeping their Fon Spot activated.
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Skype Founder To Students: Don’t Follow The Obvious Path
March 11, 2011
As a venture capitalist – Zennstrom founded Atomico, which has offices in London, Sao Paulo and Hong Kong – he continues to seek out and back disruptive companies. He mentioned Memolane, which gathers your bits of social data and puts them in a timeline; and Fon, which crowdsources Wi-Fi networks – it enables users to get free roaming around the world when they travel, as long as they share access from home.
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Japan Gets Free Wi-Fi From Fon Until Quake Emergency Ends
March 11, 2011
Fon, a company which manages a large network of wi-fi hotspots, is opening up it’s 500,000 some-odd hotspots in Japan to web surfers for free until the country’s state of emergency following a massive earthquake and tsunami comes to an end.
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Fon Opens its WiFi Network in Japan for all to use
March 11, 2011
Fon's WiFi network is the largest in Japan. We have over a million hotspots of which over half are on at the moment. The Fon network is free to those who share WiFi (known as Foneros) and other users pay. Given the current emergency in Japan, and the failure of some mobile network as a result of the earthquake, Fon has decided to open our network to all in Japan.
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Zon launches promo campaign for WiFi ZON@Fon service
March 4, 2011
Portugal's Zon Multimedia launched a new campaign to promote the WiFi ZON@Fon service, which already has more than 300,000 hotspots in Portugal and over 3 million worldwide. The service is distinguished by the possibility of free access to the largest WiFi network in Portugal, without time or consumption limit, via Zon.
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Fon Technologies Scores EUR10M to Crowdsource Wi-Fi in U.S.
February 17, 2011
Fon Technologies SL has secured 10 million euros to achieve its 2011 goal: Bringing crowdsourced Wi-Fi to the U.S. Skype SA co-founder Niklas Zennstrom's venture capital firm Atomico, a previous Fon Technologies investor, led the Series C round with participation from other previous investors including Coral Group, bumping the firm's total backing to more than EUR50 million.
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Fon raises $13.5 million in funding round led by Atomico to put the US in its sights
February 16, 2011
Fon has secured €10 million ($13.5 million) in a new funding round led by Atomico, the VC firm founded by Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype. The company markets wifi routers which turn domestic connections into a network of publicly accessible hotspots.
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Skype Can Now Get You Access to 500,000+ Wi-Fi Hotspots
February 14, 2011
Skype announced a new partner program for its Wi-Fi hotspots service, Skype Access, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Monday.
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Fon's New Cycle
February 14, 2011
“The WiFi Revolt!” screamed a 2006 headline on the cover story of a Silicon Valley magazine, “Google plus Skype team up with radical start-up to overturn the telecom industry.” The story was about Fon, a Madrid-based start-up that offers a global WiFi sharing service created by serial entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky. Times have changed. Varsavsky, once feared as a foe, is thriving by positioning himself as the operators’ new best friend.
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25 Hottest Mobile Companies
February 14, 2011
To identify the most promising mobile companies Informilo Editor-in-chief Jennifer L. Schenker asked some of the most active investors in Europe, Israel and the U.S. to nominate and evaluate companies outside their own portfolios. Some are well known, others are below the radar but unlikely to stay that way for very long.
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Fon Ended 2010 With 3.35 Million WiFi Hotspots, €28 Million In Revenues
February 1, 2011
Fon, the WiFi network company backed by Google and Skype, says you can find 3.35 million Fon hotspots all across the globe these days. That’s impressive growth, which comes down to more to 200 percent year-over-year. Last time Fon shared numbers, the company revealed that it tracked 2.5 million hotspots (this was in October 2010).
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Fonera Simpl router now on sale for $49, moving quickly to telcos
November 29, 2010
Still holding tight to the "Sharing is Caring!" mantra? Not afraid in the least of handing out a few kilobytes to lost tourists down below? If so, you're a prime candidate to own a Fon router;
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Fon Announces Its Integrated Support on Broadcom's DOCSIS® 3.0 Cable Gateway Solutions
November 18, 2010
Fon has built a WiFi network with over 2.5 million hotspots, and Telcos, ISPs and manufacturers are increasingly looking for ways to give their customers access to it ... We are pleased to work with Broadcom as they lead the way in integrating Fon at the chipset level.
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Fon Reaches 2.5M Hotspots Worldwide, Says Rise of Smartphones Saved Them
October 4, 2010
Fon the company with a fairly simple but extremely bold and tough mission (to cover the entire globe with free WiFi), now boasts over 2.5 million hotspots located around the planet. In a brief blog post, entrepreneur, teacher and philanthropist Martin Varsavsky - who founded the company back in 2006 - makes it clear that this is a huge number.
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BT launches 'free' Wi-Fi mobile app
September 7, 2010
BT has launched a mobile app for its broadband customers that automatically connect iPhone and Android mobiles to free, unlimited WiFi. The BT Fon app, which is only available to BT Total Broadband customers, notifies users of the nearest WiFi hot spots.
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Unlimited Wi-Fi at BT Fon and Openzone Hotspots
June 21, 2010
BT is giving its Total Broadband customers 'unlimited' WiFi minutes through BT Fon and BT Openzone hotspots. Previously, Total Broadband customers had their WiFi minutes capped. Only those on the most expensive package were given 'unlimited' WiFi access.
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Comstar-UTS launches new Fon Equipment
May 25, 2010
Comstar-UTS has added a new modem for connecting to the worldwide Fon network to its products portfolio. The operator started renting a new ADSL modem with an integrated Fon router as well as a new Fonera Stone router for those clients who already have an ADSL modem.
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Fonera Simpl aims to ease 3G overload, give smartphones a better way to upload
February 19, 2010
If you've never heard of Fon, its mission is pretty simple: to equip the world with Fonera routers, and thus blanket the planet in WiFi that no one is scared to share. Over at Mobile World Congress this week, the company unveiled a new device that exploits the impending bandwidth crisis that operators all over the globe are attempting to deal with.
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Review: Fonera 2.0n
October 24, 2009
The Fonera 2.0n router essentially gives you free WiFi anywhere in the world for a onetime fee of $100. It may or may not work, but it's worth a try.
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MegaGoods 2009 Gallery: The Year's Hottest Products In One Place
September 22, 2009
Check out the year's most innovative computers, cameras, gadgets, toys and more. Post your pics to the Web without turning on a computer. Fon's Wi-Fi router can automatically upload photos and video to sharing sites like Flickr and Picasa when you plug in a USB storage device or camera.
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Ubiquisys and Fon to Let Users Share Mobile Broadband
September 15, 2009
Ubiquisys and Fon are working on a femtocell that will let mobile users share a broadband connection, they said on Tuesday. Fon now lets PC users share their fixedline broadband connection using a Wi-Fi router equipped with the company's software.
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Fon Brings Updated Public/Private Router to U.S
July 21, 2009
In April, innovative Spanish router maker Fon launched the La Fonera 2.0 router overseas. Last week, Fon announced the router here in the United States, calling it the "Fonera 2.0n".
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Fonera 2.0n available - adds media sharing, shared storage
July 14, 2009
Remember that Fonera 2.0 wireless router that's been blowing minds in Europe since way back in April? Fon has announced today that it's now available Stateside as the Fonera 2.0n. If that weren't excitement enough for a Tuesday morning, the thing has received a slathering of new features, including storage (just supply your fave USB 2.0 drive), 802.11n, and the ability to sync your YouTube, Flickr, Picasa, and Facebook files, as well as clients for managing your RapidShare, Megaupload, and bit.torrent addictions.
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Fonera+ gets upgraded to 2.0, adds built-in torrent download and upload services,other goodies
July 14, 2009
As you recall Fon makes wireless routers for sharing. You install the Fon node in your house, share it with others, and then are given access to other Fonera routers around the world. It's sort of a viral Wi-Fi community.
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Fifty Tech Startups You Should Know
June 22, 2009
BusinessWeek and market researcher YouNoodle have teamed up to identify 50 tech startups flying under the radar. Our list includes fledgling tech companies—most started in 2005 and later—from the U.S., China, India, Israel, and Russia that are attracting some early buzz and are poised to grow beyond their regional or niche-market origins.
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E-Plus, FON to expand hotspot service
June 03, 2009
Wi-Fi network FON has announced it has been selected by German mobile operator E-Plus to help expand the cellco’s wireless data service. E-Plus subscribers will now be able to use their Wi-Fi-enabled phones and laptops to access the FON network in Germany, comprising 25,000 hotspots. Additionally, 300 of the cellco’s shops will operate as FON hotspots and subscribers will be able to access the service free of charge until 1 September 2009. The two companies are working on expanding the FON network to more public places. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, E-Plus is the country’s third largest facilities-based wireless operator by subscribers, with a customer base of 18.04 million at 31 March 2009.
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Fon releases open meshing WiFi router
April 21, 2009
Sal sez, "Three years after Cory's novel Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town,' somebody actually made a router that does what the fictional mesh-network routers from the book could do. The Fonera 2.0 made by Fon, (the Spanish WiFi sharing people) is released today (barring the occasional retail glitch) for 45 euros. It comes complete with OLPC's mesh-networking system.
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Fon's Next VOIP Router Adds BitTorrent, YouTube
April 21, 2009
Spanish company Fon, which spreads Wi-Fi with inexpensive routers that its community members can use to share Internet connections, this week will start selling its new Fonera 2.0 router in Europe for €49.95.
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Fon releases open meshing WiFi router – Boing Boing (via FriendFeed)
April 21, 2009
It comes complete with OLPC's mesh-networking system. You can plug it into Ethernet or a 3G dongle. Share your bandwidth with any other router in range that implements OLPC's mesh-networking standard. The software is based on Open WRT
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Fonera 2 Combines Wi-Fi Sharing, BitTorrent, Network Storage
April 6, 2009
The newest Wi-Fi router from Fon will add support for networked storage and automatic downloads to its internet-sharing capabilities.
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Fonera 2 coming with awesome new ideas
April 06, 2009
Fon, the European company that specializes in sharing Internet connections between its users is set to release its new router soon. The Fonera 2 will still have the same basic functions of the Fonera 1 that makes it a Fon router. The routers create two networks, one private and one public. The idea being that you can use your own private network at home, and access any other user's public network when you're not at home. The Fonera 2 has so much more, though.
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Comstar-UTS, Fon build Wi-Fi network in Moscow
December 18, 2008
Comstar-UTS has partnered with Fon Wireless to build the Comstar-Fon Wi-Fi based internet access network in Moscow, which will form part of the global Fon network. Later, Comstar-UTS plans to bring Comstar-Fon network development to other parts of Russia.
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Joikusoft and FON work together and cause a headache for tech writers trying to explain
August 8, 2008
A new piece of mobile phone software has been unveiled today that will allow you to share your mobile phone's internet connection with the FON community over wifi. This might take some explaining, as both Joikusoft and FON aren't exactly household names, and the thing they both do isn't terribly straightforward. Lets make a game of it.
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FON and JoikuSoft Introduce FonSpot Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot Software
August 08, 2008
Joikusoft and FON today announced a new version of JoikuSoft's JoikuSpot Wi-Fi hotspot software called FonSpot, which turns a mobile phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot that instantly becomes part of FON's global Wi-Fi network.
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Fon on Zon
21 Jul, 2008
Portuguese cable TV operator Zon Multimedia has partnered with the Fon Wi-Fi community to launch the Zon@Fon free Wi-Fi service. Zon’s cable customers can host a Fon Wi-Fi hotspot from their home at no additional cost, with all Zon cable subscribers being offered free wireless internet access via these Fon access points. Fon currently has 2,500 such community hotspots in Portugal and is hoping to increase this to 100,000 thanks to deals with the likes of Zon Multimedia.
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Wee-Fi: Fon Founder Profiled; Creative No-Fi; Inspiair Physics-Fi; Foster City-Fi
May 27, 2008
The head Fonero, Martin Varsavsky, gets a write-up from a confab he put together and hosted at his vacation home on Menorca. Varsavsky is nothing but interesting, something I've heard from everyone who has met or had business dealings with him, and this article partly details his upstart challenge and the shifting focus at Fon.
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Global Dreams for a Wireless Web
May 25, 2008
Martin Varsavsky, in his Madrid home, started Fon to let members piggyback on the wireless access of other members worldwide. But his big idea is encountering some obstacles.
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Dreams of a worldwide wireless Web
May 25, 2008
Menorca, Spain — Sitting on the porch at Finca Torrenova, his 800-acre retreat on this Mediterranean island, Martin Varsavsky ticks off the credentials of the group of Internet entrepreneurs finishing lunch at a nearby table.
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How to: Set Up a FON Spot
April 25, 2008
FON is a wireless Internet sharing community based upon a concept known as social Wi-Fi networking. People share their wireless Internet from within their home or business, with other FON (pronounced “fawn”) users. In return they get free access at all the other FON Spots throughout the World and even have the chance to make some money. Once someone shares their wireless Internet by installing and configuring a FON Spot router, they’re called a Fonero.
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FON Hopes to Break WiFi Free of Fees
February 26, 2008
WiFi yearns to be free. But it's a struggle, and there is mixed news on efforts to make wireless networks available to all comers.
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Wi-Fi hotshot
October 2007
The problem is that the high-speed HSDPA services launched by mobile operators in the past 18 months employ a per-megabyte pricing model or enforce monthly data caps, and these policies can prevent surfers from downloading or streaming large files such as movies, video clips and business documents.
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Steve Jobs keen on a world where people share WiFi
October 30, 2007
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs is reportedly "very interested" in a world where people share their WiFi connections in return for free access to other wireless hotspots in their communities, and recently met with the founder of upstart provider FON, whose business aims might just dovetail with the iPhone maker.
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Join The FON Club, Be A Hotspot
October 15, 2007
Done any FONing Lately? Most Americans have never heard of the Madrid-based tech startup called FON, but if founder Martin Varsavsky has his way, the name will enter the lexicon the way "Googled" and "Skyped" have. Thanks to a new joint venture with BT Group, (BT ) announced on Oct. 4, he may have a shot.
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BT gets on the FON to drive Wi-Fi usage
October 05, 2007
BT yesterday pledged to create the world's largest wireless broadband community through a deal with the company FON, which will allow customers to share broadband capacity.
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BT to UK customers: Share your WiFi... please!
October 05, 2007
ISPs aren't known for encouraging users to share bandwidth, but that's exactly what BT wants UK customers to do. The Spanish WiFi specialist FON offers routers that enable people to "securely" share their high-speed connections with strangers; in return, the sharers get access to any other FON access point in the world. Now, the model is coming to the UK as BT partners with FON.
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Fon Extends Range of Routers with 'Fontenna'
June 22, 2007
Fon said Friday it had begun offering 'La Fontenna,' a directional antenna that could be attached to the routers the company offers along with its service. A coverage gain of about 3 to 5 times the typical range of the router is realized, the company said. As an example of the new functionality, the company has outfitted the Chueca neighborhood of Madrid with the routers and antennas.
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FON La Fonera Router
June 14, 2007
2007 is shaping up as the year of Wi-Fi sharing, with several new companies providing products and/or services in the category. Recently, I looked at Whisher, a free software utility that lets you share access to your wireless network. Another Spanish firm, FON (pronounced fahn), has a somewhat different take on Wi-Fi sharing. It's hardware rather than software, making it a solution with some notable advantages -- as well as a few disadvantages -- over the Whisher approach.
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FON Deal Triples Boingo Roaming Sites
May 24, 2007
FON is a company based in Spain creating a worldwide Wi-Fi network of members (called Foneros) who modify their routers or install new and inexpensive routers to support FON. Foneros then can roam freely on any FON site while others pay a small fee, usually $2 a day, which is split with the Foneros. Boingo Wireless of California makes deals with hotspot network providers to allow its subscribers to roam freely on those networks.
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Reasons to Fawn Over FON
April 27, 2007
I think it's pretty clear, almost a decade into the home broadband era, that people really like to share. Sometimes they share music and movies, sometimes they share connectivity, and sometimes they just share opinions nobody cares to pay them for. And good for all of us. It's nice to share.
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FON Lands Time Warner Cable Deal
April 23, 2007
If you have a Time Warner Cable (TWC) modem in your home, you will soon be able to join the FON community, turning that connection into a hotspot (which they call FONspots). Madrid, Spain-based FON has been pushing to work with more and more service providers, but this is the company's first deal with a U.S. company. Despite this, FON claims to have 60,000 members in the U.S. already. Time Warner has 6.6 million customers with high-speed data subscriptions.
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FON, Time Warner Cable link up for free WiFi
April 23, 2007
FON and Time Warner Cable have announced a deal that will allow Time Warner customers to deploy FON wireless access points and provide free WiFi access to other Time Warner (and FON) customers. FON is a Spanish company that sells (and sometimes gives away) wireless routers for people wanting to turn their home networks into public WiFi hotspots. FON counts Google, Skype, and Sequoia Capital among its investors.
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BT to Invest in FON?
March 06, 2007
FON, the Spanish share-your-Wi-Fi services company, is close to announcing a new round of funding that could total to as much as 10 million Euros (shade over $13 million.) While some of its existing investors – Index Ventures, Skype and Google – are coming back with more cash, the word from telecom circles in Europe is that British Telecom is going to invest in the wireless router company. It is one of the new strategic investors in the company. FON had raised about $22 million in a previous round of funding. With this round the company has raised close to $35 million in venture capital funds.
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Fon wants you to help steal business from Starbucks and T-Mobile
February 21, 2007
Oh tricky, sneaky Fon. Fresh off their 10,000 Fonero giveaway, they're stepping up the ante with how they give away their loss-leader routers. Their newest campaign is sure to strike a chord with armchair entrepreneurs and Adbusters fans alike: if you live within the immediate vicinity of a Starbucks (read: WiFi range), Fon would like to send you one of their Foneros. Why? Because, if you recall, when you allow users to connect with your internet connection over your Fonero, Fon splits the profit with you -- $1 for every user (who pays $2 to use your connection). So for every $10 T-Mobile / Starbucks WiFi user you swipe, Fon gives you a buck; now, granted this still isn't a scheme for those paranoid about home network security, bandwidth usage, or nefarious hax0rs type with a spoofed MAC and a keen eye for easy hotspot access, but who knows, for those near Starbucks (yes, they'll be checking against known locations) it might even be worth it to buy a budget DSL line just to profit with Fon.
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Fon hooked up with British Telecom
February 2, 2007
When it comes to British Telecoms, you know it’s going to be something big. The telecoms company closed a deal with the Spanish WiFi network Fon to allow BT users to share their broadband access and BT Fusion users (the WiFi/GSM dual-mode service) to make VoIP phone calls via Fon members’ hotspots.
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ZING forms agreement with FON for free WiFi access.(Brief article)
January 9, 2007
TELECOMWORLDWIRE-9 January 2007-ZING forms agreement with FON for free WiFi access(C)1994-2007 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com ZING Systems Inc, provider of a platform of software and services for mobile entertainment, has entered into an agreement that will give free WiFi access on the ZING mobile player platform.
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FON Aims for Ubiquity
October 27, 2006
Earlier this month, FON (rhymes with "dawn," not "phone") announced the worldwide release of its new "La Fonera" wireless router. What makes the router unique is its price tag -- $5 -- and its ability to incorporate two SSIDs, one private and one public. It also has the important bonus of being much, much easier to use than the routers FON supported until now, which the company hopes will encourage users to sign up in droves.
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FON Aims for Ubiquity
October 30, 2006
Earlier this month, FON (rhymes with "dawn," not "phone") announced the worldwide release of its new "La Fonera" wireless router. What makes the router unique is its price tag — $5 — and its ability to incorporate two SSIDs, one private and one public. It also has the important bonus of being much, much easier to use than the routers FON supported until now, which the company hopes will encourage users to sign up in droves.
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My new monthly column: EuroScan
March 10, 2006
I'm starting a new monthly column in BusinessWeek's Innovation section. It's called EuroScan and will discuss innovation - in all its manifestations - in Europe. The first piece, on global movimiento-plus-business FON, was published yesterday.
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A Global Fon for All?
March 9, 2006
It's an international grassroots attempt -- started in Spain -- to patch the central weakness of Wi-Fi: spotty access. And it's spreading like wildfire.
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Fon Hopes to Break WiFi Free of Fees
February 26, 2006
WiFi yearns to be free. But it's a struggle, and there is mixed news on efforts to make wireless networks available to all comers.
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Hold The FON
February 09, 2006
New York - Give the folks at Spanish Wi-Fi startup FON credit for moxie: They've devised a business plan that takes advantage of the billions of dollars American broadband outfits have sunk into their networks. Too bad they don't seem to have checked with the broadband companies first.
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Global Wi-Fi plan gets $22m boost
February 7, 2006
Heavyweight firms such as Google and internet telephony outfit Skype are to invest in an embryonic plan to share Wi-Fi access around the world. They have joined with venture capital firms to plough $22m (£12.6m) into Fon, a three-month-old Spanish start-up.
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Wi-Fi sharing about to get investment
February 6, 2006
Aiming to increase access to the Internet, particularly for people away from home, Google, Skype and other leading Internet investors Sunday announced a $21.5 million investment in an innovative new Internet access network called Fon.
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Fon time
Feb 05, 2006
Fon has been around for awhile. Which is to say, three months. The Spain-based brainchild of Martin Varsavsky, it's a global community of people who share WiFi connections. Also a business. And it's about to get a lot bigger, because Google, Skype and Sequoia Capital have just invested $21.7 million in it. And if you're a "Linus", a "Bill", or even an "Alien", Martin explains, you get to benefit too. Or that's the idea, anyway.
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Wireless: Want to pay, or not? A plan with a choice
January 30, 2006
With the proliferation of Wi-Fi hot spots, it has become increasingly convenient to tote around a laptop, sit down at a coffee shop, airport or hotel and pay for a wireless, highspeed connection to the Internet.
Fon, a two-month old company in Madrid, now wants to create a worldwide Wi-Fi network out of all the Wi-Fi connections people have in their homes. Much as you might pay to connect to a T-Mobile hot spot at a Starbucks, with Fon you could connect to somebody's home Wi-Fi connection. -
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Hotspots of the world unite
December 01, 2005
Fon calls itself a movement. It has a manifesto and uses words like solidarity and revolution. The design of Fon's Web site is reminiscent of Soviet propaganda art. Fon comes complete with its own lingo, with participants known as Foneros, Bills, Linuses, and Aliens.
