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TWFON in the news
Selected articles about FON from the press and Internet
For Press inquiries, contact: press@fon.com
FON launches Affiliate Partner Marketing Program on Commission Junction
November 9th, 2007,
FON is eager to grow its U.S. membership through its newly launched Affiliate Partner Marketing Program offered through Commission Junction, a ValueClick company based in Santa Barbara, California. The program pays its affiliates a referral commission of 15% to 18% for each sale of FON’s WiFi Router - the device needed to securely share and get free access in the FON Community.
Geneva, a New Home for Foneros
October 31st, 2007,
The City of Geneva and FON have officially announced a joint project to provide WiFi access to the city’s residents and visitors. Starting next week, 500 La Fonera WiFi Routers will be distributed to residents who have a broadband connection at home and have signed up for the project at: http://geneve-fon.org
BT and FON launch the world’s largest WiFi Community
October 4th, 2007
BT and FON today promised to transform the UK’s market for wireless broadband by launching BT FON, the world’s largest WiFi community. BT’s more than 3M consumer Total Broadband customers will be invited to join the global community of people sharing their broadband.
FON and NEUF CEGETEL begin rollout of new joint service
July 20th, 2007
FON, the world’s largest WiFi community, and Neuf Cegetel, France’s leading alternative operator, have entered the final technical phase before the launch of the new Neuf WiFi FON service. The partnership will enable all Neuf subscribers who own a WiFi Neuf Box to join the FON Community and start sharing some of their Internet connection with the WiFi Community.
FON Teams up with Time Warner Cable
23 April 2007,
… TWC understands how much leeching goes on, and that FON, by allowing sharing among known Community members, is both a much safer practice and one that encourages people to get or keep a broadband connection at home. “The nature of a customer’s WiFi needs is also changing,” says Joanna Rees, chief executive of FON USA, “People used to just need Internet access at home, now they need it everywhere. It’s also not just about access for your PC or laptop, but also for your VoIP phone, MP3 player or game console that are used inside and outside of the home.” All-in-all, the partnership is great news for TWC subscribers and Foneros in general! More details in the Associated Press article by Jessica Mitz.
Fon Offers Own /€5 Router
21 September 2006,
The folks at Fon add prefab La Fonera to their line-up: The company is selling a concept, not hardware, but hardware helps enable the concept. Fon wants millions of people to become Foneros, sticking a Fon-enabled Wi-Fi gateway on their separately purchased DSL or other Internet pipe, and then allow other Foneros and non-Foneros access.
Open source your WiFi (FON)
23 August 2006,
I just came across FON today, and think it's one of the coolest ideas I've seen in some time. Basically, FON enables your WiFi router/access point to securely share your connection with other FON users. They share, you share. This means that you give up a little bandwidth on your box, but gain a world (literally) of free access points.
FON's $5 Social Router
28 June 2006,
FON, the company that plans to turn Wi-Fi bandwidth-sharing into an urban, populist phenomenon, said Monday it will stimulate the growth of its movement by marketing a $5 router and advocating social networking among its users. Madrid-based FON, which launched in February with a $21.7-million investment by Google, Skype, Index Ventures, and Sequoia Capital, introduced its $5 “social router” devices from Linksys and Buffalo with street prices of about $60 (see Google, Skype Fund FON's Wi-Fi).
Accton to cooperate with FON to develop WiFi devices
02 June 2006,
Taiwan-based network-equipment maker Accton Technology will announce on June 7 plans to cooperate with European-based FON to develop related WiFi devices, according to a June 1 filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE). The filing came after a Chinese-language United Evening News report stated that Accton announced that it signed an agreement with FON for the production of WiFi base stations and related products. Accton denied it had made such an announcement, according to the filing.
Buenos Aires with 100,000 Foneros
15 May 2006,
Fon receives some southern hemisphere ink at the opening of the Digital Cities Forum in Buenos Aires, Argentina: While there's no deal in place nor an exact count, there's some interest in whether a proposal could provide free broadband wireless across this large South American city. Fon founder Martin Varsavsky is quoted indirectly via Alejandro Piscitelli, the head of Argentinian education portal Educ.ar as suggesting 50,000 to 100,000 Fon hotspots or Foneros might do the trick. Of course, as the article notes, it's not an easy project at that scale. Piscitelli is also involved with the MIT project for affordable developing world laptops for children.
WFON goes for "WiFi nation" -- a start-up to watch
11 April 2006,
This company is sure to generate some buzz. A number of big-name technology investors -- including Skype and Google, have put $21 million into a company called FON that wants to build a global WiFi community allowing members to share WiFi hotspots so they can access the Internet while traveling. We've prepared a story for the Mercury News tomorrow, and the gist of it follows below. But see the blog post of the company's founder here to get it straight from horse's mouth.
FON Wi-Fi Service to Offer Customized Routers
27 March 2006,
DailyTech earlier reported that the FON Wi-Fi service is now shipping FON ready routers to users that are interested in trying to build a global Wi-Fi community that allows members to share hotspots. In his official blog, FON CEO Martin Varsavsky explains that his company is designing and selling its own routers for European and North American consumers. In reality, a simple firmware download is all that is needed to make a router FON compatible. To get some more details about FON, please head to our previously published article about the service.
A Global FON for All?
19 March 2006,
Spanish company FON is hoping its shared Wi-Fi network will be an international hit -- and a serious threat to mobile telecoms. Here comes the FON movimiento. 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.
The Hacker Behind FON
13 March 2006,
The brains behind the firmware that will power FON belong to Sebastian Gottschall, a 27-year-old Dresden resident with teased red hair who goes by the name Brainslayer. FON allows users of any Wi-Fi device to share wireless connections offered by fellow Foneros. For FON CEO Martin Varsavsky, hiring Brainslayer to do development work was a natural.
The Wi-Fi Revolution
03 March 2006,
FON Technology wants to build a global Wi-Fi community that allows members to share Wi-Fi hotspots. The company is one step closer because it is now shipping "FON Ready Routers," which have been configured with the FON software. For users not interested in purchasing a new router, a simple firmware download will make the router FON compatible. If anything keeps executives of old-line phone companies up at night, it's probably telecommunications upstarts like FON.
FON Wi-Fi Service Now Shipping FON Ready Routers
20 February 2006,
FON Technology wants to build a global Wi-Fi community that allows members to share Wi-Fi hotspots. The company is one step closer because it is now shipping "FON Ready Routers," which have been configured with the FON software. For users not interested in purchasing a new router, a simple firmware download will make the router FON compatible.
FON: Wi-Fi for Everyone
14 February 2006,
FON, the new service that creates essentially an ad hoc global Wi-Fi access network, presents a business plan that challenges traditional network access providers by using broadband access to support what amounts to Wi-Fi access for everyone. How broadband access providers respond to this challenge – whether they put up roadblocks or join the party – could be the next huge issue in multimedia communication and the net neutrality issue.
What FON Could Become
10 February 2006,
That a Spanish business initiative has grabbed the attention of techie heavy-weights Google, eBay and Skype enough for them to contribute funding is news in and of itself. It is refreshing to hear in a Spain where so many entrepreneurs spend more time looking for government favors than trying to innovate. Moreover, it puts the lie to all the silliness circulating among those who want to regulate the telecommunications market even more due to their static vision of the economy, ignoring the enormous capacity for entrepreneurial innovation and creativity.
Global wi-fi plan gets $22m boost
07 February 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 startup. Fon, which has already attracted 3,000 subscribers, aims to build a network of broadband users to share connections wirelessly when away from home. A recent survey showed that few laptop owners use wi-fi outside their homes. According to a survey by electronics firm Toshiba, about 20% of laptop owners did not know how to use wireless functions, while 25% thought wireless existing "hotspots" were too expensive.
Fun with Fon, the "Skype-like" broadband service
07 February 2006,
The likes of Google, Skype and similar companies are investing US.5 million in Fon, a new Internet access technology and system based on Wi-Fi. It is being called “the equivalent of Skype in broadband connectivity”. Fon is the brainchild of Martin Varsavsky, (despite the name, he is Argentinian by birth) and the aim is to build-out a million Wi-Fi hotspots in the next four years. It sounds like a tall order but Mr. Varasavsky has considerable experience and cachet in the telecoms sector having founded both Jazztel, the big Spanish ISP, and the country's second-largest Internet portal, Ya.com.
Wi-Fi sharing about to get investment
06 February 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. The company, founded by Spanish entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky, aims to build a network of WiFi hotspots far larger than those from companies like T-Mobile and Swisscom, none of which have more than 30,000 hotspots worldwide.
Hotspots plan pulls in Google
06 February 2006,
Google and eBay's Skype are investing in a start-up that plans to help hotspot owners charge for Wi-Fi access, a plan that may face strong opposition from Internet service providers. The Internet heavyweights were joined by Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital in making a $22 million investment in FON, the Spanish start-up. FON's idea, floated just three months ago in a Web posting by founder Martin Varsavsky, is to sign up people who have Wi-Fi hotspots in one of two ways."Linus" members, named after Linus Torvalds, who created the freely distributed Linux software, will share their hotspot with other Linus members for free.
Fon Docks with Skype Money
06 February 2006,
Fon promises "WiFi Internet Access Everywhere -- FON: share a little, benefit a lot!" Skype Investors apparently like the look of it. I listened to the Fon pitch at emerging telephony. It was a stimulating pitch. Read the article for more details!
WFON goes for "WiFi nation" -- a start-up to watch
05 February 2006,
This company is sure to generate some buzz. A number of big-name technology investors -- including Skype and Google, have put $21 million into a company called FON that wants to build a global WiFi community allowing members to share WiFi hotspots so they can access the Internet while traveling. We've prepared a story for the Mercury News tomorrow, and the gist of it follows below. But see the blog post of the company's founder here to get it straight from horse's mouth.
Wireless: Want to pay, or not? A plan with a choice
31 January 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, high-speed 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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