(FON Wireless Ltd., Madrid, Spain, www.fon.com) A company founded in 2005 by Martin Varsavsky that sponsors a global Wi-Fi community. FON members, called "Foneros," install a special router that lets them securely share their Wi-Fi networks with other Foneros who are in the vicinity. In turn, they have free access to any other "FON Spot" (FON hotspot) in the world. FON's revenue comes from non-members who pay for access, and Foneros can share in that revenue when paying users log in through their hotspots. By the summer of 2008, there were approximately 800,000 Foneros worldwide with 340,000 active hotspots.
Hookup is Via La Fonera Router
Joining the FON community is accomplished by purchasing a low-cost router called "La Fonera," which hooks up to the user's network. The Fonera router provides two secure wireless signals, one for the owner and the other for the public. See Wi-Fi.
|
