FON
Encyclopedia
Fon is a company that operates a system of dual access wireless network
s. Fon is the largest Wi-Fi network in the world, with over 4 million hotspots.
Members are called Foneros and they agree to share a bit of their Wi-Fi signal, so that they can connect to other Foneros’ hotspots.
Consumers who do not share their internet connection can buy Wi-Fi access passes or credit from Fon. Fon members whose hotspots are used to access Wi-Fi by a paying customer can receive part of the revenue.
. It was created in Madrid
, Spain, by Martín Varsavsky
where it headquarters most of its operations. Fon also has subsidiaries and branch offices in the USA, UK, Brazil
, France
, Germany
, Italy
and Japan
. Its investors include Atomico
Ventures, Google
, Index Ventures
, Sequoia Capital
and Skype
.
, founder of the Linux project): has a Fonera router, shares Wi-Fi and gets free roaming at others’ Fon Spots.
Bill (named for Bill Gates
): has a Fonera router, shares Wi-Fi, gets free roaming at any Fon Spot, and can get 50% off the net revenues when a visitor purchases a Fon pass at their Fon Spot (This feature is not currently available in Japan, Russia or the United Kingdom).
Alien: does not have a Fonera router and is not sharing broadband with the rest of the Fon community. Aliens have an active account with Fon, receive community information and access Wi-Fi at Fon Spots by purchasing passes.
at home or other location. This kind of user may purchase daily access passes to use the Fon network.
Access passes can be bought directly from the access point's portal page; it is also possible to register with Fon from that page. Passes can also be pre-purchased and used at a later date. In Spain, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Portugal, Holland, Belgium and the United States it is also possible to buy passes by sending a text message from a mobile phone.
Users can also get 10 minutes of free Wi-Fi to any Fon Spot by clicking on a Fon promotional video. This is limited to one free 10 minute access per day, per user and device. Users can not disable the free 10 minute access period, for which they are paid $0.08 or 0.05€.
routers. This is custom firmware based on OpenWrt
.
Fon started using the OpenWRT base as firmware base for Fon branded routers. The firmware has been customised specifically for use in the Fon Community, allowing consumers to share their broadband connection and to connect to other Fon Spots around the world.
Fon developed a number of their own products:
Fon firmware creates two different Wi-Fi signals: one private and one public.
(formerly known as British Telecom) is the first and largest Fon collaboration. On October 4, 2007, Fon and BT announced that they had jointly created the BT Fon Community by flashing Fon's software on all BT Total Broadband Wi-Fi routers in the UK. This allows BT Total Broadband customers to participate in the FON community without buying a Fonera.
is the leading cable provider in Portugal. ZON partnered with Fon in 2008 to create ZON@FON, the largest Wi-Fi network in Portugal. Fon technology is built into ZON routers so its subscribers become part of the Fon community automatically.
.
is Fon’s first collaboration with a mobile line operator wanting to offload data traffic to Wi-Fi. Since 2010, SoftBank bundles a Fonera with every iPhone
they sell.
, Belgium’s biggest telecommunications company, joined the Fon network in November 2011. Belgacom added Fon’s WiFi-sharing technology to its BBox2 modem earlier in 2011, making it possible to broadcast two WiFi signals from a broadband internet source. One signal is encrypted and private. The other signal is public but only accessible via password.
Wireless network
Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment...
s. Fon is the largest Wi-Fi network in the world, with over 4 million hotspots.
Members are called Foneros and they agree to share a bit of their Wi-Fi signal, so that they can connect to other Foneros’ hotspots.
Consumers who do not share their internet connection can buy Wi-Fi access passes or credit from Fon. Fon members whose hotspots are used to access Wi-Fi by a paying customer can receive part of the revenue.
Company
Fon Wireless Ltd. is a for-profit company incorporated and registered in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was created in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain, by Martín Varsavsky
Martín Varsavsky
Martín Varsavsky is an Argentine entrepreneur based in Spain.Born to Carlos Varsavsky and Silvia Waisman-Diamond, Varsavsky attended primary school at the New Model School and the Colegio Nicolás Avellaneda high school....
where it headquarters most of its operations. Fon also has subsidiaries and branch offices in the USA, UK, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Its investors include Atomico
Atomico
Atomico is an international technology venture capital firm headquarted in London, with offices in Shanghai and São Paulo.The company focuses on new consumer technologies that have the potential to transform markets, and places an emphasis on strong management teams.Its co-founder and CEO is Niklas...
Ventures, Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Index Ventures
Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a venture capital investment firm based in Geneva, Switzerland, with offices in London, Jersey, and starting in 2011, Silcon Valley. The firm was founded in 1996 by Neil Rimer and Giuseppe Zocco. Since its inception, the firm has raised four main venture funds and a growth...
, Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...
and Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
.
Fon membership
To become a Fon member (Fonero) and join the Fon community, you must own a Fonera router or a router with the Fon software built in. This allows you to share a little of your Wi-Fi at home, and in exchange get the right to use other members’ Fon Spots.Types of Fon membership
Linus (named for Linus TorvaldsLinus Torvalds
Linus Benedict Torvalds is a Finnish software engineer and hacker, best known for having initiated the development of the open source Linux kernel. He later became the chief architect of the Linux kernel, and now acts as the project's coordinator...
, founder of the Linux project): has a Fonera router, shares Wi-Fi and gets free roaming at others’ Fon Spots.
Bill (named for Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
): has a Fonera router, shares Wi-Fi, gets free roaming at any Fon Spot, and can get 50% off the net revenues when a visitor purchases a Fon pass at their Fon Spot (This feature is not currently available in Japan, Russia or the United Kingdom).
Alien: does not have a Fonera router and is not sharing broadband with the rest of the Fon community. Aliens have an active account with Fon, receive community information and access Wi-Fi at Fon Spots by purchasing passes.
Paid access
A non-member is anyone who connects to a Fon Spot but does not share their Internet accessInternet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
at home or other location. This kind of user may purchase daily access passes to use the Fon network.
Access passes can be bought directly from the access point's portal page; it is also possible to register with Fon from that page. Passes can also be pre-purchased and used at a later date. In Spain, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Portugal, Holland, Belgium and the United States it is also possible to buy passes by sending a text message from a mobile phone.
Users can also get 10 minutes of free Wi-Fi to any Fon Spot by clicking on a Fon promotional video. This is limited to one free 10 minute access per day, per user and device. Users can not disable the free 10 minute access period, for which they are paid $0.08 or 0.05€.
Hardware and firmware
Originally Fon began with a software download for compatible routers, in particular, LinksysLinksys
Linksys by Cisco, commonly known as Linksys, is a brand of home and small office networking products now produced by Cisco Systems, though once a separate company founded in 1995 before being acquired by Cisco in 2003...
routers. This is custom firmware based on OpenWrt
OpenWrt
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution primarily targeted at routing on embedded devices. It comprises a set of about 2000 software packages, installed and uninstalled via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can be configured using the command-line interface of BusyBox ash, or the web interface...
.
Fon started using the OpenWRT base as firmware base for Fon branded routers. The firmware has been customised specifically for use in the Fon Community, allowing consumers to share their broadband connection and to connect to other Fon Spots around the world.
Fon developed a number of their own products:
- Fonera SIMPL Wireless Router
- Fonera 2.0n Smart WiFi Router
- Fonera 2.0g Smart WiFi Router
- Fonera+ Wireless Router
- Fonera Wireless Router
- Fontenna WiFi Antenna
Fon firmware creates two different Wi-Fi signals: one private and one public.
- Private (‘myplace’) : encrypted only for the owner’s private use. Only the Fon Spot owner can access the internal network, computers and files.
- Public (‘FON_FREE_INTERNET’): username and password protected. Only registered Fon users can access the Fon Wi-Fi community network, but cannot access the consumer’s private network.
BT Fon Community
BT GroupBT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
(formerly known as British Telecom) is the first and largest Fon collaboration. On October 4, 2007, Fon and BT announced that they had jointly created the BT Fon Community by flashing Fon's software on all BT Total Broadband Wi-Fi routers in the UK. This allows BT Total Broadband customers to participate in the FON community without buying a Fonera.
SFR
Fon and SFR (Neuf Cegetel) launched Fon on Wi-Fi routers throughout France. SFR subscribers can opt into Fon to share and receive Wi-Fi services.ZON@FON
ZONZon
Żoń is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Margonin, within Chodzież County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Margonin, south-east of Chodzież, and north of the regional capital Poznań....
is the leading cable provider in Portugal. ZON partnered with Fon in 2008 to create ZON@FON, the largest Wi-Fi network in Portugal. Fon technology is built into ZON routers so its subscribers become part of the Fon community automatically.
MTS
Fon jointly developed a Wi-Fi Internet access network in Russia with MTS (then Comstar) in 2008. There are now more than 50.000 access points in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
SoftBank
SoftBankSoftBank
is a Japanese telecommunications and internet corporation, with operations in broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-Commerce, Internet, broadmedia, technology services, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses....
is Fon’s first collaboration with a mobile line operator wanting to offload data traffic to Wi-Fi. Since 2010, SoftBank bundles a Fonera with every iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
they sell.
Belgacom
BelgacomBelgacom
The Belgacom Group is the largest telecommunications company in Belgium, headquartered in Brussels. Belgacom Group is primarily state owned, with the Belgian state holding 53.3% + 1 share...
, Belgium’s biggest telecommunications company, joined the Fon network in November 2011. Belgacom added Fon’s WiFi-sharing technology to its BBox2 modem earlier in 2011, making it possible to broadcast two WiFi signals from a broadband internet source. One signal is encrypted and private. The other signal is public but only accessible via password.