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).
Clearly, growth is accelerating for the company, in large part thanks to distribution partnerships it has struck with telecommunication companies all over the world.
Fon also reveals that they’ve ended 2010 with revenues of €28 million, up from €5 million the year before, growth it attributes to the surge in use of WiFi devices worldwide. → Read More
Fon, the company with a fairly simple but extremely bold and tough mission (to cover the entire globe with free Wi-Fi), 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.
He estimates that the company, which is backed by the likes of Google, Index Ventures, BT, Skype and Sequoia, “grows a T-Mobile every month”, by which he means that as many Fon hotspots light up in various parts of the world as T-Mobile has activated to date. → Read More
The U.S. press hasn’t been particularly kind to the Peek email device. It isn’t that it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do – email. The issue is more that people already have their phones to do this, and those phones can also deal with images, links to websites, etc.
But the Peek may just be the perfect device for Europe, and Spain’s FON is going to take a shot at distributing it here under the brand PeekFon.
FON CEO Martin Varsavsky hinted at the deal yesterday to me backstage at the Le Web conference in Paris. Here’s why he think the Peek is perfect for Europe – avoiding roaming charges: → Read More
The Fonera name doesn’t really mean much here in the U S of A, but it’s a little more popular in Europe. (I know I occasionally ran into Fonera Wi-Fi networks in Barcelona last year, and I had never seen one in Manhattan or Queens in New York.) In any event, Fon has, indeed, released the Fonera 2n router here in the U.S.. The big thing is that it works with 802.11n. I guess that’s what the “n” is for. → Read More
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.
Now, however, the Fonera is incredibly more interesting. The device can now access web services without the aid of a computer, allowing you to download torrents and “content” as well as upload to multiple services just by plugging in a USB key. The router also can be used as a webcam or print server and can connect to a 3G or HSDPA node and share the connection over Wi-Fi. It also supports 802.11n and acts as a wireless NAS with remote browsing capabilities. In short, the router just got much smarter. → Read More
Ready for worldwide, wireless Internet access? Keep dreaming! You remember FON, right? There’s a small piece in the International Herald Tribune that tries to explain why the hippie-sounding service hasn’t taken off yet. Whereas, to be successful, FON needs millions of users spread around the world, each sharing their Internet connection wirelessly, so far only 830,000 people have signed up; only 340,000 hot spots are currently in operation. If not enough people run a hot spot, FON dies, as does the idea of free, worldwide wireless Internet access. → Read More
Fon, the Spanish startup that wants to bring free WiFi across the planet, just raised $9.5 million (six million Euros) in a C round led by Coral Capital Management. Also investing was British Telecom (which struck a distribution partnership with Fon last October), Google (a previous investor), investment bank Allen & Co., founder Martin Varsavsky (through his Jazzya holding company), and Joi Ito (through his investment vehicle, Digital Garage). That brings the total raised to more than $50 million (34 million Euros). The way Fon works is that you set up a Fon WiFi router at your house or business and you can either give WiFi access away for free to other Foneros in exchange for free access when you are roaming about, or you can charge people for access and get 50 percent of any resulting fees. Fon says it has 170,000 active routers worldwide, with the leading countries being the UK, Japan, France, Germany, and the U.S. (in that order). In the UK alone, there are more than 70,000 BTFon members. By linking up with the telecom companies (Fon also has a partnership with Neuf in France), Fon gives them a way to offer their customers roaming broadband service. Fon is preparing to launch in Russia with a telco there called Sistema, whose largest shareholder is Coral. Says Varsavsky: As far as our strategy, more and more we are collaborating with large telcos, which pundits wrongly thought were going to be our enemies. And that is because we have proven that a Fonero is a more loyal bandwidth customer as he gets to roam for free. He plans to use the new cash to launch Fon in Russia this June, and to put out a new version of the Fonera router (also in June). The Fonera 2.0 router will come with a USB port so that members can connect it to a hard drive and upload photos and videos to the Web, download movies, or otherwise manage their media on online services. And in December, Fon will release an 802.11n WiFi router. (Varsavsky also recently launched Twixtr, a side project that is like Twitter with photos). CrunchBase Information Fon Martin Varsavsky Joi Ito Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
FON (better known for building a WiFi community) launched Twitxr today through their FON Labs group. Basically, it’s Twitter but allows picture uploads when sending a message (which makes it particularly useful for camera phones). FON founder Martin Varsavsky announced the product on his blog. So, yeah, basically it’s a photoblog. You can easily set it up to automatically send your messages to Twitter and Facebook too, though, which is useful. My Twitxr account is here. Here’s an example of a message that was copied over to Twitter. Another feature I like is the fact that you tell it where you are, so location information is included. Varsavsky says it’s specially designed for the iPhone, and they’ve created software that makes uploading text and a photo from the iPhone very easy. As a third party application, though, it isn’t officially available for the iPhone. You have to “jailbreak” the phone before you can install their application. It looks like you can’t simply grab a photo that you’ve taken normally from the iPhone, either. You have to initiate the photo through the Twitxr application. The application automatically adds location information to your photos and updates. Twitxr is the upteenth variation of Twitter to appear (see Jaiku (acquired by Google), Pownce, etc. One clone has even gone to the deadpool. This isn’t even the first Twitter-variation to include photos – see Zannel . This is something Dave Winer has been working on with his FlickrtoTwitter project as well – which sends links of your new Flickr photos to your Twitter account. And photoblogging is nothing new. So as pretty as Twitxr is, perhaps FON should stick to wifi. Update: I’m actually going to re-jailbreak my iphone to test the software – the fact that uploading is so easy and it adds location information is worth noting. If it works really well, this could actually be a reason for me to stop posting directly to Twitter. CrunchBase Information Twitter Fon Twitxr Martin Varsavsky Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
“Give to receive” is the mantra of a new initiative by Spanish startup Fon to bring “free” Wi-Fi to the residents of San Francisco’s Castro District. The plan is the same one tried by Fon elsewhere: the company gives people Wi-Fi routers to install in their homes with the understanding that they will use them to share some of their internet connection with other Fon users (so-called “Foneros”). The routers emit two types of signals: one for private usage and the other for secure access by fellow Foneros. Share some of your own internet connection and your neighbors will share back, effectively expanding the geographic area of the internet access you pay for. The scheme has recruited over 635,000 users in Europe, Asia and America despite the bans many ISPs place on sharing internet connections. Fon is conducting this San Francisco effort with the support of the San Francisco Bay Guardian and will make money off the program after they stop giving the Wi-Fi routers away for free. If you do end up paying for a Fon router, you’ll have the chance to recoup your money (and maybe make a profit) through the proceeds of FON Access pass sales. Fon joins Meraki in the attempt to bring widespread Wi-Fi to San Francisco after Google and Earthlink failed to do so themselves. Meraki’s strategy differs from Fon’s in many ways, particularly in its ad-based monetization strategy. CrunchBase Information Fon Meraki Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Did anyone else get a free FON router a few months back? I did and it’s a piece of turd. Mine was constantly cutting in and out and the router started warping from the heat. I think it’s a dumb idea to share my Wi-Fi, but I’ll probably sing a different tune the next time I’m traveling and need a hotspot to mooch off of. Today FON have teamed up with British Telecom to cover all the UK with BT FON hotspots and now those 3 million broadband customers under BT’s belt have gained free Wi-Fi across the entire isle, which has essentially become the largest Wi-Fi community in the world. I just wish this deal had gone through while I was there. Oh well. → Read More
On closer inspection, today’s deal between Fon and British Telecom sounds like it could be a costly one for Fon and its investors. GigaOm is suggesting that Fon may have agreed to pay $8 to $10 to BT for every one of its broadband customers who agrees to sign up and activate the Fon service. If that’s true, with three million broadband subs at BT, that represents a potential liability of as much as $30 million. (Update: Just got off the phone with Fon USA CEO Joanna Rees, who says she has been closely involved with the BT deal. She categorically denies that Fon is paying BT for subscribers: “I have never heard that,” she says). Buying customers is never a good thing if you can avoid it. Fon might need to do another round of fund-raising to pay for this deal. The $35 million it’s raised so far from Google, Skype, Index Ventures, and Sequoia, among others, might not be enough, especially if it cuts more sweetheart deals with other telcos around the world. But here’s the really screwy part: BT is also now an investor in Fon, according to founder Martin Varsavky. So at the same time that it is presumably putting money into Fon with one hand, BT is about to potentially extract millions of dollars out of Fon with the other. I say presumably because it is possible that BT did not even put any cash into Fon for its stake in the first place (terms were not disclosed). Often in these deals, as the price of admission, the telco demands not only cash from the startup but an equity stake as well. In the telecom world, some things are never free. (Update: Rees says BT did invest cash. So maybe the deal isn’t so screwy, after all.) → Read More
Spanish WiFi startup Fon is invading England. In its quest to turn everyone’s home and business WiFi router into a worldwide network of shareable hotspots, Fon just inked a long-rumored deal with British Telecom. BT’s three million broadband customers in the UK can now opt to join the Fon network, which gives them access to 190,000 WiFi hotspots around the world. BT joins Time Warner Cable in the U.S., and French broadband provider Neuf in endorsing Fon’s WiFi-sharing across their customers. Most ISP service agreements still ban customers from reselling or sharing their broadband connection. But Fon is convincing some ISPs that it might actually be a selling point to be able to tell customers that included in their home broadband bill is access to free WiFi when they travel across town or across the world. Fon claims its network of WiFi hotspots is already the largest in the world. Investors in Fon include Google, Sequoia Capital, and Index Ventures, and now BT as well. → Read More
This is simple really: FON lets you share your wireless Internet connection with FON community members (called Foneros) and in return you get to hop on any other member’s wireless connection free of charge, anywhere in the world. The La Fonera is the specially designed $39.95 Wi-Fi access point that lets you securely share your wireless connection. The $19.95 Lafontenna is a directional antenna that extends your FON Wi-Fi coverage area up to five times farther than the Fonera’s standard range. Any questions? → Read More
Rumor becomes reality. Straight outta Madrid, Spain comes word that Time Warner Cable has inked a deal with Wi-Fi community FON allowing TWC subscribers to become FON community members and create FON access points with their home or business broadband connection. If you’re not familiar with FON, the idea is that you share your Wi-Fi with other community members and in return you can use theirs when you’re away from home. You have to plunk down $39.95 for a La Fonera router, but joining the Foneros (community members) lets you connect to any member’s Wi-Fi hotspot for free around the globe, wherever there’s a participating ISP. The La Fonera router uses two separate Wi-Fi channels: one for the owner, one for Foneros. Public and anonymous users cannot access the encrypted Fonero network. Want to find out where you can connect if you become a Fonero? Check out Fon Maps, a Google-Maps mash-up that lets you pinpoint access points, as in the image above. Time Warner customers get Wi-Fi hotspots [Yahoo! News] → Read More
