Fon and the Mobile Internet

Posted 22 February 2007 10:15 by Kristof Michiels

Since a few days I’m a proud member of the expanding Fon-community. Our aim: nothing less than to fill the globe with tiny WiFi routers (called La Fonera) and transform it into one big free wireless internet access hotspot. Do I believe this will actually happen? Not really (would be nice though). But let’s face it, who else is going to do it? The telcos, scared of Skype and the likes, are too busy milking cash cows, and wondering why people don’t seem to like their overpriced walled garden 3G offerings? I think a more adventurous stance towards mobile internet would do them good. At the moment I consider Fon as a moral vote for true mobile internet access.

Fon is (not surprisingly) backed by Google and Skype, and seems to have lots of La Fonera’s to give away. Why they do this, you can read here. But even if you don’t seem to be entitled to a free one: just send them a nice e-mail, like I did, and without doubt you’ll get a free La Fonera. By the way, I’m a Linus. For interesting alternatives to Fon, check here and here.