Thought and Freedom

Fon, an internet hotspot company, is giving away free wireless routers to new customers. This is perhaps one of the best deals I have ever seen on the internet.

Fon has an interesting business plan that I wish I had thought of. They eliminated much of the infrastructure cost by getting home users and businesses to provide their internet connection as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

In return for the use of part of the person’s internet connection, Fon gives the user unlimited free access to all other access points around the world. On their website, they provide a map containing wireless hotspots all around the world. It appears that Fon is big in Europe, but just starting to develop in America.

Fon charges $3 a day for other non-Fon users to utilize any and all Fon hotspots for a day. Fon offers businesses an opportunity in this area as well. Fon will give half of the profits generated from a business’s hotspot to the business if they subcribe for the free business grade service.

If you are worried about security, rest assured that the router has two “channels,” one for your own local network, and the other channel for general plone users.

For those interested in receiving the free wireless router, the company is currently celebrating their first birthday by giving away free wireless routers (normally cost about $30). They charge no shipping and no tax. I just ordered mine today. You can order yours by going to http://www.fon.com/1yearold/.

If you would like to find out more information about the deal, you can also visit Jonathan Zittrain’s blog entry on Fon. He explains his setup of his new router and expresses some concerns and opinions about Fon.

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