fon

In the Castro, Fon Chers and Chers alike

Photos by Randal Alan Smith · 02/13/08 04:00PM

"The headline for tonight is 'Package!'" declared our photog, Randal Alan Smith. From the pic above, I have to agree. Last night, Fon held a party at Castro dive bar Moby Dick to promote Share the Castro, an effort to unwire the gayborhood. Gender disillusionist Cher-ish strutted across the room in heels that placed everyone's eyes at fake-boob level, and smacked Fon stickers on the crowd. Matador Joselito showed off the goods (Fon's and his own) by talking free wireless routers to the bar crowd.

Steve Jobs "very interested" in Wi-Fi sharing

Tim Faulkner · 10/26/07 03:45PM

Martin Varsavsky, founder of the Spanish Wi-Fi sharing company Fon, has made a video of his impressions of meeting with Apple CEO Steve Jobs. But who cares? You've heard it all before. The Apple campus is at One Infinite Loop. The decor is monochromatic. Jobs asks lots of questions, is "not the nicest guy," and wants you to know how wonderful Apple products are. What is interesting, however, is how this hapless wantrepreneur even got a meeting with Jobs in the first place.

Jordan Golson · 10/04/07 05:53PM

BT and Fon have partnered to create what they claim is the largest Wi-Fi "community" in the world. "Community," in this case, meaning that participating BT broadband customers will share their home wireless networks with other members and in return will get unlimited access to Fon's almost 200,000 hotspots. Could this be the solution to municipal Wi-Fi? [Connected Internet]

Sonic.net tries mob rule for municipal Wi-Fi

Mary Jane Irwin · 09/04/07 04:04PM

With San Francisco's municipal Wi-Fi program stuck in purgatory thanks to EarthLink's budget concerns, Internet service provider Sonic.net aims to be the city's wireless savior. Not that legions of dirty hippy leechers deserve free Wi-Fi. Nonetheless, Sonic says customers can obtain a subsidized wireless mesh router and hook it up to a DSL line. Why? To create a network of wireless access points. Web surfers browsing from the wireless network will be served Google ads to subsidize their surfing. Sonic will implement a profit-sharing plan that will credit their customers' accounts. Sounds like both a cheap attempt to turn EarthLink's woes into free PR, and a blatant ripoff of Fon's business model. More power to Sonic. A plan so crass can't help but work.