Comments on: Fon: Sharing vs Leeching

By: Martin Varsavsky

Martin Varsavsky — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:25:10 +0000

Steven,

We are working to make sure that that deal only favors bills and not linus or if we bring linuses that it is reciprocal

By: hash

hash — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 23:04:52 +0000

You list the benefits to big companies and telcos. Your reasons for instigating a closed WiFi network only benefit you (Fon) and the telco. I’d rather let someone use my “unused” bandwidth, since it’s already paid for anyway, rather than just benefiting some big company somewhere.

I understand your position on this – you are a company after all. I just don’t agree that free WiFi is a bad thing.

By: Martin Varsavsky

Martin Varsavsky — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:42:17 +0000

Swimgod,

I am getting u the tshirt!

By: Dirk

Dirk — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:51:36 +0000

Hi Martin,
I can not confirm your statement about the DSL services with locked WiFi. I can buy my DSL connection with an optional WiFi router somewhere. Usually, the router costs more or less nothing. Then it is up to me how I configure the router. I can either protect the access via WEP or WPA or enable free access for everyone. That’s it.

I understand that Fon allows me to make some money by opening the WiFi access. But I live in a small village where people either don’t have Internet access at all or are very well connected through their own DSL connection. When I am travelling, in most cases I go on business trips. Then I use commercial hotspots. Yes, they are expensive. Who cares? In comparison with the alternative of using a GPRS/UMTS connection in roaming, it is definitely cheap.

By: steven

steven — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 05:43:24 +0000

Martin,

In response to “but Fon is a more organized”….How’s the Fon-Boingo deal coming along..After the PR we haven’t heard anything anymore about when it’s implemented and how it’s implemented for us Bills & Linusses?

By: swimgod

swimgod — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 02:50:21 +0000

hey martin,
i would just like to say i live at 117th on the west side on the 7th floor and with the fontenna ironicly i can see over 100 wireless access points. 1 is not protected and i can get access on, 5 of which are unprotected yet no connectivity can be made. and the rest are either WEP, WPA or WPA2..

if i look hard enough i even find another fonera point (very weak although), i think everyone has wifi and the cable companies are being for stupid to not offer free wireless modems that can speed up everyones wifi by making it so the load of one users of that cable networks can be shared across the wireless points… its kind of hard to explain but i believe its called mesh networking. i hope future fon routers are part cable modem and part hybrid mesh networking routers, so people with cable subscriptions can use each others networks and those without can buy some fon passes . i wish i was allowed in the beta to test such a product, because im very interested in the concept but i have been put on the waiting list unfortunitly…

well hope this informs you that where you live is not really that dense compared to the rest of nyc lol… p.s. still waiting for my fon shirt

By: ilan a.

ilan a. — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:58:39 +0000

Hello martin,
I am a French, New York based Fonero, Web/Mobile Entrepreneur, and I have been following your blog for a while now. I would love to meet with you while you are in New York, and share some ideas about Fon and your other ventures with you! I met Tariq, Michel De Guilhermier, and others here in New York, and love to share some views with famous web entrepreneurs who stop by here. I know quite a few of them now.
Would you be up for a quick drink?
ilan

By: Martin Varsavsky

Martin Varsavsky — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:23:15 +0000

John, I understand what you mean and Fon is considering adding points like yours to our maps if you would allow us to do so. But when you have a fonera we can know that your fonspot is on. When somebody has open wifi, that is not in a map, people can´t find you. Also people can´t know if you are a willing sharer or if you just did not know how to use a password. My recommendation to all of those who want to leave their wifi open is to adopt a common ssid something like “pls use my wifi”. Now having said all this what I see is that since most wifi is closed even in the States that when there´s no density open wifi becomes a game of luck. With Fon the whole process is more secure and more predictable.

By: Martin Varsavsky

Martin Varsavsky — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:22:43 +0000

Pierre,

First of all thanks for reporting that my Place des Vosges hotspot may not be working. I am in NYC now and will see to this asap. As far as your desire to leave your WiFi open that is perfectly understandable, but there have been many attempts to create free wifi communities in which people leave their wifi open and, unfortunately, there are too many leechers and very few donors. Fon has had the most success in the world creating donor hotspots and we would love for you to use them and we would welcome you as a fonero.

By: Martin Varsavsky

Martin Varsavsky — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:21:46 +0000

James,

My blog is not the New York Times, my blog is about my ideas and one of them is Fon.