2006 13
Tokyo
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in Fon with No Comments
During my first day in Tokyo, while I was preparing for the Japanese FON launch, I went to check out routers in the morning and found out that in Japan WiFi routers are coming Nintendo DS and PSP ready. This is how we want the routers that we will manufacture at FON to come as.
In the afternoon I just walked, and walked, and walked, and people watched. Here are some pictures.
2006 13
RedBerry, FON and China
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in Fon with No Comments
After launching FON in Japan with tremendous press coverage, together with Joichi Ito, and preparing the Korean launch with the very able Korean entrepreneur and founder of Inet an ISP, Jin Ho Hur, I arrived in Beijing last night and read this story.
Mmmm, my dear BlackBerry is now the RedBerry?
As I read it I wonder if by presenting FON in China to key local players, as I have been doing in Korea and Japan our orange wifi revolution, we won´t be turrned into a local red version instead. I hesitate, but decide to go ahead and present FON in China. FON always has a risk of being copied, but with the right partners here we hope the FON that makes it is the original FON. The promise of FON, share excess bandwidth at home and enjoy free WiFi anywhere in the world, would be broken if we are copied by a local player. A local Chinese company could say share WiFi in Beijing and get WiFi anywhere else in Beijing or even in China, but not anywhere in the world. And we are now in 144 countries and have over 30,000 registered foneros (people who using our software turn their WiFi routers into hotspots). In any case, FON plans to make generous deals with local partners to keep most of the value in China and make it worthwhile to work with us.
A last comment. Last night when I landed, for the equivalent of 30 euros, I bought a SIM card with enough charge to make many local calls. I hate to be ripped off by Vodafone, who claims that its Passport rate is now a “small charge”, but you pay an euro per call extra sent or received. Now what surprised me of this process is how fast it was and how anonymous it was. I gave money, they gave me a SIM card, they have no clue of who I am. In Japan I tried to do the same thing and they would not sell me the card because I was not Japanese, nor a registered alien.
2006 12
Joichi Ito and the Japan Launch
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Our Japanese press conference was extremely well attended. This is some of the news coverage we got in Japan and a picture of the room in which we presented.
Joichi was brilliant. Even though I can´t understand Japanese, I can see people´s eyes shine with interest in any language and Joichi is that kind of guy, when he talks people listen. It was also very nice of Joichi from him to take a break from his 250 guild in World of Warcraft to help me launch Fon!
Thank you Joichi. Thank you Fumi. Thank you Hector .
IT pro (Nikkei Computer)
IT pro (Nikkei Communication)
Tech-on (Nikkei Electronics)
2006 11
What FON needs in Japan
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I am in Tokyo meeting with potential partners including large web sites, ISPs and retailiers. We are also interviewing potential employees to work with us. Joichi Ito, Japan´s lead fonero is doing a great job introducing me to key players.
If you are Japanese and are interested in working for FON please write to me at martin@fon.com
2006 11
How should FON enter the Japanese Market?
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Yesterday I spent my first day working on the launch of FON in Japan. I met many prominent business leaders. I asked many questions and I must say I am confused. FON´s formula of hiring amazing local teams and compensating them with salary and a good stock option package may not work in Japan. Google and Yahoo are a good example of this. Google entered Japan with the salary and stock option formula, and so far it has not succeeded. Yahoo, instead, chose to team up with a local partner. And it is HUGE. There´s Yahoo everywhere in Japan.
What should FON do? Should we follow the Google model or the Yahoo model? At the same time Japan is perfect for FON. Tremendous bandwidth penetration, no large organized WiFi efforts, enormous usage of WiFi enable devices including laptops, pdas, PSPs, Nintendo DS, and now WiFi enabled digital photography.
2006 11
Immigrant Parties: New American Party, New European Party
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After putting together the Conference on Terrorism on March 11th 2005 attended by Kofi Annan and 32 heads of State my foundation worked on the idea of starting a political party. Now I know it´s crazy for a foundation to start a political party, but that´s what we researched.
My basic idea here was that there are huge unrepresented masses of people in the United States and Europe -immigrant, legal and ilegal- and having been one myself, both in America and in Europe, I felt that it was about time that somebody started a political party that represented them. I believe this should be done regardless of the fact that so many of them can´t yet vote. Recently looking at the massive immigrant demonstrations taking place in the States, it is clear to me that a “political entrepreneur” should occupy this political niche. What would the Immigrant political parties fight for? First of all, for the rights of immigrants to gain citizenship and vote. Other than that, for all the key issues that concern immigrants regarding housing, health, education, cultural issues.
Once I googled immigrant party and google replied “do you mean anti immigrant party?”. If the forces against immigrants are so well organized it is time that the forces for the fair incorporation of immigrants to society organize. For Europe I chose the domain www.neweuropeanparty.org and registered it. Interestingly, while there´s a European Parliament there are no European Political parties. A party linking immigrants to Europe to the Europeans who feel that Europe deserves to succeed as a united entity, could become the largest political party of the European Union.
2006 10
Japan: Low Security: I love it!
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I am in Japan. Japan is one of the most fair countries I know. By fair I mean the country with the most educated population and with the best income distribution. What happens when education is combined with fairness? Basically, a world of low security, as very few people are uneducated or needy enough to steal or vandalize. For example, I just arrived at the offices of a mid size technology corporation in Tokyo 15 minutes before the appointment time. Much to my surprise, the entrance to the building was open even though the doorman was not there yet. The elevator was open as well and took us to the right floor where our meeting was. When we arrived, the office was open and we went into the first conference room we found, where they had WiFi and I started this post while I waited.
While to many people this would be considered a security breach, my take of this incident is different. I see a world of low security combined with very low crime as a success of civilization. Obviously, this company -whose name I won´t disclose…to keep the secure…-believes that high security is more an inconvenience than a necessity. I wish we could live like that in other countries!
2006 8
Microsoft
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FON, my company, is building the largest wifi hotspot network in the world. But, as opposed to T-Mobile or others, FON relies on private users to download our software into their routers or buy our plug and play routers with our formula of “share some bandwidth at home and roam the world for free” (the Linus model), or “share some bandwidth at home and get paid for it” (the Bill model).
When I thought of the bills and the linuses I did not have in mind that one day I would meet the real BILLS. Well, yesterday I did. I was at the Microsoft HQ presenting FON to a group of top managers at the company and, frankly, I was impressed. Very impressed. As I previously said, I believe that it is not only for sharing wifi that the world needs Bills and Linuses. It is my belief that the two models, the socialist and the capitalist are needed to change the world. Capitalism alone leads to a brutal and unstable society. Socialism alone leads to stagnation.
2006 6
Fon and Universities
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Most universities in developed countries have wifi, but few have wifi that is open to all. Fon wants to change this. Fon has a new proposal for universities and is this one: we will give universities as many routers as they need to provide good coverage on campus and will administer over the web free user to all university students and professors. Moreover, Fon will provide free global wifi roaming to these students and professors.
In exchange universities will agree that all of those who are not students or professors, but detect the Fon signal, will pay 2 dollars or euros per 24 hours of usage. In this way, wifi access that is not free -but very affordable- is provided to anyone who is nearby or a guest at the university and is not a fonero.
2006 3
Arab Europeans, Arab Americans
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Living in Europe we frequently read about the challenge of integrating Arab immigrants. In Europe we think of Arab Europeans as a low income group. Personally I don´t know if this perception is true but I to learned today from my friend Kaleil Isaza who started JumpTV that this is certainly not the case in the United States. Indeed the Arab American´s average income is higher than the average income of all Americans. Later at home I found this article on Arab American demographics that corroborates what Kaleil told me. JumpTV by the way is an interesting venture that brings TV over the internet to immigrant groups and is mainly focused on Arabic and Spanish speaking channels. For JumpTV it´s very important that immigrants be reasonably well off as internet tv requires a much greater investment than regular TV. As I read the Arab American Institute web site and how Arab Americans I wondered about the factors that led to the tremendous success of Arabs in America and if these could be replicated in Europe.