Today, i got this email from a bar owner explaining to me how confused he was with FON. This post is directed to him and to all the bar owners out there who want to make money with their WiFi but don’t understand how it works.
What is FON for a bar owner? FON is an internet service with no cables, that enables you to attract new clients and not only earn money with every beer of coffee they order, but also earn money when they connect to the internet with their laptops or PDAs.
If yesterday, bar owners earned money with coffee or beer, today they can also earn money charging clients who enter their bar and want to surf the internet. How much is the invesmtent to have FON in a bar? Well, if you already have an ADSL connection with WiFi and your access point is a Linksys WRT54G, then the investment is nil. However, if you don’t, it will cost you 30€ a month to have internet and 70€ to buy the Linksys access point and start having WiFi and be able to charge clients through FON.
Let’s put it this way: remember when that public telephone in your bar was very attractive to clients before mobile phones ruined it all? Well, now you can get even!
Roy on November 10, 2005 ·
Hi Martin,
so people will be charged when using the available connection (or only non-fon’ers)? Did you mention that before?
The biggerst problem you will encounter are potential members without the required hardware. It’s impossible to create a “everywhere” available service without co-operation of the ISP’s.
What if linksys stops the production of “hackable” router/ap’s?
where is your revenue coming from? Is it from a quick sell after 1/2 years? Is it from the “local” phone charges? If the last is the case…are users required to use your wifi fon to make a call or can they use any solution available?
please send me an e-mail anwser.
regards,
Roy