Comments on: FON Raises $9.5 Million: No More Free Hardware? http://thenextweb.com/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/ International technology news, business & culture Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:31:00 +0100 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten http://thenextweb.com/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362454 Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:51:03 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362454 Hi Steven, thanks for the numbers! So that 187.635 would be the total number of Fon access points sent out to people, switched on at one point or the actual live hotspots right now? Hi Steven, thanks for the numbers! So that 187.635 would be the total number of Fon access points sent out to people, switched on at one point or the actual live hotspots right now?

]]> By: steven http://thenextweb.com/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362453 steven Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:25:18 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362453 * Counted "187.635" fonspots last sunday... one could download all poi's inside excel & count 'm * maps.francofon.fr will soon be restored so it can do an "active" count as well! * I haven't seen anything about a "proxy" on the fonera 2.0 but the usb port will provide access to usb harddisks; mostly for torrents, flickr, youtube... things that hopefully keep foneros to turn off their device if not at home... * You haven't yet spoken about the FonoSfere program? :-) People in the big cities have more luck getting aliens ... FON has also adverted in the past to the people living near a "pub", "school","hotel", ... The 20meters can be improved by using the fontenna which was sold at 2 euro untill recently I know someone in Amsterdam who has used 3 foneras/fontennas and covers a few city blocks...and if no train passes... you can even use his wifi from the trainstation with a normal wifi laptop... * Counted “187.635″ fonspots last sunday…
one could download all poi’s inside excel & count ‘m
* maps.francofon.fr will soon be restored so it can do an “active” count as well!
* I haven’t seen anything about a “proxy” on the fonera 2.0 but the usb port will provide access to usb harddisks; mostly for torrents, flickr, youtube… things that hopefully keep foneros to turn off their device if not at home…
* You haven’t yet spoken about the FonoSfere program? :-)

People in the big cities have more luck getting aliens …
FON has also adverted in the past to the people living near a “pub”, “school”,”hotel”, …

The 20meters can be improved by using the fontenna which was sold at 2 euro untill recently

I know someone in Amsterdam who has used 3 foneras/fontennas and covers a few city blocks…and if no train passes… you can even use his wifi from the trainstation with a normal wifi laptop…

]]> By: Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten http://thenextweb.com/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362452 Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:48:35 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362452 Hello 'reader'. I played with the maps a bit and it is true that you can select active points but you can't search for all active points and get a total. So there is no way to find out what the real (not just the 'widely published') number is. I'm not bashing Fon at all but simply asking serious and critical questions. If you know more please tell us all about it! Always keep asking why! Hello ‘reader’. I played with the maps a bit and it is true that you can select active points but you can’t search for all active points and get a total. So there is no way to find out what the real (not just the ‘widely published’) number is.

I’m not bashing Fon at all but simply asking serious and critical questions. If you know more please tell us all about it! Always keep asking why!

]]> By: reader http://thenextweb.com/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362451 reader Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:57:47 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362451 it has been widely published, that the actual numbers of active fonspots are more than 170.000 on a global basis. it is also true, that you may select the active fonspots in the fonmaps. so this article is mostly bashing FON. don´t ask why... it has been widely published, that the actual numbers of active fonspots are more than 170.000 on a global basis. it is also true, that you may select the active fonspots in the fonmaps. so this article is mostly bashing FON. don´t ask why…

]]> By: Gleb Kaplun http://thenextweb.com/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362450 Gleb Kaplun Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:12:22 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362450 Wrote related article in russian http://blog.web2people.net/blog/2008/04/fon-raises-sistema-funding.html I'm a little surprised by Sistemas steps in funding European startups. Can't get FON's monetizing model and not sure they could cover world with their hotspots. Will see... Wrote related article in russian
http://blog.web2people.net/blog/2008/04/fon-raises-sistema-funding.html

I’m a little surprised by Sistemas steps in funding European startups. Can’t get FON’s monetizing model and not sure they could cover world with their hotspots. Will see…

]]> By: Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten http://thenextweb.com/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362449 Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:59:26 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362449 @sander: I'm sure there are people who can make money. But that will be a very small group. Wi-Fi access points generally have a range of 20 meters so unless you live above a bar or hotel the chances of anyone accidently stumbling upon your access point are slim. In Russia they might have a more interesting market. Lots of people live packed together in apartment buildings and might not have enough money to get their own DSL line. But if one of them (in the middle) gets a line than he can use a FON router to resell access to everyone else in the building. So I have more faith in the shared line strategy than the open Hotspot market. @sander: I’m sure there are people who can make money. But that will be a very small group. Wi-Fi access points generally have a range of 20 meters so unless you live above a bar or hotel the chances of anyone accidently stumbling upon your access point are slim.

In Russia they might have a more interesting market. Lots of people live packed together in apartment buildings and might not have enough money to get their own DSL line. But if one of them (in the middle) gets a line than he can use a FON router to resell access to everyone else in the building.

So I have more faith in the shared line strategy than the open Hotspot market.

]]> By: Sander van der Vliet http://thenextweb.com/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362448 Sander van der Vliet Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:49:41 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362448 @alexandernl (http://twitter.com/AlexanderNL/statuses/785826927) has a FON router at Noordermarkt in Amsterdam and he earned € 9,- with it in a week. I guess it will pay-off his monthly broadband fee easily. On strategic spots the FON router might actually make money. @alexandernl (http://twitter.com/AlexanderNL/statuses/785826927) has a FON router at Noordermarkt in Amsterdam and he earned € 9,- with it in a week. I guess it will pay-off his monthly broadband fee easily. On strategic spots the FON router might actually make money.

]]> By: Bob Boynton http://thenextweb.com/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362447 Bob Boynton Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:16:05 +0000 http://thenextweb.org/2008/04/12/fon-raises-95-million-no-more-free-hardware/#comment-362447 It's the 'tipping point' problem. Their map says there are several fon wifi routers in the town in which I live, but they are not close to anywhere I go. I am going to get the next router, however. I assume it will be as good a xxxN router as I can purchase at Best Buy. Fon has a gui for gmail that handles uploading files to and organizing them on your gmail account that is very handy. It is a browser extension for firefox. Folders makes using gmail for file storage a more reasonable possibility. It’s the ‘tipping point’ problem. Their map says there are several fon wifi routers in the town in which I live, but they are not close to anywhere I go. I am going to get the next router, however. I assume it will be as good a xxxN router as I can purchase at Best Buy.

Fon has a gui for gmail that handles uploading files to and organizing them on your gmail account that is very handy. It is a browser extension for firefox. Folders makes using gmail for file storage a more reasonable possibility.

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