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BT Partners with FON on Free Wi-Fi Sharing Service

12:15 am on October 8, 2007 | Category: Internet, Telecom Services, Wi-Fi, Wireless Technology

British telephone and internet carrier, BT, has signed an agreement with hotspot operator, FON, allowing BT’s ADSL subscribers to share their Wi-Fi connections in exchange for access to FON’s international network of 190,000 user-operated hotspots.

The two companies are aiming to built a secure worldwide network of millions of Wi-Fi users who are willing to share internet access with fellow subscribers. As part of the deal, BT will take a stake in FON, joining other high-profile financial backers like Google, Skype, and Sequoia Capital.

“This is the push that Wi-Fi needs to make it ubiquitous,” commented Martin Varsavsky, the founder and Chief Executive of FON.

BT broadband users can get in on the deal by downloading the BT FON application, and agreeing to make around half a megabit of their internet bandwidth available to other FON members.

“This is the start of something very exciting for BT. Today we are launching a people’s network of Wi-Fi, which could one day cover every street in Britain,” commented Gavin Patterson, the managing director of BT’s consumer division. “We are giving our millions of Total Broadband customers a choice and an opportunity if they are prepared to securely share a little of their broadband. They can share the broadband at hundreds of thousands of FON and BT Openzone hotspots today without paying a penny.”

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