Citywide Wi-Fi networks, which are built and managed by a city alone or in partnership with a private company, have become popular in the last couple of years as large cities such as Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco have promised ubiquitous Wi-Fi coverage within their borders.
While access to Wi-Fi itself is cheap--it doesn't require expensive radio licenses and is readily accessible by just about every laptop on the market today--building and operating these citywide networks still costs money. Philadelphia estimates it will spend $10 million to build and maintain its network over the next several years. And San Francisco said it will spend $15 million--including maintenance and upgrades--over the next decade.
In total, network providers and local governments building their own networks are expected to spend $235 million to build and operate citywide networks in 2006 alone. And by 2010, more than $3 billion will spent on these networks.
Despite all the hype, only a handful of major cities have Wi-Fi networks up and running. San Francisco, for example, is still negotiating its contract with EarthLink and Google, which were selected to build the network. And New York City is still studying its options.
This is where FON comes in. The company, which, ironically, counts Google as one of its backers, says it has a solution that can be deployed now at very little cost to the city or its residents.
FON's software allows broadband subscribers to split their Internet connection so that it offers a secure connection indoors and an open connection to people outside the home. Initially, the software could be downloaded onto existing home routers. But this proved too difficult for most people, so FON built its own, small router, called La Fonera.
The La Fonera router, which uses standard 802.11g technology, was introduced only a few weeks ago. It was designed for easy installation. Users simply plug the device into their existing broadband modem, and, voila, their broadband connection is converted into a FON access point.
Currently, about 112,000 La Fonera and FON-enabled routers have been registered with the company. To help spur adoption it's been offering the routers on its Web site for $5 apiece. It's also taking its promotion on the road, offering routers for free in cities such as San Francisco and in New York, where it's planning an East coast "Freedom" event for later this year.
Once users have registered, they become part of the FON community, which allows them free access to any FON hot spot in the world. Non-FON members can also access the network, but they must pay $1 or $2 for 24 hours of access. This small fee is actually how FON generates revenue.
While FON's concept of grassroots Wi-Fi may sound like a good idea, it's not without issues. For one, many Internet service providers, such as AT&T and Time Warner, consider the very concept a violation of their customer contracts.
While it might be difficult for service providers to pinpoint who's using a FON router, Huff said there are ways find out if someone is illegally sharing broadband service. If illegal usage continues, Time Warner can cut off service.
To a certain extent, Rees of FON agrees. While she believes that cities could achieve the same Wi-Fi coverage without building a network themselves or contracting someone else to build it for them, the FON network can work with municipal Wi-Fi networks to improve coverage.
0 comments:
Post a Comment