FON is a service that faciliates free Wi-Fi internet access, thanks to broadband and WiFi proliferation. If you've got broadband and a WiFi router, you can either share your service for free, or make a little money leasing out your bandwidth. IW has more information about how it works - methinks that the biggest winners will be downtown businesses that already use WiFi adding FON to their network to sell bandwidth to nearby laptop users. As WiFi gains in range, the potential for having gap-free wireless access in cities is closer -- without the expense of significantly adding to the infrastructure.
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I overused the word 'free' in this article. If you do a 'free' sharing, that means you get free access to all other Fon access points -- people sharing your connection may still be paying Fon for the service, but you won't.
--Derek, 02/09/2006 9:59:59