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FON offers free Internet around the world via a sharing program

What's the price of web surfing nowadays when you travel abroad? Whatever it is, Clark doesn't like to pay it! That's why he was excited in 2003 when he first heard about some vaporware from FON. This Spanish company now offers a router that allows consumers to share their Internet connection with travelers passing through their area. In return for sharing upfront, they too get free Internet around the world from other members when they travel. This is a big deal in Europe where British Telecom is installing 2.7 million FON routers across England. If you become a phone member here in the United States, you will routinely have access to free Internet when you travel overseas. So what's the cost? FON sells their router for a one-time fee of $40 -- that's it! Some cable and phone companies in the United States are hostile to this sharing model, but Time Warner is among those who have embraced it. Clark plans to order a FON router for his condo building in Florida and make his Internet connection available to his fellow residents for free. FON's routers even come with security so others can't eyeball your financial info. On a related note, The Los Angeles Times recently reported that both AT&T and Verizon reserve the right to fire customers if they say anything bad about them. Why should they monitor free speech? Clark thinks it's shameful what these monopolies are doing.

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What others are saying

  • FON
    I recently became a FON member so I could make phone calls from my Skype phone from Europe. FON sounds really cool, but in actuality free WIFI wasn't that hard to find in Western Europe. Just go to a hostel, cafe, or stand outside higher-end hotel. Typically if it isn't free, there you will be given a password as part of your purchase (Coffee, Lunch, etc.) You just have to ask! This is pretty universal in Western Europe, but WIFI (and FON) is nonexistent in Eastern Europe. In other words, you don't need to be a member of anything... but you may need to be thirsty or hungry!

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