FON Wi-Fi

[Barton71]

I just read this interesting story on the BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7027871.stm. Can you use Fon with VM? It would be excellent if you can. :)

[Graham M]

I have a feeling that it might be against the TOS

[Shaun]

Just buy one of these and join the community - VM can't tell waht you ahve connected via your router. :)

https://shop.fon.com/FonShop/shop/GB/ShopController?view=product&product=PRD-001

Seriously considering it myself - when I get my laptop after christmas I'll pick one up. It's a much better deal now BT are involved as it now includes their own pay-for hotspots in airports, hotels, pubs and shopping centres :)

Edit - saying that it may only be some of the BT Openzones:

"Note that some of the BT OpenZone signals are premium hotspots and not available to the BT FON Community. Available hotspots to the BT FON Community are always BT FON Branded."

More details needed I think. If you can buy this router for ~£20 and plug it in then use BT Openzones then it us truely groundbreaking. :)

[popper]

i thought this part was most interesting though
"Meanwhile, Freedom4, known formerly as Pipex Wireless, is launching a Wimax service in Manchester, offering wireless broadband without the need for a phone line."

like i said before, VM might loose out big time growing customer base etc,if they dont start thinking about WiMax as an extension to their current cable network.

more on that Freedom4 here
http://www.totaltele.com/View.aspx?ID=95666&t=2
"
UK gets commercial WiMAX service
By Mary Lennighan (mary.lennighan@totaltele.com), Total Telecom
04 October 2007
Freedom4, the operator formerly known as Pipex Wireless, aims to free SMEs from BT's clutches with WiMAX launch by end-2007.
The U.K.'s first commercial WiMAX service will come to market before the end of the year, it emerged Thursday. http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/ad/mpu.totaltele.tmuk/Homepage;chan=Homepage;pos=4;tile=4;sz=300x250;ord =123456789? (http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/jump/mpu.totaltele.tmuk/Homepage;chan=Homepage;pos=4;tile=4;sz=300x250;ord =123456789?)


The announcement was made by the company formerly known as Pipex Wireless, which simultaneously revealed that from now on it will be known as Freedom4, a name that reflects the way WiMAX frees users from the constraints of the fixed-line network, but was also selected due to the lack of availability of appropriate Internet domains, executives from the company joked at Thursday's launch.

"We'll certainly have the service available this year," said Mike Read, CEO of Freedom4."....

regarding the wifi wireless i still think the original community wireless MIT Roofnet, and its commercial offshot Meraki’s existing indoor Mini (http://meraki.net/products/mini/) ($49) has potential
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/12/52616-merged-ntl-50mbps-coming-soon-page-40.html#post34321021

as long as you dont re-sell your VM connection then theres nothing (they can do or legally put) in the T&C, as what you do on your own LAN side connection is none of their business.

with the right thinking about small community wireless networking,(the one place the UK is falling way behind the US etc) you are infact helping the ISP network, as you share far more of your collected content over the local community wireless LAN, rather than re-uploading it over the far slower VM WAN upload rate .

[popper]

and now theres also

Free WiFi in UK McDonalds (http://www.dailywireless.org/2007/10/05/mcdonalds-uk-goes-free-fi/)

http://www.dailywireless.org/2007/10/05/mcdonalds-uk-goes-free-fi/
"

Reuters reports that McDonalds (http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/) announced today they will offer free wireless Internet access across its 1,200-strong restaurants in the UK (http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKL0572055620071005?rpc=44). That is expected to make McDonalds the largest provider of (free) broadband access in the country. McDonald’s will be using network provider The Cloud (http://www.vnunet.com/computing/news/2200611/mcdonald-free-wifi) to supply its free WiFi service.
http://digital-lifestyles.info/copy_images/bt-wi-fi-city-lg2.jpg (http://www.dailywireless.org/2006/05/17/uk-unwires-12-cities/)There are around 11,477 Wi-Fi hotspots in the UK. Major service providers include The Cloud (http://www.thecloud.net/About-us/) (a private venture (http://www.thecloud.net/About-us/Investors)), British Telecom (http://www.bt.com/) (with OpenZone (http://www.btopenzone.com/)) and Deutsche Telecom (with T-Mobile Hotspots (http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/)).
McDonald’s service will account for about 10 percent of the total Wi-Fi hotspots, according to Reuters. ..."

OC the feedom4 WiMax
http://www.freedom4.com/pg.asp?p=businessDataMax
"http://www.freedom4.com/images/header_business_datamax1.gif
DataMax delivers high-speed, symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 4 Mb. " to start with,looks good for small business and tech users alike.

[Maggy]

Ah yes that wonderful idea of free web access that very soon becomes paid for access.

There is no such thing as summat for nothing.Eventually you have to pay.:erm: