wifi for everyone

This month, Fon will be attending Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from the 27th of February to the 1st of March. MWC is the biggest wireless trade show of the year with 60,000+ attendees and 1,400 exhibitors last year and plans to be even bigger this year.

So what should we expect from MWC? Naturally, there will be a slew of prominent speakers including Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google; Bret Taylor, CTO of Facebook; John Donahoe, CEO of eBay; and William Clay Ford, Jr., Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company just to name a few.

There will also be a large amount of new product launches: Huawei is set to launch Diamond series high-end Android smartphone, there are rumors that Nokia will announce the Lumia 910, RIM may be demonstrating OS 10 and LG will be launching the x3 and CX2.

If you’re going to be at the show and want to say hello, then visit us in Hall 7 (App World), stand 7E69. We’re also going to upload video coverage of the show as it happens, so be sure to check our blog often for the latest show updates!

If you’re in Belgium, you know that the Belgacom Fon network is big. But did you know that we reached half a million hotspots in the country?

And it doesn’t stop there, as there is even more growth predicted for the network this year.

Belgacom and Fon customers have free access to all 500 thousand hotspots all around the country, as well as all of Fon’s hotspots around the world, provided they are also sharing a portion of their connection.

Want to see just how big the Belgacom Fon network is? Check out our maps!

We at Fon are happy to share the news that our partner, BT, has launched a BT Fon application for BlackBerry. The app, developed following the success of similar ones for Android and iOS devices, will make it easier for users in the UK to connect to the award winning BT Fon network.

Features include:

• A fast log in process – Once you have set up the app, all you have to do is open it when you want to connect to a BT WiFi hotspot, and you will automatically be logged in.
• Quick mapping speeds – If you’re not within range of a hotspot, this tool will quickly and efficiently find the hotspot closest to you.
• An easy user interface
• Help videos

You can find a download of the app here. Have you downloaded the app? Let us know what you think!

Whether you’ve recently activated a Fonera and want to make sure your Fon Spot is showing, or you’re looking for WiFi coverage ahead of your next trip, we’ve got your covered with our improved maps!

Lots of improvements were made, but the main ones include:

• See only active hotspots, with hotspot status updated every hour
• Find out if a hotspot belongs to a residence or business
• Share a map with a friend by copying and pasting a map’s URL

If you want to see all of these improvements at work, just visit maps.fon.com.

As always, we’re always looking to improve, so we want to hear from you! Please let us know in the comments if there are any more features you’d like to see.

Over the past decade, WiFi has become a ubiquitous part of our lives (especially for those of us at Fon). So it helps to understand why and how it has become such a necessary part of our day to day existence.

Probably the first and most important advantage of WiFi is that it allows for a deployment of wireless networks in places where this could not have been done before, such as outdoor areas or places where cables cannot be run.

Another important advantage is that any standard WiFi device will work on any WiFi network in the world. This compatible nature has led to huge growth in the WiFi market and, as a result, WiFi devices are now everywhere and can be easily found in most locations. According to a recent report from Machina Research, by 2020 the amount of connected devices will reach 24 billion. This means that WiFi will become an increasingly important part of ensuring connectivity at home and outdoors.

Great news! BT, our partner in the UK, has been awarded Best WiFi at the uSwitch Broadband Awards for  BT Fon and BT Openzone.

This is what the award organizers said about the service:

“With BT Openzone and BT Fon offering millions of people quick and easy wireless access at home and out and about, our judging panel saw BT as being streets ahead when it came to Wi-Fi service.”

This is a great way to start the year! Surely, this is only the first of many more awards to come.