From Martin’s post:
“FON was launched just 90 days ago and we already have over 3,000 registered Foneros. While that number may seem small, 3,000 registered Foneros puts us at 10% of our 2006 objective in only 3 months: to become the largest hotspot network in the world by the end of the year.”
“So I sought the ultimate alliances in the industry, and aimed high, very high. And today I have a great announcement to make: FON can now count Google , Skype, Sequoia Capital, and Index Ventures as investors and backers. They’ve joined us to help advance the FON movement, leading a group that has put 18 million Euros into FON and also committed to give us a strategic boost that should help us make this great idea into a great platform for everyone who wants a faster, cheaper and more secure wireless Internet. We’ll invest this money in R&D so we can make it quicker and easier to become a FONERO and so that we can expand the number of things you can do with your FON service.”
I’ve been following Martin’s new project since it’s first days and have talked to him about it a couple of times. I do have some worries with the model (ubiquity of firmware on wifi routers, of wifi coverage, etc.), but it’s basically an execution play with a fantastic ambition. Congrats with gathering such an impressive list of names in a first round. I’ll update my thoughts on FON in the future.
By the way, I have 2 FON boxes at home.
