The New York Times had an article in today's paper and something like this is why Fon is not making it big in the USA. People are more interested in free stuff, who would have guessed. On the other hand there are some very good points made in the article. Just some food for thought.
"AnchorFree, a company in Sunnyvale, Calif., that is two and a half years old, has introduced a service that lets merchants of any size — from a large bookstore chain to a mom-and-pop restaurant — offer free advertising-supported Wi-Fi to customers on the store premises. People who are shopping or eating in an AnchorFree location will see banner ads on their screens or short video spots or both before their browsing session."
(something Fon is trying to do, but limiting wifi session to 15 minutes)
"Mark Smith, executive vice president for marketing and strategy at AnchorFree, said that advertisers could tailor their ads to reach people at specific locations in the network."
"Businesses that traditionally offer Wi-Fi to customers — hotels, for example — can sign up with AnchorFree at no cost and collect a share of up to 50 percent of the advertising revenue. For small businesses, which might not be able to afford Wi-Fi service, AnchorFree will supply the necessary router and other technology at no cost."
"The retailer can then promote its free wireless service, which could prove to be a competitive advantage. Some hotels, for instance, charge guests $10 to $15 a night for Wi-Fi access."
(Fon is a lot cheaper, $3 for an entire day)
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/business/media/27adco.htmlAnchorFree: http://anchorfree.com/heres a couple interesting articles in the NY Times. It just fascinates me how much cable companies are screwing people over and cashing in big time.
"F.C.C. Planning Rules to Open Cable Market"
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/10/washington/10cable.html?fta=y
"F.C.C. Chief Forced to Scale Back Cable Plan"
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/business/media/27cnd-cable.html?ref=media
