Fonera 2.0n Preview

WiFi Gadgets: D-Link Wireless Pocket Router/AP

D-Link, an industry leader in networking, introduces another performance breakthrough in wireless connectivity - the AirPlus G DWL-G730AP Wireless Pocket Router/AP™. The DWL-G730AP is a portable and convenient wireless solution for the traveling business person delivering 802.11g wireless connectivity with a maximum wireless signal rate of up to 54Mbps*. Use it in conference rooms, hotel rooms, or even at hotspots.

The Wireless Pocket Router/AP might be small in size, but is huge in functionality. The DWL-G730AP supports multiple operation modes including: Access Point (AP) mode to create a wireless connection; Router mode to share an Internet connection; and Wireless Client mode to connect an existing wireless network. Easily switch between these modes by using the 3-way configuration switch located at the bottom.

In AP mode, the DWL-G730AP can be used to create a wireless network in a room where a single Ethernet port is provided. Now multiple wireless clients can connect to the network at the same time to share resources and files.

In Router mode, the DWL-G730AP can be used to share a single broadband Internet connection, such as in a hotel room. The internal DHCP server automatically assigns IP addresses to ensure everyone in the room can connect to the Internet. In addition, the DWL-G730AP supports VPN Pass-through and firewall features including Network Address Translation (NAT) and MAC filtering to protect your wireless network from malicious attacks.

When set in Wireless Client mode, the DWL-G730AP allows connection to an existing wireless network, without having to install complicated drivers or additional software. For added mobility, the DWL-G730AP can be powered over USB if power outlets are not available.

The Pocket Router/AP supports WPA-PSK to secure your wireless data communications. In AP mode, the DWL-G730AP adds support for 802.1x user authentication with an external RADIUS server. For setup and configuration the DWL-G730AP can be accessed via D-Link's user-friendly Web-based utility.

Easy to pack and convenient for traveling, the DWL-G730AP comes with an attractive traveling case which also provides accessories including cables and a power adapter. Increase productivity and enjoy the benefits of wireless connectivity while on the road with D-Link's Pocket Router/AP.

* Maximum wireless signal rate derived from IEEE Standard 802.11g specifications. Actual data throughput will vary. Network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and network overhead, lower actual data throughput rate. Environmental factors will adversely affect wireless signal range.

Featured in PCMag.com

DLink.com

Fonera 2.0n

How about this Fon manages to put out a release date of the Fonera 2.0n and yet the Fonera 2.0 isnt even available to all countries. Wheres the logic in that! (not to mention Martin was talking about this router like forever ago, I wish I could find that post...)

Martins Blog:

"Last night at the Village Pub in Silicon Valley (Woodside, CA), we launched the Fonera 2.0n WiFi router - available for sale in Europe (€79) on September 15th and in the US ($99) on October 15th. The Fonera 2.0n is similar to the Fonera 2.0g but has a much more powerful processor and is built around the 802.11n standard which means that it has greater range, bandwidth and speed than its predecessor. The launch was attended by 30 of the most important bloggers, Twitterers and news organizations in the world, including The New York Times and The Economist.

Thanks to Loic Le Meur and Geraldine who organised a great event.

Here is the full press release."

Help Wanted: FON Looking for a "Junior Technician"

I would seriously like to know what their intent is, but other than that I was looking for a good laugh. Hey Martin, pick me, I got great ideas...

FON is seeking a junior technician to reinforce is technical and logistic support team in Madrid.

Responsibilities:
- Technical and logistic support for French / English speaking countries.
- Translate and collaborate for the documentation of FON products and services.
- Help improving FON services, reporting problems faced by users, with the ability to prioritize and propose solutions.
- Follow IT news in French / English speaking countries.

Profile:
- Must: French or English as mother tongue. Knowledge of Spanish is an asset.
- Experience in technical support is an asset.
- Good knowledge internet, computers and network technologies (Wireless).
- Good writing skills
- Proven interest in IT and technology in general.
- Proactive approach, will to learn and to be part of the FON project.

If you are interested in this position, please send your cv to hr@fon.com

Martin V's Blog: "Junior technician at FON"

Fifty Tech Startups You Should Know

I guess this is an accomplishment for Fon, and my favorite, OpenDNS also made the list. (Featured on BusinessWeek)

Look out Fon here comes French ISP Free

More competition (and probably a future partnership) Via Martins Blog:

"This week, the French ISP Free launched a community WiFi service similar to ours at FON. Owners of a Freebox v5 who share with FreeWiFi will be able to surf off the WiFi router of other Free customers. As with FON, Free customers must share to get access to the FreeWiFi signal, which is a second SSID broadcasted by their Freebox."

"Still there is a big difference between the new community launched by French ISP Free and Fon and that is that it is a closed community available only to Free customers and only in France as Free only operates in France. Moreover since this community has no aliens neither Free nor its customers can make money offering their WiFi to non donors as is the case with Fon."

Fon partners with E-Plus

Another Fon partnership (on the side note these partnerships really seem to help the Fon community grow and that's what it is all about. I would really like to see something happen in the US, there is a ton of potential here that nobody has taken advantage of. It would very beneficial for Fon. Hope you read this Martin), article via Martin Varsavsky's Blog:

Germany is Europe’s largest economy and a key market for FON. People in Germany love FON and the Fonero community there is very active. However, FON’s WiFi footprint in Germany is smaller than in other European countries like the UK and France where our Telco partners have helped us grow. Fon´s partnership with E-Plus, is about to change that. Today FON is announcing a partnership with the E-Plus group in Germany. With more than 18 million subscribers and annual revenues of 3.2 billion Euros, the E-Plus group is Germany’s third largest mobile operator. E-Plus is part of KPN group and is considered an innovator in the German mobile Telco market. E-Plus will help the FON community grow in Germany with a planned series of joint activities starting this year. For example, E-Plus will install Foneras in more than 300 E-Plus stores in prime locations throughout Germany. Together, FON and E-plus will target cafes and other public places where we will install FON Spots as part of the “City FON” initiative - similar to the “Chueca WiFi” and “Shoreditch” density projects in Spain and England. E-Plus will promote FON to their 18 Million subscribers and will help us to encourage them to become Foneros. E-Plus customers who register for the collaboration will be eligible for discounts on Foneras and will get free trial access to the FON WiFi network and once they installed their Fon routers they will be able to roam the world for free connecting to other Foneros.

The FON E-Plus partnership is great for two reasons. E-Plus has great marketing power that will increase FON awareness and help the German FON community grow faster. E-Plus is the first pure mobile operator to partner with FON. Initially journalists and bloggers had argued that Fon would be stopped by fixed and mobile operators. Some of these experts confused Fon with a P2P telco network. But the difference here is that while P2P networks destroy value for the music labels, Fon increases value to telcos. How? Well as our partnership with BT, known as BTfon, and others have shown, Fon generates value both for consumers and telcos. For consumers the proposition is clear, you share some extra, limited, bandwidth at home in a secure way with a second SSID or WiFi signal, and in return you roam the world for free. For fixed telcos, Fon increases customer loyalty, reduces churn, reduces customer acquisition costs. Fon enabled fixed operators can also resist price decreases as their customers have WiFi at home and everywhere else. Now for mobile operators the one big benefit of Fon is reduced capex (investment in the network). 3G is a phenomenal service because of its coverage and frankly no matter how many hotspots we put, Fon will never compete with 3G in terms of coverage. So customers who want to have Internet in a car or to find it no matter where they are will always have to use 3G. But when there is WiFi, there are now tons of mobile phones that have a WiFi option, including the iPhone, Nokias, Samsungs, HTCs and others. And use of WiFi is advantageous to operators because: customers are happy with the speeds, they pay their monthly service anyway and they don´t use the much costlier 3G infrastructure. 3G is great for operators for voice and light data. But when people start downloading 300MB movies and TV series to watch in their mobile devices, operators either have to charge for that bandwidth making movies expensive, or prefer that people use WiFi. Moreover some of the most popular gadgets in the world, such as the Nintendo DS, the PSP and so on, only come with WiFi. In this way, E-Plus can now service its customers on all of their connected devices.

All in all, this proves a point I have been making for a long time. FON and Mobile Telcos make great partners. WiFi is a complement to 3G. Moreover we are very excited that this announcement coincides with the launch of the Fonera 2.0. The Fonera 2.0 has just been introduced in Germany (not yet in the UK) and it is a router that not only gives you free roaming but also manages your transfers to the Internet. Fonera 2.0 on its own sends your videos to Youtube, your pictures to Flickr, downloads your files from Rapidshare or Megaupload, or Bittorrent (disclosure this app is working poorly at the moment) and it is especially good for converting 3G signal from HSDPA modules to WiFi.

If you would like to interview me about this announcement please use the contact form of this blog and I will be happy to answer questions.