Hotspots plan pulls in Google
Submitted by SpreadFON on Sun, 12/02/2006 - 17:18.
Google and eBay's Skype are investing in a start-up that plans to help hotspot owners charge for Wi-Fi access, a plan that may face strong opposition from Internet service providers. The Internet heavyweights were joined by Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital in making a $22 million investment in FON, the Spanish start-up. FON's idea, floated just three months ago in a Web posting by founder Martin Varsavsky, is to sign up people who have Wi-Fi hotspots in one of two ways."Linus" members, named after Linus Torvalds, who created the freely distributed Linux software, will share their hotspot with other Linus members for free. 6 February 2006, New York Daily News
