Wi-fi for the world?

Tracking the FON process:

• Tuesday, June 26th: Ordered FON Social Router for $5 (+$8 shipping) Since it looks like at least 8,000 people have registered just today, I’m not holding my breath for fast delivery. But we’ll see…
• Approx. 3 weeks later I got the router in the mail. Unfortunately I don’t remember the exact date. However I do know it was a little more than 3 weeks after I ordered it, so their estimate of a 3-5 week delivery time was right.
• I hooked it up to my cable modem and the laptop running Ubuntu immediately recognized the signal and connected (using a Linksys wireless card.) I was able to register the router and use the connection just fine. Too bad it would only get more difficult from then on.
• My PowerMac G4 would not configure the router. I had it plugged in to one of the 4 available wired ports and it just wouldn’t recognize it. I tried every one of the Network settings, reset the modem countless times, posted my problem on the FON message board, still nothing. To make matters worse, shortly after I upgraded my laptop from Ubuntu 5.10 to 6.6 the wireless card stopped working. So until that’s fixed I don’t even have a need for the router.
• I sent an email to FON Support ten days ago and have yet to hear back from anyone. Apparently Linksys has great tech support, but since the FON router has FON firmware on it I have to use FON’s support. So basically right now my FON router is a paperweight.
• My verdict: FON has the right idea, but unless you have a mainstream machine (PC running Windows XP), I’d be hesitant. Well, I guess if you’re a network technician and wouldn’t have to rely on FON Support you might be able to figure it out. But since I’m definitely not a network tech. and my situation involves Mac and Ubuntu machines, I’m completely out of luck. I knew I should wait before I got my hopes up :-/
• If anything, this adventure has served as yet another example of how far the tech world still has to come before it can claim to be user-friendly to people other than Windows PC users. If you have a Mac or Linux, good luck fending for yourself!

Original Post:

This afternoon I was directed via a BBC article to FON’s website. What is FON?

FON is a Global Community of people who share WiFi. Join FON, share excess bandwidth at home and roam the world for free.

Believers in open-source technology (like myself) love the idea, others wouldn’t even think of sharing the connection they pay so much for. To each their own, if you don’t like sharing, stay away from this.

How does it work?

There are of course more details, but here are the basics:

• You pay $5 for their “Social Router” which is just a Linksys wireless router with FON firmware installed
• Register it on their network so you get added to the hotspot map
• Share your access with other FON members
• In exchange you have access to the whole FON network

So in theory you could wander around the globe with your laptop (or any wireless device, like a Blackberry ::drool::) and be connected everywhere there’s an FON hotspot. This could be really cool, assuming the worldwide wi-fi network is actually built.

Okay so I’ll be honest, it wasn’t the idealistic goal of worldwide wi-fi that caught my attention. It was the $5 Linksys wireless router. I mean I was eventually going to buy one anyway, why not try this one? And if I’d help build a worldwide wi-fi network at the same time, good deal.

I’m all about expanding technology access to the general public, especially the people who can’t really afford a $40/mo. broadband subscription. Which is basically most people who don’t live in the suburbs. Now you may be thinking, is broadband really necessary to survive? No, of course not. But try and think of everything you use it for on a daily basis and how that connection could enhance the quality of life and opportunities for a lower-income household (job search, continuing education, etc.) Okay I’m getting off topic, this is a new post in itself…

There are lots of questions and criticisms people have about FON’s endeavor, including the legality of sharing your ISP service, the safety of opening up your connection, etc. Most questions and concerns are addressed on the FON website and various online forums so I’m not going to go into that.

The documentarian that I am, I’ve decided to track this whole process, to see if the dream really pans out in the real world. The BBC article says that the project is backed by Google and Skype, so it would seem the odds are good.