Want to buy a WiFi router and save some money? Fon, a Madrid-based WiFi services company started by Martin Varsavsky and funded by Sequoia, Skype and Google, is selling WiFi routers for 25 Euros, which works out to about $30.
For a while, they were selling them for $4 a pop. Still, $32 is a pretty good price for a 802.11 b/g devices. Average price of this router in the US is around $55. The catch is that if you buy one of these devices, you become part of the Fon Network.
A surcharge of €/$ 25 willll be applied to all routers that are not registered with FON within one month of their purchase). We will notify you 15 days in advance of the said surcharge.
Well, you could buy the router, register, and then reflash the device ;-)
12 comments so far
10:41 AM PT
“Well, you could buy the router, register, and then reflash the device”
You mean…cheat Fon?
Sounds like bad karma to me…
10:46 AM PT
Why rip off a company that has come up with such a great thing? And are ready to take a loss to get the network rolling? Free wireless broadband all over the world, reflash your routers to FON instead!
11:12 AM PT
Not all users will be as noble or karma-fearing as Doug and Joe. The ad-based cheap/free PC business in 1999-2000 was quickly exploited by people who got the PC’s and reimaged them…
11:23 AM PT
“Well, you could buy the router, register, and then reflash the device” malik = mali(k)ious but realistic, FON was a cheap idea and huge hype…for nothing
12:44 PM PT
You could also not reflash it, and open a Fon hotspot. :)
I quite like the Fon idea.
They have also offered them for €1. They have these actions, that last quite short, with different prices: seems like they are testing the waters.
Oh, and by the way: the prices are €/$, so when it’s 25, it’s not $30 but $25.
1:42 PM PT
When you signed up for the offer, you are supposed to operate the hotspot under FON service for a year.
(link)
“The FON READY router that you receive through this Special Offer is a one-time-only offer and is exclusive for registered Foneros. The router should be kept up-and-running in the FON Community for at least one year. If you decide not to use the router within our Community or if you wish to cancel the Service, FON reserves the right to require you to return the product to FON.”
2:33 PM PT
Well, you could not reflash it, and keep the Fon Hot spot running, which i think is a great idea. The problem is the in the US, the incumbents are not going to like it. around the planet, let the FONeros grow.
2:34 PM PT
Riad, it might cost them more to get the product shipped back to them. not that I am saying you should reflash the device…
12:38 AM PT
Well the router costs 25 EUR, but the shipping is 32 EUR and 9 EUR VAT, a total of 66 EUR. Not so cheap. Many people have wanted to but but backed off when they see that in the order process.
3:38 AM PT
the shipping seem to depend on your location: here, to the Netherlands, it was €18. Which still is a lot, but in total I paid €50.
The router is somewhere around €70 in regular shops.
But, I agree, shipping is too expensive.
8:54 AM PT
in Turkey and Ukraine, for some reason, local resellers are selling wireless routers for over 100 euros. Fon could easily penetrate those markets even with such prices…, but probably penetrating those two markets is not something Fon cares about… :)
12:57 PM PT
Doesn’t using a FON router break your contract terms with your Cable or DSL provider? I believe they have very strict limits on sharing your bandwidth with anyone.