Time Warner Customers Get Free Wi-Fi

Time Warner Customers Get Wi-Fi Hotspots

In a big win for a little Wi-Fi startup called Fon, Time Warner Cable Inc. will let its home broadband customers turn their connections into public wireless hotspots, a practice shunned by most U.S. Internet service providers.

Fon was founded in Spain in 1995 on the premise that people shouldn’t have to pay twice — once at home, then again in a coffee shop — for Internet access. At first, the company offered software that let members, called Foneros, turn Wi-Fi routers into shared access points, but it took hours to get up and running.

La Fonera splits a Wi-Fi connection in two: an encrypted channel for the Fonero and a public one for neighbors or passers-by. Foneros can decide how much of their bandwidth to share with the public and can log on to any Fon router without charge. “Aliens,” as Fon calls nonmembers, can register on a Web page and pay a modest $2 or $3 for 24 hours of access.

Joanna Rees, chief executive of Fon USA, said such rates at coffee shops, airports and hotels might work for a business person with an expense account but are too high for people who just want to quickly check e-mail, make a call on a Wi-Fi phone or play on a wireless video game device.

Starbucks Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. representatives responded that they provide a premium service, and that customers see value in paying for speed, security and reliability.

But until now, ISPs in the U.S. have resisted the Fon model. Most big companies’ end-user license agreements prohibit subscribers from sharing their connection outside the home or business. Verizon Communications Inc., for example, can terminate contracts if it finds an ad-hoc hotspot.

“It’s a dirty secret how much leeching” goes on, Rees said. She said ISPs should embrace Fon because the routers, which require that “aliens” enter a valid credit card number before getting online, put a sharp stop to the leeching. And getting free access to the worldwide network of La Fonera routers encourages people to get or keep a broadband connection at home.

Time Warner may be looking ahead to the not-so-distant future when some of the 300 or so municipal wireless projects — featuring free or at least inexpensive broadband — being considered today become reality.