There is no 'Fon Network'. There are a few associated networks, but generally it is just a large bunch of 'Foneras' all running their own Fon-Spots offering a way for each other to piggy-back onto their broadband connection at a speed the Fonero has decided. You simply buy a Fonera WiFi access point, plug it into your router or DSL/Cable modem and away you go.

It works well, more so in the major cities abroad but it is spreading slowly through the UK. Pretty much just Foneros giving and taking, share and share alike.

So how many of the Foneros will react to BT using their (generally) philanthropic offering as a springboard for a new business venture then anyone guess is as good as yours.

Indeed, as BT users will soon find out, many Foneros have already moved their locations on the Fon-Spot map in protest over the fact that Fon now allow ANYONE to hook up for 15 minutes a day for free, just for registering their email address. So go out of the way a bit looking for a Fon-Spot and find it is not even there!

No doubt this discussion about the article will be flooded with the usual 'Open networks are fine to pillage' posts soon enough...

If you look on Fon's forums, you'll find that the company is involved in a number of similar projects with telcos around the world including Telefonica in Spain and Time Warner in the US. What it hopefully means for Foneros is that we might have the promised reciprocal access to BT Hotspots soon (still isn't available - I tested it in St Peter's Square in Manchester last week).

As for the 15 minute free connection, a Fonera makes a princely 4p out of one if they're a bill, which is working for me (8p this weekend! Woohoo). I don't think this makes the FON_AP an open network, although using them for a commercial VOIP service is a bit cheeky on BT's part, so I will be watching mine for excessive voice use.

This isn't new. It was 'soft launched' several months ago. In other words it wasn't actively promoted but was available to customers who happened to know it exists . You'll find it's been discussed at some length in the public forums on the BT web site.

The 10MB per month GPRS (the phones aren't 3G) data allowance is indeed laughable, as customers, and BT's billing department will find out when it stops being unmetered.

The pricing is not quite the rip-off it sounds, as the amounts quoted include your home ADSL connection. A fiver a month for 50 minutes, 50 SMSes and a shiny new smart phone isn't excessive.

@ Trevor Watt

You're confusing FON proper with the watered-down BT version. The latter just involves opting in via a web page. Once you've done that, your BT Home Hub broadcasts a second, BT Openzone-branded, SSID. You only know you're connecting to BT FON and not Openzone proper when you see the BT FON-branded landing page.

To the best of my knowledge, the BT version doesn't give freebies.

If I've understood correctly, BT FON members can use BT Openzone, BT FON, and real FON. Members of FON proper) can use BT FON but not BT Openzone.

The fact that BT uses the same SSID for Openzone and BT FON must make life frustrating for those who have access to one but not the other. BT FON and real FON have their own separate hotspot maps which haven't yet been integrated. Despite the drawbacks, I've opted in because I think it's a good idea in principle, even though I have yet to find a usable hotspot.

In order to use the 'BT FON' network for free, you have to set up your home hub to be a FONSpot IIRC.

This doesn't always work though. I signed to it, got instant access to the local BTFon spots. Three weeks later, my hub still hasn't been activated as a FONSpot

Never mind, moved to PlusNet now anyway. BTs support staff are generally terrible (Call on a weekend, seem to get the Newcastle call center more often than not. Much better than the out-sourced centers used in the week)

I have 'subscribed' to BT FON about 8 times over the last few months. It has 'upgraded' my HomeHub, but never given connectivity!

BT Mobile's data plans are shat. We use BT plc as our preferred supplier for voice, data and mobile, and everything is as well as it can be, apart from their data plans. So we've done a deal with Yodafone (who hosts BTs MNVO in case you wern't aware) to use their data plans in our 3G cards, rather than BT's. Even BT (privately) admit their data service is pants.

...insert a glass rod into my urethra, then bash my cock with a hammer than ever use BT again. Not *exactly* germane, I know, but I feel better for sharing...

Hello there everyone! My first post on The Register! WOOO!!

Ok, so I work for BT and this has been available to employees for a while now. Its BT Option 3, add £5 for this and you get the handset and minutes etc. Its actually pretty good!!

If I were you though I'd get the S710 I think it was, thats the one running Windows Mobile 6, the S620 is running Windows Mobile 5.

Hope this helps...

What is wrong with you people?

Additional usage will be charged at £1.50 per Mb.

Does that mean around £15,000 per GigaByte?

AndyD 8-)#

Anyone who thinks 10MB is plenty should try using Google Maps on a mobile device. You can easily use that in minutes.

@Kamal Kanabar

The S620 does have Windows Mobile 6, unless you got an early model.

Well does it?

I don't get it either 10024 megs in a gig surely??