Mweb has announced an exclusive partnership with Fon, the world’s largest WiFi network, to provide participating Mweb customers with free access to this network globally.
The Mweb-Fon deal gives Mweb ADSL customers with a Fon-enabled router the opportunity to join a global community of 12-million WiFi users who act as a hotspot, and a growing local community who share their connections with each other.
Fon, the global WiFi network, founded in 2006 in Spain but now represented on four continents, is made up of Fon community members, who share a part of their bandwidth as a separate WiFi signal.
In return, Fon members are able to securely access any other Fon WiFi hotspot both locally and globally.
“We have been looking for a way to broaden our customers’ access to WiFi beyond their home or office network without compromising the quality of internet access that they’ve become accustomed to,” said Mweb ISP CEO Derek Hershaw.
“The new Fon relationship will complement our existing WiFi zones and will give our customers access to cost effective, quality mobile Internet access and a growing network.”
Alex Puregger, COO at Fon, said that they are delighted to work with Mweb because of its track record, credibility, footprint and loyal customer base as it already has a large base of more than 320,000 customers which could potentially all become Fon members.
Puregger added that since its launch in Europe in 2006, Fon’s business model has been based on ‘give a little, get a lot’.
“Eventually we will have created a crowd sourced WiFi network where everyone who contributes, connects for free. We are thinking of it as global Uncapped WiFi,” he said.
Using their ADSL login details, Mweb customers with a Fon-enabled router, can immediately access the rapidly growing network of WiFi hotspots, which currently includes MwebWiFi Zones and Always On hotspots.
Hershaw said that that they are aiming to reach 30,000 Mweb-Fon hotspots across the country by the end of 2014.
“As broadband costs decrease and more users and sites come online, Mwebwill take South Africa into an unlimited mobile Internet future,” said Hershaw.
“We want to fundamentally change what people expect from mobile connectivity. In Mweb’s vision of the future, our users will never have to adjust how they consume the Internet just because they aren’t at home or in the office,” he added.
To promote the initiative, Mweb is offering all existing and new MwebADSL customers a free Fon upgrade, including a Fon-enabled WiFi router and WiFi range extender.
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