Product Reviews

Fon is a relatively new company with a radical attitude towards wireless routers. The idea is that once you've bought a La Fonera+, you are a 'Fonero' and can get free WiFi access wherever you are in the world by logging on to another user's La Fonera+ (a Fon Spot).

La Fonera+ isn't really a wireless router, though, but a glorified access point. Like the Belkin N1 Vision, it broadcasts two SSIDs. One is for your own private use, the other for other Fon members to use when they are within the wireless range.

You can log on to another user's La Fonera+ simply by entering your Fon username and password on the holding page, which appears when you connect to the wireless network. Non-Foneros can also use any Fon Spot by buying passes from Fon, which gives them credit for a certain amount of usage. Fon Spot owners can choose to receive some of the money Fon receives from the sale of passes. In the UK, BT has teamed up with Fon to provide coverage for the whole of the UK. You can check www.fon.com

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to find a map of Fon Spots around the globe.

Many people are already using the system. We found several connections near Shopper's office in central London and headed out to test five of them. We couldn't connect to three of the signals, though. They were shown on the map as being available within the previous hour, but none appeared on our wireless networks list when we visited the locations. The two Fon Spots we could connect to, however, were stable, provided decent transfer speeds and were perfectly suitable for checking email and web browsing.

The device itself is tiny (measuring 70x93x26mm) and has two Ethernet ports: one to connect to your broadband modem or existing router, and one for a wired connection to a PC. It supports only 802.11g, which is limited to 54Mbit/s, and the weedy standard antenna provided poor coverage. However, for an extra £1.35 you can get a high-gain aerial (La Fontenna) when you order. This is an essential upgrade if you want to attract Foneros, as Fon claims it will boost signal coverage by five times.

Installation is ridiculously easy. There's no software; you just find the wireless signal and connect wirelessly. The near and far transfer speeds were decent for 802.11g, and the throughput of 3.14Mb/s at 25m is fast enough for checking email and web browsing. It's a shame there isn't a Draft-N version, though.

The concept is good in theory, but when you're in rural areas the chances of being near a Fon Spot without making a special journey are low. However, the La Fonera+ is still a decent piece of kit at an attractive price.