More than 2 000 MWeb ADSL customers have signed up to become Fon hotspots, connecting with the 12-million Fon hotspots operating globally.
Fon signed a partnership agreement with MWeb on 16 January.
In addition to the 2 000 customers already signed on, orders have been placed for about 7 000 routers, indicating that the number could climb rapidly.
“Ten days after launching, we hit the 1 200 mark, which was an impressive milestone so soon after the launch of the product and today we hit the 2 000 mark. It is indicative that South Africans are embracing this new offering,” says Derek Hershaw, CEO of MWeb.
The global Fon network expects to expand its 12-million user to about 35-million by 2016.
With its crowd-sourced approach of converting existing WiFi hotspots into community hotspots, Fon is providing near ubiquitous WiFi coverage in some countries. In the UK, France and Belgium, more than 10% of households have a Fon hotspot.
Fon calculates that it has significant coverage in more than 1 000 major cities, making Fon the world’s largest WiFi operator.
