Fon operates a global, crowdsourced WiFi network and reports more than 14 million hotspots in over 200 countries. Founded in February 2006 by serial entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky, who serves as CEO, the company partners with major telecoms including BT, Deutsche Telekom, KPN, Proximus, MTC, MWEB, Oi, SoftBank and Telstra. Fon maintains offices in Madrid, London, Tokyo and New York. The company positions itself as a global WiFi leader and is pursuing a global growth strategy. Its recent financing activity includes a growth capital loan intended to support that expansion. Fon builds a global crowdsourced WiFi network by enabling people to share part of their private broadband via devices like the Fonera router. It is developing a "social" Fonera integrated with Facebook that will let friends and retail customers access WiFi via likes/check-ins, and a separate shop-focused Fonera for stores. Qualcomm has entered a strategic relationship to integrate Fon into Atheros chipsets and the Atheros SDK so third parties can include Fon access. Fon reported just over 12 million hotspots worldwide, grew 50% that year, and claims about 10% penetration in markets like Belgium and the UK, with a target of 35 million hotspots by 2016. The company pursues carrier partnerships (for example BT in the UK) and is talking to U.S. carriers to expand into the U.S. and target business/enterprise users. Fon has raised nearly $72 million since being founded in 2006. Fon sells consumer WiFi routers that enable homeowners to share bandwidth as publicly accessible hotspots. The company positions that network to serve growing demand for mobile WiFi from smartphone and tablet users. The new financing is intended to support expansion in the US and other markets. Fon was founded in 2006 by serial entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky. Prior to this round the company had raised over €40M in earlier financings. The product and expansion focus aim to capitalize on increasing mobile data demand. Fon deploys consumer WiFi routers (Foneras) that let users share bandwidth with other "Foneros" for free roaming access or charge guests and retain 50% of fees. The company reports about 170,000 active routers worldwide, with leading markets in the UK, Japan, France, Germany, and the U.S.; the UK alone has more than 70,000 BTFon members. Fon partners with telecom operators (notably British Telecom and Neuf) to enable roaming broadband offers and is preparing a launch in Russia with telco Sistema. Product plans include a Fonera 2.0 router (with a USB port for media sharing) due in June and an 802.11n router slated for December. Financially, this latest infusion is part of a multi-round raise that has taken the company’s total funding to more than $50 million. The company intends to use the new cash to fund the Russia launch and the new router rollouts. FON sells a €34.44 ($48.70) WiFi router and its core product is a community WiFi model where customers who share their home connection gain access to other members' hotspots. The company claims roughly 500,000 members but reports about 190,000 active hotspots, suggesting not all members host a hotspot. FON’s distribution strategy relies on carrier and location partnerships to expand coverage; it has signed deals with chains, ISPs and operators such as Neuf Cegetel and Time Warner. The company is pursuing wider UK reach through a deal with BT, which has more than 3 million broadband customers and will invite them to join FON’s service. The announcement indicates a revenue-sharing arrangement with BT, though the terms were not disclosed, and questions remain about how FON will monetize the free router distribution. FON faces competition from mobile broadband providers and emerging technologies like WiMax that could limit demand for shared WiFi.

Total raised

$77M

Funding rounds

7

Latest round

Debt Financing

Latest activity

Feb 2015