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According to their website FON, “is the largest WiFi community in the world, open to anyone who wishes to unite and connect to the Internet for free from any corner of the world without cables.” The company took a step toward thier very ambitious goal yesterday stating that it will subsidize $60 Cisco Systems’ Linksys or Buffalo routers for $5 in the United States or 5 euros in Europe.

Though it may sound like a crazy idea, FON has raised $21.7 million from backers including the founders of Google and Skype, and is looking to turn the brand-name equipment into what it calls “social routers.”

FON is aiming to have 50,000 working hotspots worldwide by September, 150,000 by year-end and 1 million hotspots by the end of 2007. So far, 54,000 people globally have signed up to become “foneros,” up from 3,000 in February, according to the company.

Read more about the pricing and expected legal issues arising from FON.

In exchange for receiving a $5 box, users must agree to share their wireless connections with other FON users for 12 months, shipping and taxes are extra. Users who grant access to their Wi-Fi connections at home would be free to roam on other FON networks. Users who decline to share their home Internet access can pay $3 a day to share a wireless connection with other FON users.

Someone please tell me when the legal battles will begin, because I say by the end of this week the cable and DSL providers will be up in arms about this ‘free access’ heist FON is trying to pull off. Correct me if I am wrong but it is illegal to use someone’s wireless network signal without being a member of the household because then you are ‘stealing’ internet from not only them but from the providers. FON clears up the issue between users but there is no advantage to Optimum or Verizon or Time Warner to want you to sign up with FON. Can the powerful backers from Google and Skype have their hand in preventing lawsuits?

Sign up and start sharing [FON]
Read [WiFi Net News]