Fon and Belgacom Announce WiFi Partnership in Belgium

BRUSSELS & MADRID--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fon, the world’s largest WiFi network, and Belgacom, Belgium’s largest telecommunications company, today announced they have partnered to create the largest WiFi community in Belgium. In addition to WiFi access in Belgium, Belgacom internet customers will get global access to the more than 4 million hotspots in Fon’s global WiFi network. Belgacom will add Fon’s revolutionary WiFi-sharing technology to its equipment before the end of the year.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Belgacom to bring Fon WiFi to Belgium on a major scale. We love Belgium, and we can't wait to introduce Belgacom customers to the largest WiFi community on the planet.”

Martin Varsavsky, Fon CEO and founder, said:

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Belgacom to bring Fon WiFi to Belgium on a major scale. We love Belgium, and we can't wait to introduce Belgacom customers to the largest WiFi community on the planet.”

Didier Bellens, Belgacom President and CEO, said:

“Thanks to our partnership with Fon, Belgacom will create the largest WiFi Community in Belgium. Belgacom internet customers can all become members of the WiFi community and so benefit from free WiFi access at more than 4 million hotspots worldwide, from the UK to Portugal to Japan, everywhere Fon members are sharing broadband internet with the community.”

Fon technology makes it possible to broadcast two powerful, dedicated WiFi signals from a broadband internet source. One signal is encrypted and private. The other signal is public but only accessible via password to registered members of the Fon community.

About Fon:

Fon CEO, entrepreneur and internet pioneer Martin Varsavsky founded Fon in 2006 with the goal of free, ubiquitous WiFi for everyone. Today, Fon is the largest WiFi community in the world, providing WiFi at over 4 million Fon hotspots and to over 6 million users. Fon partners with the world's leading fixed and mobile Telcos, hardware manufacturers and service providers, all who share the vision of a joint WiFi community. Fon's investors include Atomico, British Telecom, the Coral Group, Google, Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Skype. For more information: www.fon.com

About Belgacom:

The Belgacom Group [Euronext: BELG]. Drawing on its solid experience as Belgium's national telecom operator and the multiple talents of its teams, the Belgacom Group is the main provider of integrated telecommunication services in Belgium. Thanks to its continuous investments in cutting-edge technology, Belgacom is able to offer its private and professional customers telephony, Internet and television services around the clock, irrespective of location and the access device used. For the fiscal year ending 31 December 2010, the Group posted a total revenue of €6.603 billion and a net operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of €1.984 billion.