Fon Partners with Deutsche Telekom to Create Germany’s Largest WiFi Network

BONN & MADRID--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fon, the global WiFi network and Deutsche Telekom, the leading German telco, announced a partnership to build Germany’s largest WiFi network, which will launch in the summer under the name WLAN TO GO. As Deutsche Telekom has 12 million broadband subscribers and more than 12,000 hotspots all around Germany, it is the perfect partner for bringing the world’s largest WiFi network to Germany.

“We are thrilled to partner with Deutsche Telekom to expand the Fon network in Europe. It is an amazing company and we look forward to working with them to blanket Germany and beyond in easily accessible WiFi.”

Rene Obermann, CEO, Deutsche Telekom, said:

“This innovative partnership perfectly supports Deutsche Telekom’s network expansion strategy. The increasing volume of data used by people requires the development of existing high-speed networks, and also the creation of more modern networks. More and more, people are willing to share their resources - life is for sharing. By 2016, we want to provide nationwide WLAN TO GO at more than 2.5 million additional hotspots.”

Martin Varsavsky, CEO and Founder, Fon, said:

“We are thrilled to partner with Deutsche Telekom to expand the Fon network in Europe. It is an amazing company and we look forward to working with them to blanket Germany and beyond in easily accessible WiFi.”

To join the network is simple: Deutsche Telekom’s broadband subscribers just need to sign up to the Fon service and share the unused capacity of their internet connection with other users. By doing this, they get free access to millions of Fon hotspots all around the world. Sharing creates two networks - a private one, accessible only inside the home, and a public one shared with other members of the network. This is completely safe, and since the private network is always prioritized, there is no noticeable change in internet speed for those who choose to share.

Currently with over 7 million hotspots, Fon is the world’s largest WiFi network. In countries such as the UK, France, Belgium, Croatia and Brazil, customers already share their broadband connection and receive free access to all 7 million hotspots in the Fon network for free. So Deutsche Telekom customers who are sharing through WLAN TO GO and are going to the World Cup next year, can share their pictures and videos for free.

About Deutsche Telekom:

Deutsche Telekom, with over 129 million mobile customers, close to 34 million fixed and 17 million broadband connections, is one of the leading integrated telecommunications companies worldwide (as of 31 March 2012). The Group provides products and services for the fixed network, mobile communications, Internet and IPTV for consumers, and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in over 50 countries and employs more than 235,000 people. In fiscal 2011, the Group achieved a turnover of 58.7 billion euros, of which more than half were outside Germany (as of 31 December 2011).

About Fon:

Fon was founded in February 2006 by serial entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky with the goal of blanketing the world with WiFi. Today the company is a global WiFi leader with over 7 million hotspots in more than 100 countries. Fon has offices in Madrid, London, Tokyo and New York. Its partners include Belgacom (Belgium), BT (UK), Hrvatski Telekom (Croatia), KPN (Netherlands), Oi (Brazil), MTC (Russia), Netia (Poland), SFR (France), SoftBank (Japan) and ZON (Portugal). For more information, please visit fon.com.