Telecom Lead Europe: KPN has selected Fon Wi-Fi network to expand Wi-Fi hotspots in the Netherlands and to offer access to over 7 million Wi-Fi hotspots abroad.
KPN expects to test the Wi-Fi network within the next half year. The commercial launch is planned for later this year.
“We are the Integrated Access Provider in The Netherlands. We aim to deliver our customers fast and integrated services across both our mobile and fixed network. This partnership is an addition to this strategy,” said Joost Farwerck, managing director KPN Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, KPN customers will be able to share a portion of their own home bandwidth in exchange for free access on shared broadband connections of other KPN broadband customers in the Netherlands and Fon customers in other countries.
A separate Wi-Fi signal will be created for the part of the broadband connection that will be shared with other customers, which guarantees a safe home network for the individual KPN customer.
Fon has already deployed over 7 million Wi-Fi access points with several other telco companies around the world.
KPN customers will have access to global Wi-Fi coverage in countries such as the Belgium, France, UK and Japan. Moving forward, Fon aims to have over 50 million shared connections in its international network within a couple of years to the benefit of KPN customers.
The public Wi-Fi network will enable access in and around houses where shared connections are operational. The public Wi-Fi network is complementary to KPN’s mobile and fixed network with over 1,500 HotSpots in the Netherlands. This step is in line with KPN’s aim to offer its customers internet access in a way that satisfies their needs best.
“The Netherlands is one of the world’s most tech savvy nations. We are very excited to team up with the innovative people at KPN, the nation’s leading telecommunication provider, to bring Fon Wi-Fi to over 16 million people across the country,” said Alex Puregger, COO of Fon.
