Homeowners are being invited to share their internet connections with passers-by in return for the right to access the network via other people’s connections.The attempt to expand the nation’s wi-fi network will mean that anybody with one of the latest mobile phone handsets, such as the Apple iPhone and some BlackBerrys, can access the internet through the front window of a participating home. People who sign up to the scheme, announced by BT and FON, a Spanish internet company, will be able to access the net through other people’s broadband connections and through BT’s 2,000 wi-fi hotspots. A typical home broadband router, which transmits the wireless signal, has a 30m range, making it easy for passers-by to “piggyback”.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2599604.ece