Yes, there are new ideas about economic basics

And they may end up rocking us. Here is a WiFi router offered for $5.00 -- a good deal. What is the quid pro quo? You have to download code from Fon that will then allow other Fon members to share your WiFi broadband connection for free. If you don't belong to Fon, you could share for $3.00/day.

It is a very clever, highly viral way to get people to share their Wi-Fi connections. My big question: Is this legal? A spokesperson told me, "We don't encourage using the service where it's not legal," but the Fon site doesn't say where it is and is not. He also told me that several ISPs, especially those that are second and third in their markets, have approached Fon about partnering. Apparently, they see this network as something that will drive broadband adoption.

< a href="http://http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/27/130239">Slashdot has this to say about the share a connection Fons scheme: "Buyers of the subsidized routers can classify themselves as 'Linuses', whereby they also get free access to all other Fon hotspots, or 'Bills', where they receive 50% of the revenue made by on-selling their Wi-Fi to other Fon users. 'Alien' users can buy 24-hour passes for 3 Euro." The network is passworded now, but a later version will let users designate a public and a private network in their home.

tags technorati : wifi economics