Fon Opens a Research and Development Center in Getxo, Upping its Commitment to Innovation
6 JULY 2012. BILBAO.- Fon, the world’s largest WiFi network with over six million hotspots, today announced the opening of its new Research and Development center in Getxo, just outside Bilbao. Fon’s R&D team in Getxo will be responsible for the company’s medium and long-term product and technology innovation. Heading the office is David Valerdi, who will report to Iurgi Arginzoniz, Fon’s Head of Architecture. David will contribute to Fon’s technological development, including the definition of the company’s WiFi standards, patent acquisition and forecast of new technology trends and changes.
Iurgi Arginzoniz, Head of Architecture, Fon, said:
“When deciding where to open Fon’s R&D center, we looked to the Basque Country because of the area’s fantastic innovation ecosystem that has developed over the past decade. We also wanted a location that was still close enough to Fon headquarters in Madrid, but removed enough that it would still allow us to take a step back and focus fully on new WiFi technologies. Getxo was a perfect fit. We look forward to researching and creating new technologies in this region, for the benefit of our customers and partners worldwide.”
Fon’s R&D team will be responsible for researching a number of leading edge technologies that will be central to Fon’s WiFi offering, including fixed mobile convergence and mobile offloading, next generation hotspots and IPv6. To carry out this research, Fon will employ four full-time people at its Getxo R&D center and further growth is expected in the year ahead.
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 network in the world, providing WiFi at over 6 million hotspots in over 100 countries. Fon partners with the world’s leading fixed and mobile telcos, hardware manufacturers and service providers, all who share the vision of a global WiFi community. Fon’s growing list of telco partners includes Belgacom, British Telecom, MTS Russia, Oi Brazil, SFR France, SoftBank Japan and ZON Portugal. Fon’s investors include Atomico, British Telecom, the Coral Group, Google, Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Skype. For more information please visit: fon.com