BT, FON Wi-Fi deal hints at wireless future

Do you really care what wireless network you're on? Aside from a few wireless geeks that live in an acronym filled world of 3G, EVDO, HSDPA and CDMA no one cares.

The future of wireless is plain as day: You'll have a device that hops from 3G to WiFi (and WiMax) to whatever access technology appears. This access will be seamless and you'll barely know the difference. Getting to the future is another story. When it comes to this wireless future I'm like a kid stuck in the backseat of a long car ride. Are we there yet? No. Are we there yet? No. Repeat.

There are some efforts moving toward this future from that likes of T-Mobile, which is using Wi-Fi along with its network. But for every one of these examples there are disabled unlocked phones, network restrictions and walls between using Wi-Fi and your traditional wireless network.

That's what makes today's deal between BT Group and Spanish Internet startup FON interesting (FON blog, Techmeme). BT bought an undisclosed stake in FON and plans to create the largest WiFi network to blanket the UK. I'm far from sold on the idea of WiFi being strung together into a great wireless network, but it certainly has a role.

By combining FON's hotspots with BT's WiFi coverage, which is usually found at a McDonald's or airport, you get to something I'm really sold on. A lot of network hopping.

BT's game plan is to use its partnership with FON to boost its BT Fusion service. This service allows customers to switch seamlessly between fixed, mobile and wireless networks. Toss in some WiFi and BT's Fusion service could have a much larger footprint.

I'll be curious to see how this plays out for BT. I hope it plays out well because we could certainly use a little more wireless access fusion here in the U.S. All of these uncommunicative access options--insert your acronym here--just don't make sense for the customer.

FON founder Martin Varasavsky described the BT deal and said the following about the carrier:

It was amazing and refreshing to see how agile a telco giant could be in working with an innovative concept like the BT FON Community. Everyone at BT and FON has dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and effort in working closely together to make this new Wi-Fi community a reality.

Here's to hoping some of that agility and innovation makes it across the pond.