
Global crowdsource Wi-Fi network Fon has announced that it has surpassed the figure of 15 million hotspots after signing partnerships with Vodafone Spain and Vodafone Italia to launch a community-based Wi-Fi service. The deal helped the company add three million hotspots in less than one year and now covers the vast majority of the European population with Wi-Fi. The Americas, Oceania, and Asia are also growing continuously, said Fon, led by its partnership with SoftBank in Japan and the imminent roll out of the joint Telstra-Fon Wi-Fi network in Australia.
In a statement, the company also announced that its founder Martin Varsavsky is stepping down as CEO, to be replaced by current COO Alex Puregger. Prior to Fon, Puregger worked for eight years as a strategy consultant in telecommunications and media for Booz & Company (now Strategy&). Varsavsky will continue to serve as chairman of the board.