Fon begins beta testing a business Wi-Fi network

Crowdsourced Wi-Fi Internet service provider Fon plans to add a business component to its largely residential hotspot footprint.

Now, Fon has launched a global beta program, inviting consumer-facing businesses to install a souped-up version of its Fonera router and offer Internet access to Fon members and the general public.

The new program seems to split the difference between the two models of business Wi-Fi we see today: wide-open networks businesses offer as an amenity to attract customers and closed networks for internal use.