I captured the coffee: Fon has an interesting idea to spread the reach of the for-fee part of its network. Convince folks near Starbucks outlets to install Fon routers--which Fon will provide at no cost--and thus provide a $2 day rate alternative to T-Mobile's $10 price tag. (T-Mobile charges $10 for 24 hours' access across their network.) Those who operate their network on a for-fee basis with Fon, calls "Bills" in their system,
Of course, T-Mobile has T-1 lines to each of its locations, a strange precondition that dates back to MobileStar's initial arrangement with Starbucks, which provides high-quality, high-service-level-agreement-consistency 1.5 Mbps service in each direction. Comparable DSL and cable service provided by a Fonero is likely to be lower on the upload side, but could be as high or higher for downloads.
However, as noted before on this site and elsewhere, most US ISPs don't permit sharing a network connection with users outside the household, Speakeasy Networks being the sole national ISP that allows sharing any broadband connection without special conditions. And La Fonera, the flagship router distributed by Fon, may have a good antenna, but it's unlikely to provide the same strength of service within a Starbucks that the T-Mobile signal provides.
Still, it's an interesting shot over the bow, and any encroachment by Fon on the relatively high day rates charged by T-Mobile and some other networks could offer some welcome relief. On the other hand, as TechDirt notes--from which I found this story--there's plenty of free coffeeshop Wi-Fi for those not inclined to frequent El Starbuckos already.