Fon Company

In a big win for a little Wi-Fi start-up called Fon, Time Warner Cable Inc. will let its residential broadband customers turn their connections into public wireless hot spots, a practice shunned by most U.S. Internet service providers. For Fon, which has forged similar agreements with Internet service providers across Europe, the deal will boost its credibility with U.S. consumers. For Time Warner Cable, which has 6.

Google Inc. and EBay Inc.'s Skype Technologies Inc. are investing in a Spanish start-up that plans to help hotspot owners charge for Wi-Fi access, a plan that could face significant opposition from Internet service providers. The Internet heavyweights were joined by venture capital firms Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital in making a $22-million investment in Madrid-based FON. In its announcement Sunday, FON did not say how much each investor was contributing.