Free US mobile service provider FreedomPop, backed by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstom, has announced that it will be bringing its free mobile plans across the pond to the UK starting in July.
FreedomPop has seen some success in the United States with its free plans of 500MB of data, 500 texts and 500 voice minutes per month. Now it will be bringing a much reduced plan to the UK, where they "plan to wipe out the guys offering £5-£10 data plans".
The company"s co-founder and COO Steven Sesar said, in an interview with the BBC, that FreedomPop plans to make money by selling extras on top of the basic plan to its customers, such as the ability to attach a US number to their UK phone for £2 per month, as well as overage charges on data. "We see ourselves as the no-frills mobile carrier. We want users to feel liberated, getting the basic services for free", Sesar said, explaining how the company plans to market the service, likely along with the same kind of promotions they adopt in the US.
According to the service map on their website, "FreedomPop will be available across the UK initially and expanding to other areas in the future with no roaming fees", perhaps indicating a possible European expansion into Ireland and beyond. FreedomPop uses a combination of MVNO network access and WiFi calling to reduce their costs as much as possible, and requires the use of a special app to make calls and send texts, but it is difficult to beat their prices.
Source: BBC via Trusted Reviews | Image: Free WiFi concept via Shutterstock