FreedomPop has announced the next stage in its quest to provide everyone in the US with the cheapest possible mobile phone service, and by cheap it means free. The network last hit the headlines when it released the Freedom Phone, a $100 HTC Evo Design 4G which comes with 200 minutes, 500 SMS and 500MB of data every month for the additional cost of nothing at all. Today, it has released the HTC Evo 4G on exactly the same deal, but is also letting anyone with a Sprint phone sign-up for its service, too.
This means if you own one of the supported Sprint phones, and activate it on the basic FreedomPop plan, you won’t pay anything at all, ever, provided you don’t go over the allowance. It’s hard to comprehend, really, as most of us are used to seeing monthly bills closer to three figures than to zero. We spoke to FreedomPop’s Chief Operating Officer Steven Sesar about the new plans, and he said it was an ongoing challenge to convince people the service isn’t too good to be true.
“Fifty percent of our customers don’t pay anything,” he said, “there are no gimmicks, and we’re the first and only company to offer this type of deal in the US.” He reckons savings of $1000 a year are entirely possible. When FreedomPop launched the Evo Design 4G, it expected the stock to last a couple of months, but all 10,000 shifted in just 24-hours. “It just proves there’s a massive desire for this kind of service,” said Steven, who was “overwhelmed and humbled” by the enormous demand.
This time around it has secured a far larger quantity of HTC Evo 4G phones, so stock shouldn’t disappear overnight. But that’s no longer the only option if you want to try out FreedomPop’s free tariff. If you have one of 10 Sprint phones (including the Galaxy S3, Nexus S 4G, LG Optimus S, and the HTC Evo 3D), then you can activate it on FreedomPop’s site, and you’re on your way. In the future, FreedomPop wants to support a total of 500 phones. As for the iPhone, it’s not among the supported devices at the moment, but it should be added into the range next year.
It’s just the beginning for FreedomPop, as there are plans to extend the free tariff all over America, and it’s currently holding discussions with multiple carriers to make this a reality. Beyond that, it’s eyeing any international markets where the choice of carriers is similarly limited, so it can swoop in and shake things up.
T-Mobile may be grabbing headlines with its Uncarrier plans, but Sesar isn’t convinced by their strategy, saying although it was a step in the right direction, it’s still too expensive. Seeing as FreedomPop has a completely free option on the table, it’s difficult to argue with him.
