FreedomPop Launches “Free” Global Data Hotspot And SIM - and Competition?
 

The FreedomPop offer now works in 25 countries (UK and US shipping address required to receive the SIM + dongle): http://techcrunch.com/2016/01/20/fre...tspot-and-sim/

I wonder about the competition? The Karma dongle looks better, for what it's worth (https://yourkarma.com/), though it lacks the main feature of FreedomPop: it does not work internationally.

What about the competition - if you are not in the market for such a SIM at the very moment, but rather, looking for the long term evolution of this market? Here's a good one - Apple SIM: https://levels.io/roaming-is-stupid/

I agree with "levelsio", these 'mom and pap' small scale operations, which includes for me FreedomPop as well (who are they, really?) may not, probably will not change the world, maybe something large scale, like a global telecom company with the clout of Vodafone, T-Mobile, etc., or a big IT company like Apple/Google/Microsoft/Facebook, etc.

Your take on this whole market phenomenon?

200 MB per month roaming data for free sounds good.
Problem is that only US- and UK-citizens are allowed to enlist in effect.
Not only a UK or US postal address is required, but you have to submit credit card data for the purchase and for possible overuse. I suspect it needs to be a UK- or US-issued card.
FreedomPop has always promised to open up in new countries, but they stay away from every country that has a registration scheme for SIM cards.
The Mifi is somewhat strange: it only has US-LTE frequencies on it, but FreedomPop advertises with LTE in Europe.
The SIM card is going to be sold for $/£10. This time there seem to be no hidden fees.
More roaming data will be available for pay: 500 MB for $/£10. For comparison the new roaming cap in the EU will be at €25 for 500 MB plus taxes plus the domestic data rate.

So it's a good rate. The best around for an international SIM card right now. But available only for 5% of the world population living in the US or UK. Btw many UK users are still waiting for months for their domestic SIM. Isn't a bit daring to launch a new product in the meantime?

Your "mom and dad" enterprise has raised $50 million for this SIM http://www.forbes.com/sites/aarontil.../#17551ef66bd1 I wonder what happens when they are gone???

It seems to be even more limited than only to UK and USA.

Applying using an email address that has been on their waiting list for months, there is a message that the email address is already in use.

Using a different email address, it does the postcode and address search, then presents options of the mifi device or SIM only. The SIM only is described as temporarily sold out.

As I understand, the SIM-only option is not sold yet, but announced to be available soon in the US and UK. Right now, they only sell the MiFi combo, which is not such a good deal after all.

When somebody outside of the US and UK has found a way to get it, please specify how. I think it might be possible, if you have an address in the UK or US (where someone collects mail for you) because it seems to be some waiting involved.
You may order it on a prepaid debit card that is sold in the US. At least some people have suceeded in linking their domestic FreedomPop plan to a temporary debit card.

I'm quite reluctant to add this product to the prepaid data WIKI. While it gives 200 MB roaming data for free and a reasonable rate for overuse; it clearly disobeys the "available to the general public rule" when hardly 5% of the world population have the chance to buy it.

Btw. what is this postcode and address search for? After all it's a roaming data SIM. When they restrict purchase to the UK and US, it's all right to do so and they need just to specify this. Why do you need a local search engine then? Do they have quotas for every state in the US or county in Britain? Such a search engine only makes sense if you have a locally restricted product within the US or UK. But the restriction works much more effectively by the issuing countries of the accepted credit/debit cards and required delivery address.

I doubt that there is any regional quota within a country, though when I ordered the previous SIM some wording on the website did sound a bit like that, enter post code to check eligibility (maybe they just meant coverage).

When I said post code and address search, I wasn't really thinking of those points. Here it's just a short cut method of entering the address on an order form.

In the UK a post code defines a smaller local area than in say Germany. On most websites I would enter it and press a button, then get a drop-down list of 6 named houses in this small road. Other people might get 15 or 20 house numbers.

I didn't expect a reaction to FreedomPop by another operator on this side of the Atlantic, but Three UK seems to match their offer, well sort of.

They introduced their new Data Award SIM which happens to give out 200 MB for free per month. This data can be topped up for pay and used even in the "Feel at home" countries too or you stay at the very low (domestic) default data rate of 1p per MB (which seems not to be available for roaming).

So it's a combination of the two different plans of FreedomPop domestic and roaming. It includes only data, no "free" calls, yet you can text for 2p and call for 3p/min in the UK. But there are fewer countries covered on their "feel at home" plan compared to the roaming on FreedomPop.

While Three UK's SIM is for GBP10 with 1 GB valid for 30 days, FreedomPop is free (domestic) or at GBP10 (roaming SIM) without data included but the 200 MB freebies.

The most important difference, Three's SIM is available without waiting for months and will be distributed on eBay in other countries soon. It doesn't need to be linked to a UK credit card. Although top-ups from outside of the UK without having one is tricky.

Offer: http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/04/t...ta-reward-sim/

You spotted that a day before I did.

But before rushing to eBay, there's a potential drawback for people who want to use it outside the UK most of the time (as I discovered only yesterday)

If you use your allowances exclusively in a Feel At Home destination for any 2 complete months in a rolling 12 month period, we may suspend international roaming on your account, which means you’ll no longer be able to use your device or allowances abroad. We’d let you know if this were likely to happen first. If you spend a full month abroad but some of that time is spent in a destination that isn’t included in Feel At Home, this restriction won’t apply.

http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-...ase=obj(12332)

Well, we feature the 'Feel at home' option for a long time now on the prepaid data WIKI. We didn't receive a single report of somebody who had been switched off. This restriction has been in their T&Cs since they started FLH years ago. Officially, it's not for 'permanent roaming', only for occasional roaming which seems to be not strictly enforced.

People complain much more about their weird smartphone-only policy of their PAYG plans. Tethering and hotspot use is sniffed through packet inspection and blocked. This is not enforced on their prepaid Mobile Broadband plans. Many users are looking for ways to bypass this restriction, see http://androidforums.com/threads/how...etwork.542650/.

Now, the new Data Award SIM is listed in the Mobile Broadband section aimed at tablets and and modems. So they can't block tethering on it. But unlike their old Mobile Broadband plans, it has voice and text too. So, finally Three seems to overcome the split between the two product lines.

Giving 200 MB per month for free, i'm very astonished too that Three lets you register a max. of 5 Data Award SIMs on one name. Has FreedomPop really such a big impact in the UK now? I'm only reading about people waiting for their SIM. Even Three's default rate of 1p per MB in the UK and 10p/MB on roaming is unmatched.

As far as I could understand F-POP UK is a MVNO on Three UK. Somewhere in their FAQs they mention that they will only sell you when there is Three 3G/4G coverage at your address.

Also it seems to be a data SIM only with voice/texts only working as VoIP over 3G/4G-data or WiFi through their App. In the FAQs they mention that the SIM comes with two phone numbers. The mobile one printed somewhere on the SIM non operational. And the other working one on the F-POP App.

Interesting to see FreedomPop moving into the international data market. As a reader of a US deals forum, I'll state that their free service offerings in the US come with very mixed reviews, with people reporting that their credit cards have shown random charges for supposedly free service (you have to have a credit card on file with them). This may just be a matter of people not reading the fine print, unchecking the right boxes, etc., but I think a "proceed with caution" warning should still apply. Perhaps pay for the SIM with a prepaid credit card and keep that on file with them.

Given that, I'd be much more inclined to try one of Three UK's SIM cards, but since I'm never in the UK, I have a feeling that sooner or later my service would be cut off as per the aforementioned terms and conditions.

Note: Doing some research on the FreedomPop service, here's a page which shows the list of countries being added "soon" (this year?). The list includes:

Bangladesh
Brazil
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
Mexico
Philippines
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
Thailand
Vietnam

These will be in addition to their currently supported countries which are basically the US and most of Europe (missing some of the eastern European and Baltic states).

A quote from a US user of the FreedomPop global hotspot:

"Speedtest.net identifies the location of the sim as being in London. Looks like they are running the sim off of the Three UK cell network."

Looks like FreedomPop is piggybacking on Three's data plan.

It's definitely been confirmed on other websites that the FreedomPop global sim is using Three UK. Despite being in a LTE hotspot (basically an unlocked version of an AT&T/Novatel Mifi Liberate) the signal is reported as only 3g. It can function in 3g on either T-Mo or AT&T in the US but is reported as having high ping rates of around 200-300 ms due to running off UK servers.
Tempting because it would give me access to data networks other than my current access to Sprint (FreeedomPop CDMA or Karma) or Verizon (through wireless tether). But I'm hesitant to sign up for the freedompop global offer due to:
-Lack of coverage other than US and Western Europe. I'd like to also see Canada, Bermuda and Non-US Caribbean coverage.
-Reported long ping times on internet connections in the US.
-Problems with availability of sim cards. They recently restocked but were sold out again within hours. I have a decommisioned hotspot similar to what they have in stock, so wouldn't want to pay for a second one.
-Slick business practices by FreedomPop. When signing up for FreedomPop Sprint CDMA coverage, I had to deselect the 30 day free trial of paid service, additional unwanted service add-ons that would be auto-billed quarterly, and automatic top-ups(they now charge a US$5 fee for that where I paid nothing at the time). Then I added FreedomFriends (for 50 mb/month per added friend up to a max of 500 mb extra a month) and I also shift unused data between my three FreedomPop CDMA devices to boost my usable data allotment. While I understand FreedomPop has to make money to stay in business, you have to jump through hoops to get the optional truly free service from them.
-Varying degrees of customer service on the odd occasion I've needed it. Sometimes good and sometimes not.
-No voice or SMS access on FreedomPop Global sim cards other than through VOIP or SIP based services.

I agree it has some catches, but getting 600 or 700 MB of data per month (by using the Freedom Friends program) for free (assuming you know how to disable their "catches") is still a good deal. 300ms pings aren't that bad, nor are the reported download speeds (4.0 to 5.0 Mbps down, 1.0 to 2.5 Mbps up). Plus the fact that said data is usable in the US and Europe.

Really, as long as you're someone who can read instructions and take precautions (i.e. use a virtual credit card with a low limit), this is a no-brainer if (when) it's available.

Might sign up for FreedomPop Global once they have coverage in the areas I need it in. But no data coverage in Canada, non-US Caribbean and Bermuda make it of limited use to me. For US, I have unlimited Verizon (in theory; I can't use it that heavily or it would likely be throttled or cut off), plus ~3 gb free a month on FreedomPop CDMA Sprint, and a lot of non-expiring data on Karma CDMA Sprint with the ability to earn more free.

Will be in Bermuda for a couple of weeks starting at the end of May, and will be using limited free hotel wifi, Kindle free 3g and InMarSat voice for my data and voice needs. Used to have a Digicel Bermuda sim but they increased the minimum monthly refill and started charging daily license fees on pay-as-you-go plans (other than the flat rate prepaid plan that still charges for international calls to US and elsewhere). Also used to have Telna but they tripled Bermuda rates. Might pick up a Piranha sim card as a backup.

I can recommend Piranha if you travel internationally. While they won't match a local prepaid SIM, their rates are generally reasonable in pretty much every country, i.e. $.14/MB in Bermuda, which would allow you to check email and news without breaking the bank. That plus a 420-day expiry make it a good backup SIM if nothing else.

Since Piranha transactions are in British Pounds, now is a good time to buy, as the Pound hasn't been so weak against the dollar in over 10 years.

I've asked them more than once about selling the SIM on its own, as I already have some mifi routers, and I don't think the spec of theirs is ideal for Europe. They keep replying telling me the frequency bands in the spec, and I keep replying also telling them the frequency bands, i.e. no 4g and no 900 MHz 3g.

The FreedomPop Global mifi device is a Novatel 5792 (aka the MiFi 2 or the AT&T Mifi Liberate in the US). I have the AT&T version but discontinued postpaid service on it when I found less expensive prepaid alternatives. It's a decent mifi device but on rare occasion I have had to do a battery pull when it got glitchy.

Agree FreedomPop should heavily stock up on the GSM/3G sim cards and not just try to push the mifi device and sim kits(how tough can it be to buy a few thousand private labeled sim cards?). Many people already have USB sticks, mifi devices and wifi hotspot enabled handsets and don't need another router...

I like my CDMA/LTE FreedomPop USB and mifi devices on Sprint service in the US, but will wait on trying the new FreedomPop Global offering until they have more coverage where I need it and stand-alone sim cards are readily available.

I went ahead and ordered the Piranha Mobile sim card on the GBP50 option (basically the sim card is free if ordered with the large reload). Plus used a credit card that has no international transaction fees. Unlike FreedomPop Global, I know Piranha will work in Bermuda on an upcoming trip, and I can also use it in other countries that FreedomPop does not currently serve. Probably will swap the sim card in my CAT B100 rugged phone so it will work fine hiking or at the beach. It will be a good backup to my prepaid InMarSat phone if there's an obstructed view to InMarSat-4 Americas or it's pouring outside.

Andy, if you're in the UK, wouldn't it make more sense to use one of Three UK's SIMs which is basically the same thing (free 200MB data usable in Europe and the US)?

If you really want a US FreedomPop SIM, they went on sale last week for $.99 with free shipping, but sold out in a few hours. I'm guessing they're using a first run as a beta test of sorts, and that more SIMs will be available soon.

I will be getting one of those Three SIMs soon, but its free roaming is in a different list of countries, 10 European and 8 others.

When FreedomPop Global restocks sim cards, I may get one of those too. But I'm in no rush since it's really a data only sim card and it doesn't have coverage in several countries I need it in. The current FreedomPop Global mifi device would just be a paperweight in Bermuda, where I know Piranha and InMarSat will work just fine there. I like FreedomPop CDMA Sprint in the US for the complimentary gigabyte I get on each of my FreedomPop devices, but their FreedomPop Global GSM offering looks like it still is a "work in progress".

I just got an email from Piranha that my order is marked as shipped and they also included a complimentary second sim and to take both sims when traveling (I ordered one with GBP50 on it and they also are including a spare with GBP5 on it). Unlike FreedomPop Global, Piranha appears to have no shortage of sim cards :) The phone numbers on both sim cards (one is Jersey City, NJ and the other is El Dorado Springs, MO) are registered as "Mobile-Telecom North America Mobile" when I checked the numbers on WhitePages.com. I used to have a Telna postpaid sim card but cancelled it when their rates changed shortly before their being acquired by G3 Telecom of Canada. I'm guessing Piranha has some sort of agreement with Telna/G3; Piranha rates are very good for voice in the countries I need it in. For instance Bermuda is less per minute for outgoing international calls back to the US than what I would pay for a local prepaid sim card on Digicel or CellOne (local carriers charge a flat BM75 cents/minute for international long distance where Piranha is USD42 cents/minute).

Piranha SIMs
 

That second SIM is nice. I wonder what was done by you to get it?
My Piranha is a local area code. Did you not have an opportunity to choose one? Of did you choose not to choose?

[My 562 area code phone number is with Common Pointe Networks of Illinois LLC -] When I looked a few years back the only exchange in the USA I could find that was actually Telna was in El Dorado Springs, MO.

No idea on how I qualified for the second sim but it can be useful. Can use it as a spare, put it in a second device, lend it to a family member or close friend, etc. Didn't really care about the area codes assigned just so long as they were US numbers. Vast majority of calls on the Piranha sim will be outgoing so it's not that important to me. Key thing is that Piranha will let me have inexpensive service where I need it. Piranha will work in Bermuda on Digicel, where FreedomPop Global currently has no roaming arrangements there.

Can you confirm whether you need to top up first before you get the free data? If that's the case it's a minimum of £10, so that plus being outside the UK and having to buy it through a 3rd party (add 10%) means about $15. Not bad, but probably not worth it for me to buy a SIM just to test it out.

Until now I would have said I believe it costs £10 which is for 1 GB for the first month as well as then getting the free 200 MB per month. So I was waiting to make the excuse to start.

... however I just looked again, and it now seems to be possible to order a free SIM without that first 1 GB bundle but still have the free.

http://www.three.co.uk/datareward

edit: I've ordered one. The wording on the confirmation page suggests it may still need topping up, but at least that will still be credit, rather than no choice of what it pays for.

I look forward to your findings! Have you seen any indications that you can use any Three prepaid SIM for this offer?

new Freedompop Global SIM deal
 

Looks like this was just released. Seems like great pricing for international data.

Anyone have details on it?



https://forums.freedompop.com/discus...hipping#latest

You can find quite a bit of info on this Slickdeals thread.

Note that the one released today for $5 doesn't seem to include and texts or voice minutes, though those were over VOIP anyway and you're probably better off using Google Voice / Hangouts or another 3rd party app if you want calls and texting.

I think they downplayed the VOIP aspect on the US$5 offer because of higher latency rates of 200-300 ms for US customers running on AT&T USA off of Three's UK data servers.

Just ordered a FreedomPop GSM hotspot for US$29.99 with free shipping and a US$5 rebate through ebates.com. For now, it will just be a backup on AT&T in the US...if they offer service in Canada, non-US Caribbean and Bermuda in the future I would use it more. Already have a similar locked AT&T mifi device I can use parts from (battery, battery door, case, charger, microsd card). Probably can get a total of ~1 gb free a month with 200 mb free plan plus 500 mb freedomfriends plus ~300 mb gifted from FreedomPop Sprint LTE devices I have plus miscellaneous mb from coupon printing, etc. Wasn't considering FreedomPop Global until the price point reached a net price of US$25 after rebates...

Starting soon in Spain:
http://es.freedompop.com

Looks like the underlying network will be Yoigo (data only) without the possibility to use the Movistar national roaming.

Hello Peterdoo,

I've just read it today in several places and they could use Orange coverage (not confirmed yet)

The information available is very limited but it looks like they will offer for ONE single payment of five (5) euros: every month 300 Mb internet + 300 min + 300 sms. This is the basic plan and add-ons could be ordered separately.

Whatsup messages will also be included free of charge and they will not count for the 300 Mb/month limit (probably only plain text)

The basic plan alllowance could also be used in roaming in several countries.

The FreedomPop app must be used in order to get the 300 Mb internet, the 300 min (VoIP) and the sms.

Regards

Sorry for not replying sooner. A Three SIM only arrived today, after a phone query found no trace of order, so I re-ordered. (edit: another SIM arrived the next day)

I don't know whether any previous SIM can be transferred to this offer. I suspect not, but I haven't actually asked.

My SIM is the free one without the initial paid bundle. Activation was online, using a web form, and needs to be connected to a router with the SIM in. However it will help to simultaneously be in a home wifi zone, as the process involves a confirmation link in an email, and other connections than the specific web page (i.e. email and other websites) didn't work until about 20 minutes after that was clicked

The 200 MB allowance is shown in the account online, and I have not been asked to add any credit. The options to do so seem to start with pre-selecting a bundle, all for 30 days, and the cheapest is £15 for 2GB, so some people might then wish they'd chosen the £10 for 1GB on the initial SIM order. But I'm intending to see how it goes without topping up.

Great news. Thanks for the report. Sounds like I'll have to get myself one of these. Now if only the eBay sellers would offer the SIM-only package with shipping to the US!

Bumping this as FreedomPop has just launched the service in Spain.

For 12€ you get a SIM with free 200mb + 300sms + 100 outgoing minutes each month with "unlimited Whatsapp usage" (1gb FUP on that), you can get up to free additional 500mb (which are recurring!) by adding a bunch of friends from Slickdeals list. Data overages are really cheap (0,015€/mb for free plan, 0,01€ for paid ones).

Even if calls and texts are VoIP (and limited to Spain unless you buy an international call plan) and quality varies, the plans are quite cheap (9€/mo for 2gb + unlimited calls and texts), even more considering it roams (without apparent limits) on most of EU and US.

Only problem is network speed in Spain, by default it connects to the Orange network in which speed and latency are quite horrid (1-2mbps, ~300ms), but they sent an email announcement telling people to connect manually to Movistar (!) which gives decent (~12mbps down) speeds while they fix the issue with Orange. There are also problems now with Whatsapp being discounted from your data allowance _twice_. Quite a bumpy and original start.

The other curious thing is that the SIM has a UK ICC belonging to Three, pings and latencies correspond to all traffic going through the UK.

The issue will probably be getting one from outside Spain for non-spaniards, but once the issues are fixed for EU/US roamers this is probably a really good deal.

I really can't share this optimism about FreedomPop trying it again in Spain.
We have their offer in three countries now: US, UK and Spain.
Every decent review shows a very mixed bag so far. Basic data is quite cheap, but there are many strings attached and 1/2 of all customers buy additional allowances which are rather pricey. This is after all, how this company makes money.

The first reviews from Spain were horrid. As a novelty they teamed up with WhatsApp to offer a more widespread solution for VoIP. Basically a good idea. But it's generally not working.

Pero lo cierto es que los primeros usuarios del nuevo operador han reportado que la conexión es muy lenta, peor que usando una SIM de la propia Orange o de otros virtuales bajo su cobertura.

Traffic through Orange seems to be deprioritized and often it's not feasible to make calls at all. You need a certain speed for VoIP. Generally, speed with Orange network is good. So it's a FreedomPop problem. This is added by the fact, that they don't have access to 4G/LTE networks. Sure, getting a 2nd 3G network coverage like Movistar may improve the situation. But Movistar doesn't offer so much more speed or better coverage on 3G in Spain compared to Orange or Vodafone. All three networks are more or less on par.

The main issue remains that all traffic is routed through UK-based servers. This is like their US product resulting in very high latency/ping times of some hundred ms. They will not be able to bring this down considerably with any 3G network, not even with a 4G/LTE network, as long as they don't change their routing. This makes it very inconvenient, if all voice calls are continued to be routed through VoIP. So some voice calls face a delay of 5 seconds or more. This is like IDD calling more than 50 years ago. This is added by their billing problems with WhatsApp and a practically non-existent customer support.

So again, they have introduced a product to a local market, which simply doesn't seem to be ready for it. For a "free" allowance, users are willing to bear some burden, but are getting annoyed when the product remains to be faulty. After all, they want to sell add-ons based on the same product. They should have better marketed this product as a data-only option (without voice calls) like their international data roaming SIM in the first place. Adding voice calls from the start in Spain like this, just gets them more trouble than necessary. But they should have known these issues before as they are not new!

I really don't understand how it can be recommended right now. Only if you use it for 3G data only, are willing to accept a certain delay in transmission and stay within the free allowance, it can be a viable back-up solution after all. Getting it in Spain, UK or the US is not such a problem as they accept all internatl. credit cards and your plan will be linked to it. You only need a postal address for delivery in one of these countries.

To anyone who wants to try FreedomPop out, for the US you have to give them your ZIP code and an e-mail address in order to establish eligibility. If you do that and then wait a few days they'll send you an offer that's cheaper than their original offer. I don't know if they do something similar in the UK or ES but it's worth waiting to see.

The spanish FreedomPop offers 10 GB monthly at €25, according to them valid in more than 25 countries without any roaming surcharge (confirmed in blogs of various users):

https://es.support.freedompop.com/ap...tail/a_id/2973

This could be an interesting data roaming SIM. I have not tried yet to order the SIM to an address outside of Spain.

It is a Three UK based SIM. Tethering seems to work on Android, however no tethering profile is available for iOS.

Using the FP MiFi 2 box with local SIM
 

Has anyone tried using their MiFi 2 unit without the FP SIM?

Is the box FP supplies unlocked? I would like to buy a local SIM card
with data and use it without the FP Global SIM

(the unit I purchased is the Novatel #5792 with Ver. 1.1 software)


I am US based and would use it in Europe and Vietnam, Mexico etc



Any thoughts on this?

Check the device specification for frequency bands

I don't think it has 900 MHz 3g, which is common in some European countries, and no 4g here either.

That's why I didn't buy one, pointed this out to them, and asked them more than once to sell just the SIM.

I failed in my attempt to get the roaming data SIM via the US site. It accepted the order, with UK postcode lookup, and with a UK credit card. After 2 months of occasionally logging in to check progress I asked for a predicted delivery date. They replied to say they couldn't process this, and refunded.

A couple of days later they launched a new roaming product on the UK site, very similar to as mentioned above for Spanish site, with 100 minutes some texts and 200 MB free monthly, or paid bundle options. Free trial larger bundle in first month. Roaming in most though not all EU countries plus USA.

Feel at Home countries added a week ago, now whole EU, 8 other European, 8 rest of world