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

[andy]

Originally Posted by kctopitz

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)?

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.

[kctopitz]

Originally Posted by andy

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.

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.

[andy]

Originally Posted by kctopitz

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.

[GadgetKen]

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.

[GadgetKen]

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).

[rfranzq]

Originally Posted by GadgetKen

......... 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). 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'm guessing Piranha has some sort of agreement with Telna/G3;

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.

[GadgetKen]

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.

[GadgetKen]

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...

[izenzen]

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.

[wolfbln]

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.