Free phone service FreedomPop unveils $20 'Unlimited' plan
Firm launches paid "Unlimited Everything" plan, adds LTE phones to offerings to mark its move to Sprint's LTE network.
Free phone service FreedomPop is serving up a $20-a-month all-you-can-eat option.
Unveiled on Thursday, the new "Unlimited Everything" plan offers unlimited talk, text, and data for the $20 monthly fee. The only apparent drawback is that once you consume more than 1GB, your data speed drops from 4G to 3G. Free tethering is also included with all new LTE phones to turn them into wireless hot spots.
Founded in 2011, and initially backed by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, FreedomPop offers free but limited Net-based phone service (as well as Internet access) by way of wireless broadband. It also offers paid phone plans that include more voice and text but still cap the data (the Unlimited Everything plan does away with the data limit). The company's services are available only in selected areas.
In line with its official shift to Sprint's 4G LTE network, FreedomPop is also offering a few new LTE phones. The Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, and Victory join the Galaxy S2, the HTC EVO 4G, and the iPhone 5 as part of the mobile provider's lineup. All new LTE phones automatically come with the free mobile broadband service that offers 200 voice calls, 500 texts, and 500 megabytes of data per month.
"Now that we have complete access to the most expansive wireless network, we are able to fully upgrade our device portfolio to the high-end smartphones that our customers want," FreedomPop Chief Operating Officer Steven Sesar said in a statement.
As always, though, you have the option of buying a phone with FreedomPop or bringing your own device to the service. Customers can carry over various Android phones as well as the Sprint-compatible iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, or iPhone 5 handsets.
You can find out if FreedomPop's mobile service is available in your area and check out its phones, hot-spot devices, and mobile plans at the company's website.
Further, FreedomPop has launched a new Android app called FreedomPop Free Voice and Text. As per its name, the app lets users of Android phones directly sign up for and tap into the company's free voice and text services to make calls, send texts, and access voicemail. Through the over-the-top communications app, users can also request a new phone number or port over an existing number.