FreedomPop's free phone service coming to Europe

FreedomPop has been in the free mobile data business for years now, and more recently in 2013 the provider started offering free phone service utilizing Sprint’s network. As you might have guessed, the business model here is that you get so much service free (200 minutes, 500 texts, 500MB data) but you can also unlock unlimited everything for an extra charge of $20.

Right now FreedomPop’s services are limited to select Sprint markets, though the company’s ambitions don’t end there. In the past there have been whispers about the company’s plans to expand their partnership to other carriers such as AT&T in the United States. And now it turns out they also have their eyes on Europe.

Today the company has confirmed its services will be rolling out to Europe, starting immediately with a limited test in Belgium. The service should also launch in the not-too-distant future in the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with eventual plans to come to parts of Asia as well. There’s no word just on which carriers the MVNO service will utilize, nor how their free and premium plans might differ from what they offer stateside. Considering Europe tends to have lower costs for phone plans, we imagine the premium rates will likely cost lower than in the U.S., but that’s really just speculation on our part.

Either way, this is exciting news for those looking for cheap or free basic smartphone access. Of course, the service isn’t without its negatives, such as the fact that it uses mobile data for everything — including VOIP calls. This means the service might perform less admirably in markets where 3G is the only option.

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