FreedomPop Now Expanding into Free Home Broadband

By Kevin Parrish
published

With the Hub Burst, FreedomPop customers can use up to 1 GB of data for free every month.

FreedomPop said on Wednesday that it is now "disrupting" the $100 billion home broadband market by taking pre-orders for the FreedomPop Hub Burst home modem. This gadget will be "disruptive" because it will pipe in 100-percent free high-speed Internet access at speeds that are on par with most cable providers.

"Major broadband providers, including Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, are pillaging consumers, charging in excess of $500 per year for home Internet," said Stephen Stokols, FreedomPop's CEO. "The Hub Burst puts us in position to offer a compelling alternative for the massive home market much quicker than we initially planned."

Back in October, the company said that it officially launched free internet for everyone. It guaranteed a minimum of 500 MB of 4G wireless Internet service every month anywhere Clearwire's 4G coverage is available.  No long-term contracts, no ads, and no gimmicks, the company said. Later that month, the company shipped an iPod Touch 4G Sleeve that snaps onto a 4th-generation iPod Touch, turning it into a 4G-capable smartphone.

Now the upcoming Hub Burst device, costing a reasonable $89, brings free internet directly to a home or small office. The device itself is a modem / router combo, allowing ten devices to connect via Wi-Fi or Ethernet simultaneously. Users are guaranteed 1 GB of data every month, and additional means to earn even more unlimited free data.

In addition to the free service, FreedomPop also provides two plans for data hogs who need more than 1 GB a month. These include a $9.99 monthly subscription for 10 GB, and a pay-as-you-go option that charges $0.005 per megabyte, or $5 per 1 GB.

FreedomPop claims that consumers could pay up to 80-percent less than what they shell out to cable and DSL operators. After all, the median American household uses under 5.5 GB per month at home, yet spends over $50 for Internet service alone, Stokols said.

"FreedomPop will utilize the Clearwire WiMax network, ensuring that installation is as simple as plugging in the device with no time-consuming, complicated installations. Unlike traditional service providers, there are no contracts, no hidden fees and no installation issues," the company stated in a press release.

To pre-order the FreeDom Pop Hnub Burst, head here. The company will determine if coverage is in your area before taking a pre-order payment.

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Kevin Parrish
13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • A Bad Day
    1 GB of free data every month... $9.99 monthly subscription for 10 GB... $5 per 1 GB.

    This is not the early 2000's. A family can easily eat through a GB every 1-2 days.
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    EDIT: And that's not including Netflix or P2P services.
    Reply
  • nonoitall
    For people who don't use the internet, this could save them a bundle on internet costs!
    Reply
  • Cazalan
    That's odd there is a specific carve out for iTunes/Apple in the TOS but no other company is specifically mentioned. Is this being funded in a round about way by Apple to get more people caught in their honeypot?

    "FreedomPop Software Obtained From iTunes"
    Reply
  • edgewood112358
    It sounds like a cool idea, but for my family 1GB isn't going to cut it. Last month we went through 147GB of data (Mostly steam games though...I miss disk installs, having to wait 3 days to play a new game is a major drag).
    Reply
  • Jesus this is great deal, $89 one time fee gets you a backup internet connection for life. You could just run VOIP services on it and it would pay for itself in 4 months of telephone fees. $10 for 10 gigs, that is also an incredible deal.
    Reply
  • biggiebody
    Well this is a cheap alternative for people who don't download and just email or surf the net. But this is much more expensive (at least for me) if people are going to download. I pay comcast $50 for internet and I get 250gb (which as of right now there is no cap).
    Reply
  • zedon
    Agree with other posters that this is good for people who do email and casual web suring but never download or stream anything. I use 25-150 gb a month, so this would be a very expensive way to go. I gladly pay $48 for my internet which I am very surprisingly happy with. It's only been down for 2 hours minutes in the 10 months I've had it.
    Reply
  • puddleglum
    Folks, this isn't for the modern generation who streams video and games online. This is for your grandmother who only want's to check her email or read some news. Think of it as the NEW DialUp. Remember that? Does anyone even offer that anymore? At any rate, I think it is a cost effective backup or seldomly used internet connection.
    Reply
  • greatsaltedone
    toalanJesus this is great deal, $89 one time fee gets you a backup internet connection for life. You could just run VOIP services on it and it would pay for itself in 4 months of telephone fees. $10 for 10 gigs, that is also an incredible deal.Thats a good idea. Used strictly for VOIP and smart phone data access this could be a pretty incredible tool. Service reliability becomes the only possibly hangup at that point.
    Reply