Overview

A new provider with the rather philanthropic mission of delivering free mobile service to all, FreedomPop takes a different approach to its broadband plans. It offers both dedicated 4G plans, which tend to be cheaper, and plans that offer additional nationwide 3G roaming at a slight premium. Where FreedomPop stands apart, however, is its ultra-budget option: You can sign up for a free, 500MB monthly allocation that can be used with any Sprint-compatible USB modem or mobile hotspot.

The Company

FreedomPop’s mission is to deliver free and fast mobile services to all Americans.

FreedomPop is a new wave telecom company launched publicly in October 2012. It is headquartered in Los Angeles and backed by Skype Founder Niklas Zennstom’s Atomico, Mangrove Capital, and DCM. Delivering unprecedented value and convenience to the mobile market, FreedomPop ensures that no American is left off the digital grid.

How FreedomPop Works?

FreedomPop website, submit your zip code and email to find out if you live in an area serviced by them. Since FreedomPop operates through Clearwire and Sprint, it is likely you will be able to take advantage of what they have to offer.

FreedomPop.com requires the purchase one of their devices for connectivity to their data plans. Many of them are geared toward those who seek to increase the capabilities and usage of their mobile phones, laptops and tablets while on the go.

FreedomPop’s plans are based around a data bundling system. Any unused data for that month is bundled and then is sold for a lower price. This enables them to offer great deals to their customers.

Plans Available

With the 500MB plan, it is enough to let you browse Facebook, check your email or order food online, if you plan to connect to the mobile internet more often or stream any sort of video, you’ll want more data to play with. With plans as small as 1GB and as large at 10GB, most casual users should be able to find an allocation that suits them, for prices notably cheaper than what’s offered by the competition. Other considerations aside, $60 for access to 10GB of 4G LTE data is a solid deal. You can sometimes find even better ones on the FreedomPop website, but they change often and aren’t always clear.

Conclusion

FreedomPop is designed for those who don’t do much on the internet other than browse Facebook and check email. If you fall into that category, though, it’s one of the cheapest options available, and might even be free.