Monday, October 1, 2012

FreedomPop Launches Clearwire-based Free Wireless Service

A new startup, FreedomPop, backed by the founders of Skype, said this morning that it has launched a beta of a free 4G wireless service, powered by the 4G wireless network of Clearwire. FreedomPop said its new 4G wireless service--available by USB dongle or wireless hotspot device, and soon new iPhone and iPod sleeves--will offer up to 500MB of data transfer a month for free to users, with additional data given to users who share the service with friends on sites such as Facebook. The startup also said it will be offering higher bandwidth plans to users, starting at $17.99 a month, at rates it says are 20 to 40 percent below the rates of major carriers. FreedomPop is venture backed by Mangrove Capital, DCM, and Atomico.