FreedomPop launches roaming hotspot for UK, US customers

Freemium MVNO FreedomPop has launched a roaming hotspot for its UK and US customers, allowing them to access 200MB of data each month for free in 25 countries.

France, Germany, Italy and Spain are among the European countries consumers can use the hotspot in. FreedomPop said it is planning to grow this footprint to cover more than 40 countries by the end of this year, including those in Asia and Latin America.

The hotspot costs $49.99 and the SIM an additional $10. Once a customer exhausts the 200MB monthly limit, they can buy additional bundles of data for $10 per 500MB.

The MVNO, which uses Three’s network, launched in the UK last year and now boasts more than one million customers. It recently secured funding of $50 milllion, which will be spent on expanding its offer to new markets.

Steven Sesar, FreedomPop COO and Co-Founder, said: “FreedomPop has proven that new Internet business models work in the telecom space and has developed the technology to scale it globally. This new financing not only validates our capabilities, but it also ensures that FreedomPop has the capital required to become a top 10 global service provider. The financing also supports our Global network launch, which is an exciting way to give consumers free Internet access across the world and eliminate roaming costs no matter where they are.”

Meanwhile, wholesaler provider BICS has revealed that LTE roaming is now available in 126 countries worldwide, a 70 percent increase on last year.

The company said more than 325 operators now offer their customers LTE roaming by using BICS’s IP exchange platform.