I'm sure they know what they're doing
...but how do they make money?
Will you have to listen to an ad before your call is connected?
Freemium mobile network FreedomPop has set its sights on Europe. The LA-based company has signed a deal with BASE, a subsidiary of Dutch telco and MVNO-lover KPN. It will launch in Belgium and then plans to expand to the UK, Germany, France and Spain. In the US FreedomPop’s model starts with a base price of $0 for 200 minutes …
I imagine they're starting in Belgium because in one sense it's an easy target. Mobile phone costs are high compared to neighbouring countries. People are also less tied to their provider because most people buy their own phones. The law doesn't permit telcos to give you a free or lower than cost price mobile when you sign up. Mind you that's always being pushed by the telcos.......
It'll be interesting to see what happens, I thought Orange would wipe the floor with Proximus when they launched (Orange became BASE) but they didn't. Initial coverage was bad but it seems OK now. I also wonder how they'll compete against mobile Viking, or whatever it's called.
If I recall correctly, Ovivos demise was largely the result of a squabble between them and a software supplier, over whether what was written worked properly (That, at least, is as I understand it).
I had about a year and a half of very good service, with customer support that EE, TalkTalk and Orange, to name but a few, could only imagine in their very wettest of dreams.
I'm currently on 3 PAYG but if Ovivo reappeared with the same pricing model as 3, even, I'd be back like a shot simply on the basis of the quality of support I received..
After receiving 0 days notice from Ovivo when I was cut off, on a very busy day where key incoming messages went missing due to my Ovivo number being deactivated, I would never again use a freemium service for my main number.
But... very much looking for a decent occasional user tablet 3g solution since Ovivo went titsup and Vodafone reneged on their legacy non-expiring credit SIM deal where I had kept my SIM & account alive.