Need a mobile hotspot? FreedomPop offers you 500MB of 4G data for free
A new ultra affordable mobile hotspot service has been launched and it’s waiting for your eager little hands. I’m speaking of FreedomPop, the company that will sell you a 4G/3G OverdrivePro hotspot for $40 and offers you 500MB of 4G data (on Sprint’s airwaves) for free… for life. That’s right — you don’t pay anything but the cost of the device itself. There are a couple of small snags, though, so bear with me as I go over them:
- You’ll have to live in a qualifying location
- If you don’t have 4G, you don’t have data — the completely free plan doesn’t offer 3G access.
- There’s a $.02 per MB overage, something that can get pretty expensive if you’re not careful.
That last one is important to keep in mind. This will sorely limit your usage patterns if you’re not interested in paying overages. It’s good for doing small things like checking email, updating your social networks or visiting the occasional website, but you won’t get far trying to stream music or video, download tons of apps and games, and other data intensive operations. You have a couple of other options, but they’ll cost you (and they’re still quite affordable).
In the case of not having 4G, users can opt for the Pro 500MB plan. It’s the same as the basic plan, but you’ll be able to hop on 3G where 4G isn’t available. It’ll cost you $3.99 for that particular privilege. This carries the same overage charge of $.02 per MB that the Basic plan does.
And if the bandwidth is the issue, the Premium 2GB plan is what you’re looking for. You’ll get 3G and 4G access and a pretty decent pool of 2GB of data with an overage charge of $.015 — a fair deal considering the enlarged pool you get. That particular plan is only $20 per month.
To celebrate the launch, FreedomPop is giving 1GB of bonus data for every plan to start, as well as free 1-month trials for the aforementioned premium and pro plans. That’s a pretty sweet deal, so be sure to check it all out at their website.