THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF. (PRWEB) JUNE 21, 2019
Red Pocket Mobile, a wireless service leader, announced that it has officially acquired “freemium” operator FreedomPop. Like all Red Pocket Mobile customers, FreedomPop and FreedomPop’s UNREAL Mobile subscribers will soon be able to pair virtually any phone in the US with the nationwide network of their choice.
What does this mean to American consumers? Free wireless service. On any phone. On any major network. For the first time ever.
Yes it will be really interesting if they offer a free plan on any network.
There is a lot of reading between the lines to do-- but this sounds amazingly good. I keep looking for the careful wording that makes it not-so-much.
They only bought the name and GSM subscribers - the Sprint network (CDMA) subscribers were sold to Ting. I only have a hotspot on GSM but several other devices on CDMA.
Yes I am not sure if the author really knows what redpocket plan to do. Yes they run on all 4 networks. Yes they may well keep a free tier. But whether those two will combine has yet to be confirmed from a reliable source within redpocket.
The link above (in my earlier post) is from USA Today's Press Release/Classifieds section. If I'm reading correctly at
that makes this a Red Pocket release, written and paid for by Red Pocket.
I agree that it may be a mistake to combine each statement from within that press release, and assume they all apply to free tier plans.
The tweet above looks convincing thanks st3fx. It is going to be really interesting to see what they offer. Free verizon data? Yes please.
"without disrupting the service plans enjoyed by current subscribers." I wonder if this statement means current subscribers to FP can keep their plans and switch to another network while not paying anything or, in "Unreal's" case, paying the same?
"Besides additional network offerings, Red Pocket will make the FreedomPop and UNREAL Mobile brands appealing to a broader set of users by offering native voice service, enhanced billing controls, and live customer service agents, without disrupting the service plans enjoyed by current subscribers."
It could also mean not disrupting the service plans of redpocket subscribers.
Yes, it's not clear. I did notice the following that appears to indicate the "freemium" aspect of FP won't go away, at least at first.
“Providing top coverage and customer service is a Red Pocket specialty,” said Kaisha Barela, the company’s Director of Customer Experience. “We will deliver added transparency and service options to make FreedomPop not just ‘freemium,’ but premium!”
I don't understand the confusion and clutter in this thread about what was obviously an official press release by Red Pocket.
The OP clearly quoted PRWeb which as everyone knows is a major channel for official press releases.
Maybe those who were confused can delete their posts to prevent confusion for anyone else who reads this thread.
Onto the news itself, Red Pocket is a reputable company so I have no doubt they will introduce free plans on all networks. But I would expect the allotments to be low and a way to upgrade to paid services.
In any case, more choice for the consumer is good. I'm looking at unlimited plans which seem to be coming down in cost. I'm happy to pay a reputable and reliable company because time is money. Free almost always requires too much of one's time which doesn't really make it free.
Free on all networks isn't for the first time ever. They must have forgotten about their venture with cellnuvo with free service via redpocket. Or perhaps they want to keep that one quiet!
Unfortunately I do not see them continuing the freemium model.
Rp no VoIP service. So too expensive for them to offer free
We shall see
I don't see it happening either
they charge $60 a year for 100/100/500. why would they start giving that away for free?
I can see them having a 200mb free tier. That could be enough to tempt people into upgrading to that $60 plan with the added benefit of real cellular minutes and a decent data allotment.
They will of course get people buying 13 sims and sim swapping and never upgrading. I am sure they know that going into this. But as long as the right proportion upgrade they will come out ahead.
Wouldn't 13 plus Sims be cheating?
Getting bonus from each other
That is why Freedompop didn't work. people just used multiple free sims
The same thing would happen for Redpocket
Freedompop thought they could get people to pay for voicemail, mms and wifi calling
But people just used Google voice to get around that
Would customers be eager to obtain multiple SIMs if the cost per SIM was prohibitive?
In the early days they encouraged multiple devices and SIMS on Forums like SlickDeals etc.