Free Mobile is born

Free Mobile gets underway today Copyright Free Nikopik

Xavier Niel, the maverick founder of Iliad - the company behind Free.fr broadband service - this morning redefined France's mobile landscape by launching Free Mobile.

At around 8.30am, Niel made public his innovative interactive package combining Wifi, HSPA+ 3G and Femto cells to offer unlimited calls, texting and internet over mobile networks.

From only 19.99 euros per month, mobile users will now be able to make unlimited calls, send text messages and surf the internet for as long as they wish.

The price of the new subscription will be 15.99 euros a month for those already subscribed to internet access with Free. Three million Freebox internet users across France will also benefit from 60 free call time minutes and 60 free text messages each month. As Free Mobile is the first operator signed up with Apple for their launch, Niel also announced new packages for iPhone contracts, with payments to be spread over 12, 24 or 36 months.

Contract packages and the purchase of handsets are separate. However the phones will not have a Free Mobile logo and will not be simlocked.

The new contracts have been available since 9.30am this morning on www.mobile.free.fr.

And considering that the rest of the telecom industry, who are addicted to metered minutes and charging extra for longer calls, Niel’s concept is rather rebellious.

Xavier Niel started Free in 1999, offering speedy internet connection, a free Wi-Fi hub and unlimited calls to 70 countries for 30 euros a month. He rapidly developed his broadband ideas to accommodate different services, mainly looking to cater to the mobile arena.

After applying for mobile licenses back in 2007, Free Mobile was awarded a license in December 2009 at a cost of 240 million euros. The company also signed up to a roaming agreement with Orange to cover most of the service.

Louise Kirby