US MVNO FreedomPop has raised US$50m in financing to fuel its foreign expansion plans. These include the launch of a new international WiFi hotspot and SIM, initially covering Europe, although it also has its sights set further afield.
US MVNO FreedomPop has raised US$50m in financing to fuel its foreign expansion plans. These include the launch of a new international WiFi hotspot and SIM, initially covering Europe.
The Los Angeles-based company said in a blog post that the latest funding round, which comes six months after it completed a US$30m financing, takes its total funding to some US$109m.
Specifically, the new funds will be used to boost its expansion in Europe, Asia and South America.
The global hotspot aggregates international cellular networks to provide users with 200 Mb of free data a month, after they have paid an upfront fee. The launch price for the hotspot is US$49.99 and the SIM for US$10. Customers can pay for more data. Initially, US and UK users will have access to free data in 25 countries, including the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. The company plans to extend coverage to over 40 countries, including in parts of Asia and Latin America, by the end of the year.
FreedomPop COO Steven Sesar said the company has shown that internet business models can work in the telecoms space.
“This new financing not only validates our capabilities, but also ensures that FreedomPop has the capital required to become a top ten global service provider,” he said.
CEO Stephen Stokols (pictured) has said the new funding comes from a new private equity investor, which he declined to name.
Backed by Skype founder Niklas Zennstom, Mangrove Capital and DCM, FreedomPop claims to have added over a million subscribers since its October 2012 launch. It aims to expand into additional countries and announce strategic partnerships with global mobile carriers over the coming months.
Last November, the company launched it mobile service, which is also based on a freemium model giving users a certain amount for free before they need to pay, in the UK – its first market outside the US.
FreedomPop was the subject considerable M&A speculation in 2015 but, in September, the company said it had declined multiple offers, preferring to secure financing to grow its business organically.
