FreedomPop, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) which offers SIM cards with completely free basic mobile service plans, has announced the next step in its plan to gain mindshare among the mobile masses: zero-rated access to WhatsApp. This means the messaging app will be completely free to use regardless of a user’s remaining data allowance, though unfortunately the offering will be limited to those in Spain at first, where the company is launching the service in the next few months.
Founded out of Los Angeles in 2011, FreedomPop has built its mobile offering around giving away free talk time, text messages, and data in the hope of upselling to those who require more than the basic bundled allowance. The company has largely operated in the U.S. since its inception, though it went international for the first time with its U.K. launch back in September. Spain represents FreedomPop’s third market launch — its first since closing a $50 million funding round back in January — and its launch gives some clue as to how the company plans to take on the world.
With more than a billion users globally, Facebook-owned WhatsApp needs little introduction. Other mobile networks around the world have offered zero-rated access to WhatsApp among other services, but the practice has been controversial in some markets. Back in February, India banned Facebook’s Free Basics when it introduced a new law in support of so-called “net neutrality” — it targeted “discriminatory tariffs” that give preferential treatment to some services over others. It has been a controversial issue in Europe too, with critics calling for the practice to be banned. But new E.U. regulations announced last year didn’t ban it — instead, it allowed national regulators to decide for themselves.
WhatsApp has sought partnerships with mobile operators globally for a while, long before it was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion. But its efforts in Europe have been less pronounced. You may remember WhatsApp partnered with German mobile network E-Plus back in 2014 to launch its very own SIM card — the SIM was geared towards WhatsApp power-users who want unlimited access to the service regardless of what their remaining allowance is for the month.
Above: E-Plus: WhatsApp Sim
But what FreedomPop is doing is completely off its own volition — it hasn’t partnered with Facebook or WhatsApp in any way. Plus, the real hook into FreedomPop’s service is the fact that it also offers you free 200 minutes, 200 texts, and 200MB of data. This “hook” is what FreedomPop hopes will get your attention and become a paying customer.
But with WhatsApp permanently free when it launches in Spain this summer, does this mean that FreedomPop will be following a similar path in other markets?
“We are looking at similar models in other countries,” explained Stephen Stokols, FreedomPop CEO, to VentureBeat. “Our aim is to disrupt local markets in a way that will also help us gain traction with their residents. WhatsApp is the most popular texting app in Spain, so launching our service via their app will help us gain traction.”
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in many markets, so we can perhaps take this launch a sign of what may be to come. Indeed, this is the first time FreedomPop has zero-rated access to an app in any of its markets.
“Part of the reason why this (Spain launch) is important is because it is not in formal partnership with WhatsApp,” added Stokols. “FreedomPop is the first carrier to embrace WhatsApp organically and create a model that works without having Facebook push it.”