FreedomPop’s low-cost Unreal Mobile now delivers service via AT&T | Industry

Americans get a raw deal on the cost of mobile calling and data services compared to the rest of the world. With the average monthly phone bill now at over $80 per month and high roaming charges for anyone traveling internationally, U.S. mobile phone users pay much more than their counterparts in the U.K. and Europe.

“In the U.S., carriers make tens of billions in revenue,” FreedomPop CEO and founder Stephen Stokols told me. “As network costs have come down the past several years, carrier average revenue per user (ARPU) is actually up slightly, as the move to unlimited plans has resulted in lower-usage consumers forced to pay for unlimited [plans]. Unreal Mobile leverages unique carrier agreements to be able to offer the tiered unlimited plans — starting at 80 percent less than large carriers. For $10 a month, Americans can get an unlimited plan with Unreal Mobile.”

“Users get unlimited talk, text, and data,” Stokols said. “In addition, Unreal Mobile users get a suite of value-added services, including Wi-Fi calling, the ability to leverage an OTT app and access your phone from any device or tablet, and a free VPN for secure private browsing.”

That helps make a significant dent in any consumers‘ phone bill, though Unreal Mobile isn’t quite ready for international users at present.

“UNREAL Mobile plans include international calling,” Stokols said. “International Roaming isn’t included,” however.

That might be a deal breaker for some, but travelers can always use devices such as the Skyroam Solis to access unlimited data in 120+ countries at a low additional cost.

So what’s next for Unreal Mobile?

“With the launch of the Unreal SIM, Unreal is no longer constrained by having to hold device inventory,” Stokols said. “It has already secured nationwide distribution deals with Target and Best Buy and expects to add hundreds of thousands of users over the next quarter.”