First FreedomPop phone coming in 2016

According to a recent deal signed by FreedomPop and Intel, the budget carrier will bring its first smartphone to the US market next year. The first FreedomPop handset will use a low-cost platform made by Intel and will focus on using WiFi instead of mobile data whenever and wherever that is possible, even for basic tasks like voice calls and text messages.

FreedomPop is a mobile virtual network operator that buys wireless spectrum wholesale from Sprint that currently maintains almost 9 million hotspots across the United States. "Carriers spend billions of dollars building out the LTE network, but 90% of mobile downloads are over WiFi and 10% on cellular networks. Ultimately, the consumer is paying $50 to $120 for that 10% of the time they need that LTE data connection," says FreedomPop founder and CEO Stephen Stokols.

The company's first handset will use Intel SoFIA Atom x3 chips, which currently offer 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, as well as FM Radio. There is no LTE version available, but that should hit the market next year as well. There is no information about the screen size and resolution or other technical specs yet, but we will get back to the FreedomPop WiFi handset as soon as we hear something new.