The Californian wireless Internet provider FreedomPop and the Colorado-based satellite service company Dish have just announced that they’re expanding their operations to Mexico. Well, it’s FreedomPop that’s actually expanding while Dish is only diversifying its operations. Namely, Dish Mexico is going to help FreedomPop bring its free mobile service coverage to the North American country. To be more specific, the Californian startup is looking to offer its free voice calling, Internet data, and SMS service in Mexico and is capable of managing the infrastructure side of things but isn’t big enough to actually handle the sales. That’s where the Dish Network comes in as the US company has agreed to take charge of the retail aspect of this endeavor and provide customer support.
The executives at Dish are so convinced that this joint venture has potential that they’ve even agreed to invest a certain amount of capital in exchange for a larger percentage of revenue. Unfortunately, the specifics of the deal weren’t announced by either party. However, this isn’t the first time that FreedomPop managed to continue its rapid expansion by raising capital. To this date, the Californian company has already raised well over $110 million.
Dish stated that they’ve decided to partner with FreedomPop in order to diversify its portfolio and move into the mobile market without actually having to invest into building additional infrastructure. FreedomPop and Dish are hoping that they’ll be able to attract at least one million Mexican customers in the short-term while long-term plans in the country are still being discussed. Regardless of that, FreedomPop is already working on additional expansion endeavors as the company revealed that it will soon announce similar partnerships in Europe, Australia, and Asia. Besides expanding its services, the Californian firm is certain to raise some additional capital in the process. At the moment, the company is offering its services in the US, UK, and Spain. If you’re wondering how can a free mobile service make any money, note that FreedomPop is not only selling smartphones but is also offering a number of premium plans to its existing free users. This business model has so far resulted in close to half a million of paying customers. That’s pretty good considering the fact that FreedomPop currently has “only” a million subscribers. In other words, its revenue can more than cover the total costs of the infrastructure which is why the Californian company is interested in expanding its services and consequently raising its earnings.