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Wow, Free sounds pretty amazing, other than the whole anti-net neutrality and auto ad-blocking thing. They are the largest native IPv6 ISP in the world and the

Wow, Free sounds pretty amazing, other than the whole anti-net neutrality and auto ad-blocking thing. They are the largest native IPv6 ISP in the world and the largest IPTV provider in the world. Free includes the Freebox Server (for free), which features: ADSL modem, router, WiFi NAS (250GB) External HDD support DVR Supports a lot of media formats, including mkv IPTV to any computer on the network (including VLC on Linux is seems) Time Machine and AirPlay compatible BitTorrent (seriously, an ISP that includes BT on their router) VoIP (SIP) server/proxy with support for: Wired RJ11 phone Built-in cordless base station (DECT) Smartphone or computer VoIP Free calling to phones in France, including mobile Free SMS/MMS in France Then there is the Freebox Player (which connects to a TV) that adds: Blu-ray/DVD player VLC Player for playing nearly any media type Plays media from Freebox Server, networked computer, or USB drive Web and email on the TV Games, with includes gamepad RF remote, and phone/tablet control apps You get all of that, internet, TV, and phone, for 35 EUR/month. Dare I say, maybe they should charge their customers more, and not blame Google. BTW, the ad-blocking will be disabled on Monday (http://www.freebox-v6.fr/index.php http://www.freebox-v6.fr/index.php). The ad-blocking is done by the Freebox Server (which is the home router). Open source code is here: http://floss.freebox.fr/ http://floss.freebox.fr/

tonfa 14y ago
It's a shame that they didn't manage to bring an amazing experience from this set top box. Most of their revolutionary features (apps, games, video broadcasting, etc.) haven't had any success, maybe because polish had been lacking. Or maybe they should have partnered with other (e.g. skype for video conferencing, google for apps, etc.). Edit: also worth mentioning that Free makes a 40% margin (at least in the adsl business), so it's not like they are not already a very profitable business. The issue is that they might like Google-like revenue, getting payed for eyeball is one way.

tonfa 14y ago

It's a shame that they didn't manage to bring an amazing experience from this set top box. Most of their revolutionary features (apps, games, video broadcasting, etc.) haven't had any success, maybe because polish had been lacking. Or maybe they should have partnered with other (e.g. skype for video conferencing, google for apps, etc.). Edit: also worth mentioning that Free makes a 40% margin (at least in the adsl business), so it's not like they are not already a very profitable business. The issue is that they might like Google-like revenue, getting payed for eyeball is one way.