4 ms·

There is a small mistake in the description of the Free subscription : the broadband is 20 Mbits per second, not 2. Personal remark : this guy is freaking awes

by ovi256 17y ago

There is a small mistake in the description of the Free subscription : the broadband is 20 Mbits per second, not 2. Personal remark : this guy is freaking awesome, always seeking to disrupt markets to lower prices. The Free triple-play subscription (unlimited broadband, cable TV + free phone calls to most of the world) is so cheap it's a freaking no-brainer. Before, it used to be an exercise in comparison shopping : what operators are available in my area, are they good, what are the prices. Now, you just get Free and stop worrying. They have a bad reputation for customer service, because, just as Google, they like to automate everything (heard that their back-office is huuuuuge). If he could get the license and disrupt the mobile telecom market, that would be great. About the Freebox, the set-top box they provide to subscribers : as if everything they do is not hard enough, they designed custom hardware and software for their combined set-top box/cablemodem. Ok, the UI is not Apple level, but it provides lots of awesome stuff : a TiVo like DVR, video broadcasting, FTP and HTTP servers, a Wifi (802.11-N !) access point, a router and more.

cake 17y ago
I would also add that historically he's the one (or Free should I say) who kicked the progression of internet in France. Back in the days of the 56k and lower you had to pay a subscription to the providers (usually more than $20 a month) and a surcharged number. They introduced their service "Free" which meant you only paid a local communication to France Telecom with the latest technology available at the time (V.92...). Many of the competitors of course had no choice but to align themself, then came the DSL...
budu3 17y ago
So how does he manage to cut his prices so low? Does he use automation and other methods to improve efficiency?
- ovi256 17y ago
  They have an online self-care system - you use it to signal a problem and the system runs diags on the Freebox, phone line etc. Yup, completely automated. Unfortunately, if your problem falls between the cracks (something new, that is not in their list of common troubles) then it can get tricky, and you need to replace the Freebox. They'll replace it for free, of course, but it's still a hassle make the demand, get the delivery (UPS usually), install the new Freebox, send the old one in. This is all completely automated again, and the Freebox warehouse is outsourced to a specialized company. Free only has engineers : hardware, software and (lots and lots of) telecom guys. BTW, one of their top VPs wore a teeshirt saying "Go away, or I will replace you with a small shell script". So yeah, these guys love automation, they are hardcore engineers, nerdy to the core. Anecdote : some time ago they launched a new version of the Freebox. It was supposed to be for new subscribers and replacements. People (especially geeks, but mostly everybody) asked for replacements, because the new version had a bigger harddrive and some new features. Free had to replace many more Freeboxes that forecasted. So many of the consumer reports among the lines of "My Freebox broke so I had to have it replaced" should be more like "I invented a problem to get the free upgrade". Furthermore, you can replace the HDD with a bigger one or connect an external HDD - that's how you recognize a geek in Paris - his ADSL modem is tuned.
  - budu3 17y ago
    Amazing. Thanks for the info. I think I love the company already. The t-shirt was funny. The free trademark is also clever. The freebox is also an interesting piece of equipment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freebox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freebox

by ovi256 17y ago

cake 17y ago

I would also add that historically he's the one (or Free should I say) who kicked the progression of internet in France. Back in the days of the 56k and lower you had to pay a subscription to the providers (usually more than $20 a month) and a surcharged number. They introduced their service "Free" which meant you only paid a local communication to France Telecom with the latest technology available at the time (V.92...). Many of the competitors of course had no choice but to align themself, then came the DSL...

budu3 17y ago

So how does he manage to cut his prices so low? Does he use automation and other methods to improve efficiency?

ovi256 17y ago
They have an online self-care system - you use it to signal a problem and the system runs diags on the Freebox, phone line etc. Yup, completely automated. Unfortunately, if your problem falls between the cracks (something new, that is not in their list of common troubles) then it can get tricky, and you need to replace the Freebox. They'll replace it for free, of course, but it's still a hassle make the demand, get the delivery (UPS usually), install the new Freebox, send the old one in. This is all completely automated again, and the Freebox warehouse is outsourced to a specialized company. Free only has engineers : hardware, software and (lots and lots of) telecom guys. BTW, one of their top VPs wore a teeshirt saying "Go away, or I will replace you with a small shell script". So yeah, these guys love automation, they are hardcore engineers, nerdy to the core. Anecdote : some time ago they launched a new version of the Freebox. It was supposed to be for new subscribers and replacements. People (especially geeks, but mostly everybody) asked for replacements, because the new version had a bigger harddrive and some new features. Free had to replace many more Freeboxes that forecasted. So many of the consumer reports among the lines of "My Freebox broke so I had to have it replaced" should be more like "I invented a problem to get the free upgrade". Furthermore, you can replace the HDD with a bigger one or connect an external HDD - that's how you recognize a geek in Paris - his ADSL modem is tuned.
- budu3 17y ago
  Amazing. Thanks for the info. I think I love the company already. The t-shirt was funny. The free trademark is also clever. The freebox is also an interesting piece of equipment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freebox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freebox