Freebox Ultra: wifi 7, symmetrical speed of 8 Gbit/s and wealth of content at a great price

Teased for several weeks, it is finally here. This is the Freebox Ultra, the new high-end internet box from Free, the consumer telecom division of the Iliad group. After a Delta with mixed success in 2018, the operator who invented triple play with its first Freebox was keen to seduce again. And for this, Xavier Niel and his teams sought their fundamentals: technological domination.

As such, the Freebox Ultra integrates cutting-edge components and technologies, including the brand new wifi 7 standard.We were ready before, but we had to wait for the Wifi Alliance to officially announce the standard in early January“, explained Xavier Niel, before adding, teasingly: “For once we launched a box on time!“.

In fact, the Freebox Ultra is the most efficient box available in France, and one of the most advanced in the world. Between higher speeds, increased range, increased stability or even a larger number of devices that can be connected simultaneously (up to 100), the router in this box has what it takes to keep up with the most connected homes.

Better yet, the subscription includes a wifi repeater which can be requested when subscribing to the service. It allows you to create a mesh network to ensure coverage of the most spacious homes.

8 Gbit/s symmetrical speeds and portable 4G modem

The other big announcement is the increase in fiber connection speeds: the Freebox Ultra offer can go up to 8 Gbit/s. Not only in download rates, but also and above all in upstream rates. Enough to allow many independent workers working from home to send and retrieve very large files in the blink of an eye (4K or even 8K videos, large raw photo files, etc.). Backing up to NAS and remote servers will also be greatly accelerated.

To this domestic connectivity without equivalent at the moment in France, Free adds a free mobility option: subscribing to Freebox Ultra allows you to obtain a portable 4G modem. Called Pocket Wi-Fi, the device, which is requested when ordering or later via the interface, offers an unlimited 4G connection anywhere in France. Here again, this free bonus does not exist in any competitive offer.

Rich and ultra geeky connectivity, a more eco-responsible box

Powered by a Networking Pro 820 SoC from the American Qualcomm, the Freebox Ultra may be refined, but it nonetheless remains ultra geeky.

It thus includes, in addition to the fiber arrival, a second 10 Gbit/s SFP optical link, no less than four 2.5 Gbit/s Ethernet ports, a USB 3.1 socket in USB-A format (“For your hard drive“, dixit the Free teams…), and a USB-C format power supply.

Small bonus hidden under the machine: a hatch that allows you to install an Nvme SSD for your recordings and files. Because yes, the box can still serve as a file server.

Entirely designed in France by the Free teams, the Freebox Ultra, although manufactured and assembled in China, aims to be as ecological as possible. In addition to recycled cardboard packaging without glue, the box itself is free of glued components and is intended to be fully repairable. Made up of a plastic cabin that Free can repolish between two users, it is, according to the development teams, “designed to last“.

The superpower or sobriety

In order not to limit itself to a technophile audience and to avoid alienating the most eco-conscious people, the Freebox Ultra is intended to be potentially energy efficient. Potentially, because the options we are going to discuss can be activated at will. But at least Free gives you a choice. The first is that of total monitoring, which makes it possible to drastically reduce (Free speaks of 95% savings, but without precise scale) the consumption of the box.

Added to this is an Eco Wi-Fi mode which limits the performance of the wireless network and, with it, the energy consumption of the box to 9.9 W (dual-band Eco mode, compared to a quad-band connection in conventional use ).

Avalanche of content

This new Freebox Ultra is an opportunity for Free to update its content offering. We still find its Oqee system, which offers 280 channels and more than 500 free VOD films. Or the Football Free Ligue 1 Uber Eats offer. To this is always added the Cafeyn account, which gives access to numerous press titles.

But Free has above all played the card of completeness: its offer includes all the major platforms. From Netflix to Prime (and not just Prime Video: all Amazon Prime services!), including Universal+ and Disney+. With, as a bonus, the arrival of Canal+ Live, the Canal+ live channel.

According to the company’s calculation, all of these services represent a monthly budget of €83.93. To which Free adds €57.99 for the equivalent of a premium subscription with its competitors. That’s a total estimated at €141.92, a sum that “no one in France can put“, assures Xavier Niel. Before releasing the price of his offer…

“Still no commitment because we are sure you will stay” (X. Niel)

“€49.99 per month for the first year, €59.99 after, and still no commitment“: the price of the Freebox Ultra offer throws a big stone in the pond of French operators. If by delving into the details we can notice that these are the minimum versions of Netflix and Disney + (with advertising), However, we can only be surprised by this ultra-low price, not only compared to the competition, but also in view of the technical sheet of the box.

We can, however, regret that the offer without additional content, called Freebox Ultra Essential, is only €10 less (€39.99 per month for the first year, €49.99 monthly for subsequent years). With a package of services estimated at no less than €83.93 per Free, those allergic to content would undoubtedly have preferred a greater discount. But this is a classic marketing segmentation, aimed at pushing consumers to opt for the most expensive offer.

To end on the mode “one more thing“, Xavier Niel announced that the current unlimited 5G package, which could only give rise to a subscription (€9.99 per month the first year, €15.99 thereafter) can now be subscribed to by four members of the household from when you subscribe to Freebox Ultra.

The opening of subscriptions for the Freebox Ultra (for subscribers and non-subscribers) should be activated on Tuesday January 30 in the middle of the afternoon.

• The subscription price for the Freebox Ultra offer (with all content) is €49.99 per month for the first year, then €59.99 per month thereafter.
• The subscription price for the Freebox Essential offer (without the majority of content) is €39.99 per month for the first year, then €49.99 per month thereafter.
• The WiFi 7 repeater and Pocket Wi-Fi are free options that customers can request when ordering the box or afterwards, through their customer interface.
• Subscribing to a Freebox Ultra plan gives the right to open up to four mobile phone lines via the Unlimited 5G plan at €9.99 per month for the first year, then €15.99 beyond.