Free Mobile recently launched its new package FreeMaxwith unlimited 4G and 5G in France and in more than 135 destinations around the world. A first on the French market which clearly targets big data consumers and frequent travelers, with the promise of never worrying about your gigabyte meter again.
But this abundance does not only make people happy. As reported by Phonandroid, the consumer defense association UFC-Que Choisir speaks of a “mobile plan of excess”, which according to her encourages “unbridled consumption of planes and data, against the general interest”. Enough to transform the star offer of Free as a symbol of the tensions between unlimited 5G and digital sobriety.
Free Max, the unlimited plan that is shaking up the mobile market
Sold at €29.99 per month without commitment, or €19.99 per month for subscribers Freeboxthe package FreeMax offers a truly unlimited 4G and 5G data envelope in France. Abroad, subscribers can use data without capping in more than 135 countries, including outside Europe, with calls and SMS as at home.
On paper, it is aimed at users who want to do everything on the move, from high definition video streaming to full video teleworking. It is precisely this logic of abundance that UFC-Que Choisir contests, believing that the package encourages overconsumption of data rather than covering real needs.
Why does UFC-Que Choisir see Free Max as an excessive mobile plan?
For the association, generalized unlimited is “the opposite of current recommendations for sobriety in terms of digital use”. It is based on the report published in 2023 by Arcep and Ademe on the environmental impact of digital technology, which recalled that “the objective of reducing CO₂ emissions will necessarily involve greater sobriety”.
According to the figures put forward by UFC-Que Choisirdata consumption would only account for around 5% of digital emissions, when the manufacturing of a smartphone represents almost 80% of its carbon footprint over its entire life cycle. By encouraging people to take full advantage of 5G, the package FreeMax may also push certain subscribers to renew their compatible phone more often.
The other concern concerns the place of Wi-Fi. With unlimited 5G, a box at home or in the office may seem less useful, while Wi-Fi remains “clearly less impactful than the mobile network” in terms of energy. In the background, the association points to the rise of data centers, these data centers that consume a lot of electricity and water, which absorb all these additional flows.
Free Max, total comfort in unlimited 5G or a bad idea for subscribers?
From the user’s point of view, the picture is attractive. Frequent travelers no longer have to fear the bill returning from vacation or cutting off 4G abroad, and can use their smartphone as in France for calls, navigation or videoconferencing. This peace of mind partly explains the buzz around the offer of Free Mobile.
It remains for everyone to decide between this almost limitless comfort and the repeated calls for digital sobriety, now at the heart of the debates.