The Freebox is an ADSL modem that the French internet service provider named Free (part of the Iliad group) provides to its ADSL subscribers.
Its main use is as a high-end wireless modem (802.11g MIMO), but it also allows Free to offer added services using ADSL as support, like HD television (1080p), video recording with timeshifting capabilities, digital radio and free telephony (via one or two RJ11 according to models).
The Freebox is lent to the subscribers, its value being 190 Euros according to the operator. It is delivered with a remote control, a multimedia box equipped with a 250GB hard drive and accessories (cables and filters). According to this article, at the end of first semester 2005, more than 1.1 million subscribers were equipped with the Freebox. According to Company official's results publication, the 2 million of Freebox were reached on September 2006.
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The sixth generation of the box is called Freebox Revolution or V6 (Version 6). It has been launched on the market in the beginning of 2011. It is composed of a pair of devices: the ADSL modem/router and the IPTV set-top-box/media-center. The design of the boxes is by Philippe Stark.
The Freebox server is at the same time the DSL modem, a router, a Wi-Fi hot spot, a NAS (250 GB hard drive), a DECT base with up to 8 connected DECT phone sets and a digital recorder for TNT (Terrestrial Numerical Television) or TV over internet. As the firmware is updated, its functionalities increase. Most notably:
The Freebox Player is the second part of the "Freebox Revolution" offer. It is connected to the Freebox Server via PLC or by a direct ethernet cable if both devices are close enough. It is possible to rent another Freebox Player if one wants to connect another TV set in another room.
The Freebox TV device has:
The Freebox version 5 was released in April 2006 and expanded the possibilities of the modem. It is now divided into two boxes connected together via high-speed Wifi MIMO or PLC: the first box provides Internet access, Wifi connection and a phone line; the separated box is a digital video recorder, with advanced TV features like timeshifting, or video on demand. It also supports Video Games, either specifically designed for the Freebox or using emulation of discontinued Video game systems (Master System, GameGear, GameBoy).
The multimedia element is able to read HDTV adsl streams and includes a Terrestrial Numerical Television demodulator, can serve as a home A/V broadcasting station, includes a 40Gb hard-drive for recording and time-shifting, and a load of A/V ports.
The Network element is an Ethernet Hub and a wifi Hotspot.
The two elements can be linked via Ethernet, wifi or High-Speed Networking Over the Mains.
The telephony offer via the Freebox offers various services such as free calls between Freebox and towards the fixed numbers in Metropolitan France and also free over 100 abroad countries (USA, Canada, UK, Spain, China, India, South America etc...).[1]
According to Alexandre Archambault from Free, the Freebox is "nothing other than the return to the fundamentals of the DSL", whose initial objective was "to connect via a single support several types of terminals, therefore several types of services: telephone (telephony), microcomputer (Internet access), television set (television transmission, video on demand, pay per view...), hi-fi system (radios, etc.)".
Therefore, it is much more than a simple ADSL modem, which can only make the interface between a computer and the Internet. Free general conditions describe it as "an electronic instrument being used as interface between the data-processing and or audio-visual equipment of the user and the network of Free Telecom".
The box, designed by Free, uses a 32 bits RC32355 processor and is managed by an operating system using a derivative of the Linux kernel. It has many interfaces:
Since version 3, the Freebox can be configured to act as a router. The Freebox version 4 appeared mid-2004 and includes a chipset compatible with the ADSL 2+ standard, as well as a USB port, which will allow, in the long term, the addition of functions such as videoconferencing.
The Freebox OS uses BusyBox.
Now with the v3 (and next), it also provides a Videolan client in order to get the movies (in any format read by VLC) stored on the computer and watchable on TV through a playlist selector. This functionality is named Freeplayer.
In the same way, the Freebox (v3 and upper) is able to broadcast TV channels to one or more computer.