Imagine a world where the total on your monthly cell phone bill reads zero. It’s not a dream, it’s the future -- or at least it’s the future that FreedomPop CEO Stephen Stokols is envisioning.

For years, phone companies used LifeLine subsidies to provide discounted service—AT&T still does—but now low-cost wireless providers can take the same subsidy and provide totally free service.

Web search leader Google Inc.'s chief executive, Eric Schmidt, sees a future where mobile phones are free to consumers who accept watching targeted forms of advertising.

Free.fr is offering an all-but-free cell phone service that promises truly unlimited data, voice, and SMS monthly tariffs. Americans shouldn't hold their breath for the same sort of innovation any ...