How it started
1999–2001
Free was the third ISP in France to offer Internet access without a subscription or a surcharged phone number, on 26 April 1999. Unlike its predecessors in the niche of access without subscription (World Online on 1999-04-01 and Freesurf on 1999-04-19), Free's offer was not restricted in time or number of subscribers.
In 2002, Free was the first Internet service provider (ISP) to provide a V.92 connection.
2002–2003: ADSL at a disruptive price
Since September 2002, Free contributed significantly to French ADSL boom. The offer was able to launch as soon as the incumbent was forced to stop abuse of dominant position and to apply fair wholesale prices.
2004–2006: Unbundled ADSL and "triple play"
From Wikipedia’s article on Free, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2