Data in France [merged]

Stu · **France and Data -** 12-05-2009, 02:58

My best friend is returning for his annual month in France and is looking (again) for a decent prepaid wireless data option. Last year, he used Orange France and his experience was so far beyond disappointing that I can't begin to tell. Any other options out there?

maccoy · 12-05-2009, 08:28

There's a prepaid SFR offer costing 26 euros for 8 hours of internet use.
It's cheaper that the Orange one.

wisniak · 12-05-2009, 11:19

Hi maccoy,

Where can the SFR SIM cards be purchased? eg in the airport?

I'll be in France next month and I need a SIM which supports GPRS (DATA) for browsing, emails, etc.

And another question, is free WIFI widely available in France?

Thanks.

maccoy · 12-05-2009, 12:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by wisniak

Where can the SFR SIM cards be purchased? eg in the airport?

Usually there are no mobile operators shops in the airports.
You can buy a sim card for data in any phone shop exposing the operator logo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wisniak

And another question, is free WIFI widely available in France?

WIFI is widely available but it isn't always free.
It is usually free in the libraries (within a limited connection time), Mcdonalds and Starbucks shops.
Elsewhere (bars) you may have to ask the waiters for acces codes.

Bossman · 12-05-2009, 13:32

Not a France sim, but tmobile UK has a OK data rate in all of EU. I think it's about 1.5 pound/MB or so. Thought I'd menton in case you can't find anything cheaper.

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/g...ountry/france/

Edit: Added link and changed UK to EU.

VladS · 12-05-2009, 14:19

Best deal for WiFi use in France and Europe is Boingo Global. US$59/month gets you 2000 minutes of use at a whole bunch of WiFi networks.

wisniak · **Thank you all for your help -** 12-05-2009, 17:38

I'll be in France for 1 week only, and I plan to use my PDA mostly for browsing/emails, so I need to find the cheapest deal around.

On the other hand, if there's the possibility of paying a couple extra Euro and having a large amount of MB, it might be a good deal for me.

I visit the UK quite often, and the data costs there are pressty expensive.
On the other end of the scale, I visited Thailand last month, and could do heavy browsing for 2-3 days on a $8 refill...

wisniak · **Another question, please -** 13-05-2009, 10:29

I've been in contact with leclercmobile.fr, and they say their SIM card supports browsing via WAP.
"The offer E.LECLERCMOBILE allows you to connect in sites wap but not directly in web sites."

But I need HTML browsing, and I can't seen to find a SIM card that does this.
And the browsing would be done over GPRS (in case ob absence of WIFI).

My French is rather dusty, so I might be misunderstanding the descriptions.

I'd appreciate any clarifications on this.

Thanks.

jhanlon · 13-05-2009, 15:26

Have a look at this site for an explanation (in English) of one offering from Orange: France - Orange - Prepaid Wireless Internet Access

maccoy · 14-05-2009, 09:33

It seems both offers to be no longer available...

	(#1)
Stu (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Guru Posts: 1,091 Join Date: 11 Feb 2004 Location: Detroit (formerly Dubai) Country:	France and Data - 12-05-2009, 02:58 My best friend is returning for his annual month in France and is looking (again) for a decent prepaid wireless data option. Last year, he used Orange France and his experience was so far beyond disappointing that I can't begin to tell. Any other options out there?

	(#2)
maccoy (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 194 Join Date: 23 May 2004 Location: Paris Country:	12-05-2009, 08:28 There's a prepaid SFR offer costing 26 euros for 8 hours of internet use. It's cheaper that the Orange one. Prepaid I: Vodafone, Wind, 3; F: Bouygues Telecom; M: Melita; INT: Travelsim, Zeromobile.

	(#3)
wisniak (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 92 Join Date: 12 May 2009 Country:	12-05-2009, 11:19 Hi maccoy, Where can the SFR SIM cards be purchased? eg in the airport? I'll be in France next month and I need a SIM which supports GPRS (DATA) for browsing, emails, etc. And another question, is free WIFI widely available in France? Thanks.

	(#5)
Bossman (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,257 Join Date: 22 Apr 2005 Location: Chicago Country:	12-05-2009, 13:32 Not a France sim, but tmobile UK has a OK data rate in all of EU. I think it's about 1.5 pound/MB or so. Thought I'd menton in case you can't find anything cheaper. http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/g...ountry/france/ Edit: Added link and changed UK to EU. Phones: Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, Samsung Galaxy A50, ASUS zenfone 3, Sim cards: AT&T (Contract), 3 UK, Piranha Mobile

	(#6)
VladS (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 590 Join Date: 22 Jun 2004 Country:	12-05-2009, 14:19 Best deal for WiFi use in France and Europe is Boingo Global. US$59/month gets you 2000 minutes of use at a whole bunch of WiFi networks. VladS Mobile phones: iPhone 5, Blackberry 9900, Nexus S, Samsung S3322 duos Mobile data cards: Huawei E587u-5, Huawei E583c, Huawei E160 Postpaid SIMs: CA: Fido, Wind; INTL: Telna Prepaid SIMs: DE: Fonic, Lidl; AT: yesss!, bob; UK: O2; US: AT&T; RO: Orange, Vodafone; FR: b&you, Lycamobile; NL: Lycamobile; BE: Lycamobile, Jim Mobile; CL: Entel; MX: Telcel; INTL: eKit Blue, eKit Yellow Dead SIMs: too many to list

	(#7)
wisniak (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 92 Join Date: 12 May 2009 Country:	Thank you all for your help - 12-05-2009, 17:38 I'll be in France for 1 week only, and I plan to use my PDA mostly for browsing/emails, so I need to find the cheapest deal around. On the other hand, if there's the possibility of paying a couple extra Euro and having a large amount of MB, it might be a good deal for me. I visit the UK quite often, and the data costs there are pressty expensive. On the other end of the scale, I visited Thailand last month, and could do heavy browsing for 2-3 days on a $8 refill...

	(#8)
wisniak (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 92 Join Date: 12 May 2009 Country:	Another question, please - 13-05-2009, 10:29 I've been in contact with leclercmobile.fr, and they say their SIM card supports browsing via WAP. "The offer E.LECLERCMOBILE allows you to connect in sites wap but not directly in web sites." But I need HTML browsing, and I can't seen to find a SIM card that does this. And the browsing would be done over GPRS (in case ob absence of WIFI). My French is rather dusty, so I might be misunderstanding the descriptions. I'd appreciate any clarifications on this. Thanks.

	(#9)
jhanlon (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 17 Join Date: 11 Aug 2006 Country:	13-05-2009, 15:26 Have a look at this site for an explanation (in English) of one offering from Orange: France - Orange - Prepaid Wireless Internet Access

	(#10)
maccoy (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 194 Join Date: 23 May 2004 Location: Paris Country:	14-05-2009, 09:33 It seems both offers to be no longer available... Prepaid I: Vodafone, Wind, 3; F: Bouygues Telecom; M: Melita; INT: Travelsim, Zeromobile. Last edited by maccoy; 14-05-2009 at 09:39..