ISPs

We are arriving in France in April.

The people we are going to be renting from are in the process of having the necessary done for our broadband connection,we will just have to choose an ISP and a package once we get there.

Im a heavy user of the internet and need a package with no limitations to what I can download,about 150gb already this month.

I have an online shop that Im building http://www.littledogdiscs.co.uk/ and I am always sourcing Dj mixes.

I could also do with a static IP if possible .

I realise Im not going to get great speeds where Im going but as I tend to have my pc on 24/7 I can live with a slower connection.

What im really looking for is a ISp package with no limits up or down,any suggestions

Any help greatly appreciated

Anthony

Check out SFR as their latest catalog is offering fibre connections. Big speeds at a fairly reasonable cost. Not sure about fixed IP addresses but you can ask. However, these connections might only be available in towns and cities and possibly not rural areas. It would be worth checking out www.sfr.fr to see what is available.

bob

Hi Anthony
I don’t think I’ve heard of any ISP that hasn’t had problems for someone. We have the 16€ line rental from France Telecom, and an Orange package that gives us VOIP and TV if we want it (we don’t). We are on the internet all day every day with languedoc-midi.info and a few other sites we run
At best with a FT engineer’s test box (he was here to check the internal stuff in the house was OK), it showed 18Mb down, and I’ve uploaded files at 700kbps+; downloads are quick, seems to depend on who is on the other end.
Overall, I think the advantage of having all your eggs on the same helpline out weighs to a large degree the price saving with some providers.
Let the debate commence…

Cheers for that Ian,
Im currently only getting roughly the same here in Sussex as we are a fair distance from the exchange so if I managed the same in France Id be happy enough.
I find that most here dont limit you until they come across someone like me then they go a bit mental :slight_smile:

Hi Anthony,
A comparison of ADSL suppliers is at http://www.dslvalley.com/adsl/comparatifadsl.php
Most do not limit you by download but if you’re at the end of a long piece of wet string you’ll be limited by bandwidth. Another factor is groupé/dégroupé (bundled/unbundled) and your choice of FAI (ISP) may be limited.
If you’re in an area unserved by ADSL then WiMax or Satellite are options; the latter is limited by data quantity.

Here in the rural Lot & Garonne I found that Nordnet (landline) was available at 2 Mbps - after I’d found that their wifi router worked in my stone house I returned it and bought my own N1 router - I pay €19 for 2 Mbps which sometimes creeps up to over 3 Mbps.
regards,
Ian

Hiya Guys and thanks for your answers,
Im currently trying to find out what our telephone number is going to be so I can test the line to see what the speeds are going to be.We are only going to be there for 6 months while we look for more permanent accomodation but are going to have to sign up with a company for a 12 month contract.
So speed is not really an issue at the moment as our location will change,my main worry is usage.As I said Im a very very heavy user and a lot of companies limit you here.Thats the reason we are signed up to BT Business broadband here in the UK they have no limits to what you download/upload.
Is there any similar packages in France
Thanks again for any help
Anthony

Hi Anthony,
We currently use Free as our ISP and do not have a France Telecom fixed line, just the VOIP. This has been okay, but there have been occasions when the connection has failed and I wished I was paying the extra €16 for the dedicated telephone line. Having said that, it has been a very rare occurrence, which is why we still only have the VOIP.

Just tested the connection and we have 10Mb download and 0.7 Mb upload, though supposedly we are on a 22Mb connection.

Cheers
Martin

Hi Anthony,
Have a look at http://www.dslvalley.com/ and try entering the telephone number of the house you are to rent, or that of a near neighbour. Near neighbour’s numbers can be found from http://www.pagesjaunes.fr/pagesblanches?portail=PJ
The site will predict your ADSL speed and suggest possible ISPs.
regards,
Ian