Hi All, First a big hello to all as I have just joined SFN.
We have a house in St Chinian and are just finishing the reno’s. Could anyone give me their thoughts/experiences on the best phone/internet options in the Languedoc for price and efficiency. We will be there for a couple of months a year and letting it out a little.
I haven’t lived in France for over 15 years so I’m a little rusty on the options available so any input would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark
Thanks for all the input!! Last time I lived in France it was in the days of the FT monopoly. I never had a problem but it was expensive and I knew, like the rest of the world, things have changed significantly over the last few years.
I just wish there was a universal cell phone coverage, currently we have a separate US cell phone for when we go there on business and it looks like we might end up with the same in Europe.
As I said… we’re all free to choose - see my earlier comments about rural telephone lines - I’ve been there and Orange said they couldn’t do anything about it… to the local Maire! 3 years with SFR in two rural locations - no hassle at all. had a problem with a phone line - signalled it to France telecom and they came and put a new pole up and fixed the line… if you’re not rural you get free wifi with SFR/neuf too as a backup!
I have free calls to practically everywhere, including the US and UK, with Orange.
The trouble with not using Orange is if there’s a problem. One of my friends has Free and the line is broken so he’s not got phone or internet. They said it will take 10 days to fix because they have to go through Orange, and Orange makes them wait. Priority to Orange customers.
SFR free to the usa:
http://adsl.sfr.fr/tarifs-conditions-neufbox/appels-telephoniques/
LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE TO PAY WITH ORANGE - I don’t like France telecom - they still act as if they have the monopoly and are nearly always more expensive for the same service - but that’s a personal opinion and I know there are lots of people on this site who are happy with them… I wouldn’t want to pay 120 euros a year for the same thing/less of a service!
Is one or the other better for calls to North America? We will have to make calls for business while we are in St Chinian.
but SFR is 10 euros a month cheaper for the same thing !
We live about 10km from St Chinian and have tried several providers and have found Orange to be the best thus far. We pay 40 Euro a month which includes unlimited phone calls to land lines in the UK. The beauty of it is they have an English speaking helpline 0969363900. Hope this is of help.
Hi Andrew, thanks for that info, we had asked a few neighbors and everyone seemed to have differing opinions and being in Canada I thought I would ask for some more input.
SFR sounds like a good bet and I will ask about the mobile options. It’s either that or look into getting a SIM card for my Canadian cell.
oh and if you’re already with SFR/ORANGE/BOUYGUES then look what deals they do for mobile and adsl
SFR - cheapest plus you get the free wifi in most towns when you’re out and about, 31 euros and we’ve got internet, unlimited telephone, TV (free topbox). but don’t fall for the 3G+ usb key- expensive and useless in rural areas ! the company doesn’t make a lot of difference as far as the “débit” is concerned, it’s the phone line that counts and nobody can change that, unless you pay a fortune for a new line. even our Mairie couldn’t get adsl where I used to live in the Cantal - miles and miles of old phone line that couldn’t cope… tried Alice, France télécom etc. none worked.
Thanks Sarah the comparison site is very informative.
There’s a comparison website here http://www.comparatifadsl.net/comparatif-adsl.php
You could also ask your neighbours what they use.