Hi All
My first post so hello
Came across this forum in my search for info so hoping someone wise and experienced can help.
I complete on the sale of my holiday home tomorrow and will arrive in Carcassonne on 28th June.
I was hoping to use the “dead time” between tomorrow and my arrival to get some broadband set up but really confused.
Two key issues
The property has never had a phone line installed so a physical line needs to be connected to the house. Its not in a fibre area so ADSL will be the service. I know this will take some time so thought I’d be efficient and kick it off as soon as I have ownership docs.
Just to make things complicated the address of my house will be changed when I complete on the sale. In short the Marie ceded a small public walkway to the previous owner who developed the plot into two homes so all his old bills (electric, water, taxe fonciere & habitation) will have the old house number. The new number will be on the certificate of sale and registered for property taxes etc but searching for my property on broadband websites is impossible at the moment even if I use the old address - probably because its never had a phone service.
I don’t want an Orange package for broadband, tv and mobile phone.I just want broadband to do emails, download some work stuff etc, I can get an e-SIM for my handset from a cheap provider and dont need TV channels unless free.
Question:
Can I go to any provider e.g. SFR or Bouygues and sign up for a preferred package and will they then sort out installing the actual phone line or do I need to go to Orange.Fr to get the installation done?
It seems Orange will not just install the line unless I sign up to a full package or am I being played?
Being in the UK until the 28th is making communication a bit difficult and my French on the phone is not so good.
I was hoping to carry out the application online and book a day soon after the 28th for the engineer to arrive so we can have service.
Orange state that for foreigners outside EU (presume UK) I need to complete a mandate form and use a French citizen with ID to act on my behalf.
Anyone got any advice please.
Just want to book an installation and get a broadband contract in place in the next fortnight
I think you’ll have to go via Orange to get a new line installed, especially if you want one relatively quickly. I had to get a new line installed a couple of years ago. Initially went into an SFR shop, they shrugged the shoulders when I said I needed a new line and said it could be months for them to do it. I went into one of the Orange shops and an engineer came in about a week, so found it pretty efficient.
If you’re in the UK why don’t you call the Orange english speaking helpline and they can connect you with someone in sales.
Hi and thx for the advice
Yes my extensive reading seems to suggest that Orange still hold power of the hardware side.
Do you know if I can just pay for the line to be installed without agreeing to a package?
I quite like the sound of Freebox and Free e-SIM package
yes, you can… you just rent the line from Orange (they’ll give you a phone number…)
but it’s up to you to choose with whom you link up for internet…
(we have a line from Orange and Internet via Free… when Fibre comes, we’ll look at what’s available.)
we’ve been like this for more than 20 years… perhaps things have changed… ??
I fear that having a physical line installed to an address that isn’t on their database is going to be slow and difficult. Do you need a landline? Most service providers have 4G/5G routers available as an alternative. They provide WiFi in your property just like any other router, but connect to the outside world using the mobile phone signal rather than copper cable.
Thanks again for the help.
I spent a week at the house in March with my 5G phone and the service was rubbish. The problem is 2 fold - 4G in the commune is only along the main road (so good excuse to go to the only bar ) but my house is tucked away in some narrow medieval walkways
secondly the house itself is mainly constructed of 2 foot thick 500yr old stone walls. I can get a signal on the roof terrace but inside is difficult.
So a broadband service over the phone line is my only option or suffer isolation and my kids refusing to ever come and visit me
I understand its probably best to go Orange for the phone line install quoted at €119.00 and then I was hoping like UK I could then sign up with a cheaper provider
A house in our village has had a main-line fitted by Orange (this year)… the engineer had to do some fiddling/searching to find an available line which wasn’t being stolen from anyone else… but it worked in the end.
The house used to be a holiday home and everyone used their portables (one assumes) but the new owners from Bretagne were insistent with Orange… and their persistence paid off. No idea who they use for internet…
But if it’s not activated they won’t send data down it…
You can get 4G and 5G aerials that improve reception dramatically. A friend of of mine went from zero 4G reception to 5/5 bars after installing an aerial. Here’s the one he used.
Hi Brian
When I say not activated I mean not by Orange.
They install the line and test.
I then go to e.g Free and sign up for their Freebox package and they activate the line and provide the service.
Thats generally how it works. The provider then pays a sum back to Orange (or BT in UK) for use of the infrastructure
Your phone might not get a good signal with a UK provider as most piggyback onto a French provider, when I came here I bought 5 cheap Sims from different providers, only one gave a good signal so I took out a unlimited data SIM with them and ended up with a 25mb/s signal and later 5g 55mb/s signal with a SIM router, phone line only gave 6mb/s on a good day, this is with 3ft 500 year old walls, an aerial made things even better.
That aerial looks like something Madonna used to wear!
I would go down the 4g route with an external aerial - it could all be up and working in a week. Preferably Bouygues as unlimited data.
Also a reminder of the old chestnut that you don’t have to pay line rental if you don’t want an analogue phone line. We just pay for broadband with orange 27 euros/month I also get a facture from orange for zero every month for line rental
Ok I never knew you could get 4g aerials - don’t send me down another rabbit hole
If I went this route could I get a deal for unlimited data the same as a conventional deal with a BB box?
I like to stream movies and sport so 250gb will go nowhere in a month.
)
