Internet advice

[chris_and_julie]

I know this has been asked before and yes, I have read through the replies but thought as things change with telecomms in France (Bonabo and Free) there might be some up to date information so ...............

We would like our own internet connection.  That's the easy bit!  

There was a connected phone line into the house five or so years ago with the previous French owner but this is now just an empty socket on the wall.  I am unsure who this line rental was with.  I have done the degroupage test and it says there is no high sped fibre available locally but that broadband is available = obviously as our next door neighbour has it!

We are not fussed on a French phone but assume that we have to have one to get the internet.  I know there will be horror stories of both SFR and Orange.  Are they both equally good/bad?  I know there are deals with included UK minutes and I need to look at these.  French TV would be a bonus but not if it's a silly price.  I don't think I want to go the route of satellite internet as this looks to be very expensive.

So is there a way of getting internet without a fixed phone line or satellite?  Has anyone used a dongle?  Are they hideously expensive = how long is a piece of string?

Thanks Chris

[Fred]

Hello Chris, can't help with the Dongle but Orange Livebox Zen €36:99 per month.

We have an old telephone line outside on a pole that connects to the livebox, from there we have broadband wifi unlimited. We also have out phone plugged into the box and that gives us free unlimited calls to France an a load of other countries inc UK landlines.

When we took the house over that had been empty for 10 years we just told Orange the address, they sent a man around to set it all up including connecting my laptop and Mrs Fred's tablet. We can both be using it at the same time as making a phone call, also streaming is no problem.

Only problem with our set up is if the internet is down then so is the phone. you can pay extra for a separate phone line but weve had no problems. You can also get TV via the livebox but I'm not sure how much it costs.

We can also use Orange free wifi which can be found in a lot of places, and as far as I know there is an option for your mobile but we don't have an internet mobile.

That sounds what degroupage is saying is available.

I've had no problem with Orange apart from the English line can be very slow, and I think you pay for the call but as we have free unlimited calls it cost's us nothing to phone them. The only problem we had was when we phoned mobile and a premium help line there was an additional cost added to the bill for those calls which apparently are not covered in the package. Our's is the basic package and there are add ons if you want them.

As for the line I think they all belong to Orange. So if you have a contract with another supplier you still have to pay Orange for the line rental. But I'll stand corrected if I'm wrong, but that is what I found out with our line.

A guess would say that Satellite and Dongle are going to be more expensive and reception may be dodgy.

I'm sure others will have more info, if they wake up.

[chris_and_julie]

Hello Chris, can't help with the Dongle but Orange Livebox Zen €36:99 per month ......  

When we took the house over that had been empty for 10 years we just told Orange the address, they sent a man around to set it all up including connecting my laptop and Mrs Fred's tablet. We can both be using it at the same time as making a phone call, also streaming is no problem.

As for the line I think they all belong to Orange. So if you have a contract with another supplier you still have to pay Orange for the line rental. But I'll stand corrected if I'm wrong, but that is what I found out with our line.

Thanks Fred - that's the information I need.  I have just had an online chat with an Orange man.  He was very tolerant of my French writing skills (including poor spelling and a lack of accents!) and we made excellent progress.  Typing answers/comments in French in real time certainly puts the pressure on you!

In short, he can't find the old phone line on their database so we need a new line at €69.  We can then take advantage of the Livebox Zen offer and the installation cost will be billed on the first bill.

Now all I need to do is to find the hamster's birth certificate, my grandparent's marriage certificate   and a bill from my tailor dated in the last five minutes before attacking the Office shop in Poitiers.

[Fred]

Thanks Fred - that's the information I need.  I have just had an online chat with an Orange man.  He was very tolerant of my French writing skills (including poor spelling and a lack of accents!) and we made excellent progress.  Typing answers/comments in French in real time certainly puts the pressure on you!

In short, he can't find the old phone line on their database so we need a new line at €69.  We can then take advantage of the Livebox Zen offer and the installation cost will be billed on the first bill.

Now all I need to do is to find the hamster's birth certificate, my grandparent's marriage certificate   and a bill from my tailor dated in the last five minutes before attacking the Office shop in Poitiers.

Good stuff Chris.

It sounds like you know the drill about proving your ID