Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

TIPS

Readers’ tips: The best mobile phone deals for foreigners living in rural France

Each week The Local asks its readers to share their tips about various aspects of living in France. This week we asked their opinion on which mobile phone provider to go with if you live in rural France. Here's what they had to say.

Published: 14 November 2018 17:06 CET
Readers’ tips: The best mobile phone deals for foreigners living in rural France
Photo: AFP
Mobile phone coverage in rural France is notoriously patchy.
 
 
And although France’s four main mobile providers (SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Orange and SFR) agreed plans earlier this year to bring coverage to the country’s most remote areas, this is expected to take until 2021-22 in most areas and up to 10 long years in others. 
 
So, if you’re living in rural France and can’t wait until 2021 to make a decent phone call, which mobile phone provider is the best? 
 
READ ALSO:
 

'Historic deal' to see rural France's hidden corners finally get mobile coveragePhoto: AFP

We asked our readers for their opinions. 
 
The most commented on provider by far was SFR, with many readers giving positive reviews.
 
Denise Butler Rizzo cited SFR’s affordability and reliability as plus points, writing, “I have a sim only contract for €3.99 per month. 20 gigs of data and free calls in France. Had it for quite some time and SFR Red has been great.”
 
And Jess Fitz appreciates being able to use SFR Red's mobile internet package as a back-up option, as it “supports wifi calling if you have a poor signal.” 
 
SFR Red is a special offering from SFR which provides deals without asking you to sign a contract and without any conditions placed on how long you have to sign up for, which is likely to make it perfect for people who live in France for just a few months of the year. 
 
There are several packages available at different costs ranging from €5 to €20 in cost. 
 
However, other readers had less positive experiences with the wider SFR offering.
 
Louise Doddrell complained about SFR’s expensive contracts, poor connection and non-existent customer service, saying that she “had three months with no internet and no phone and once I was supposedly set up, no customer support.” 
 
And her problems did not end there. Despite ending the contract she “paid about €150 for nothing as they took monthly payments from my account even though there was no service.” 
 
Photo: AFP
 
Statistics from the French Association of Telecommunications Users (Afutt) released in 2018 suggest Louise’s poor experience with SFR was not a one-off. 
 
Affut reported that SFR was the most complained about mobile and Internet operator in France, accounting for 54 percent of all mobile phone complaints nationwide. 
 
SFR aside, some readers recommended using smaller networks for their affordability, rather than their reliability. 
 
F Joseph Leonard-Peray says La Poste Mobile’s prices are so cheap that he can keep his mobile contract running throughout the year, even though he only spends three months out of 12 in France.
 
Although, he admits that the network might not be that dependable, as he often relies on “phone service from Switzerland in my home along the border.” 
 
And Jennifer Freedman has given up on searching for the best coverage, opting for the cheapest mobile plan instead. Faced with a host of “mediocre” networks, she chose Symacom “because it's no different than the rest but just €1.90 a month for the cheapest plan, which allows plenty of calling and texting.”
 
The only reader to suggest another of France's big four networks was Sarah Schmidt, who stated that she used Free in Haute-Normandie “and typically had zero problems.”
 
But this recommendation might not help out many other expats living in the French countryside. 
 
According to France's telecoms communications authority Arcep, Free is the least widely available of the big four networks, reaching just 48 percent of the country geographically, while SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Orange all reach over 70 percent.
 
Arcep has released an interactive map allowing mobile phone users to investigate how good coverage from each of the four main providers is in their area. 
 
But for some rural expats options are limited, to say the least. 
 
Christopher Tyle has been forced to switch between providers as he’s moved around France saying, “I had SFR in Monpazier, and it worked fine. When I moved to Villereal it was useless. So I went with Orange here.”
 
Similarly, another reader plumped for SFR out of necessity, as it was “the only one with signal in our village in the Limousin.” 
 
As such, the luxury of choosing a phone provider remains out of reach for many rural expats in France. The 'best' provider is often the only one available. 

Member comments

  1. No-one seems to have mentioned the pay as you go system,Reglo Mobile.
    It is a service offered by the E. Leclerc supermarket chain and you have twelve months on any credit you pay for. When you top up, the twelve month time usage limit starts again from that point.
    There are two drawbacks.One is that they charge 1:50€ a month to keep the line open and that you must top up a minimum of 10:€ for international calls on top of whatever you pay to make calls in France.
    The coverage throughout France is very good and I have never failed to get a decent signal.

  2. What a ridiculous article. It all depends on where one lives and how much one is prepared to pay. Orange is by far the best the price is not. Free were good at first because they piggy-backed on Orange but now they don’t. SFR covered half my village but had deadspots. Bouygues whom I have at the moment are a good deal and coverage isn’t so bad. This is in the Vendee around Ste Hermine. I’ve had mobiles since 85′, when transmobiles cost £1000 and it was like carrying two bricks around.

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

HOLIDAYS

Readers’ tips: How to get the most out of a holiday in Denmark

We asked our readers for tips on how to save money when holidaying in Denmark and for some of the best things to do. This is what they said.

Published: 2 July 2020 12:16 CEST
Readers' tips: How to get the most out of a holiday in Denmark
The ferry to Anholt, the far-flung island in the middle of the Kattegat Sea is free for foot passengers and cyclists. Photo: Visit Anholt
HOW TO SAVE MONEY
 
Take advantage of the cheap train tickets
 
Fabrizio, from Italy, recommends the Rejsepas (travel pass) from the Danish train company DSB, which gives holders a week's totally free public transport across the whole of Denmark from June 27th until August 9th, and only costs 299 kroner. It's an incredible deal, so incredible in fact that all 50,000 tickets were quickly snapped up this year. If you missed it, you'll have to wait until next year. 
 
But you can still get so-called 'orange tickets', which are on sale for a maximum of 99 Danish kroner, which is also a pretty good deal. 
 
Nadine Morgan says it's important to book train tickets in advance, as they are then much cheaper than on the day. 
 
Take advantage of the free ferries 
 
As part of the government's “summer package”, pedestrians and cyclists travelling to Denmark's smaller islands, as well as to Fanø, Læsø, Ærø and Samsø in August and September can travel for free, points out Martin, a Danish reader.
 
There are also reduced prices on all ferries for cars, and reduced prices on the ferry to Bornholm. 
 
 
Go camping 
 
Vanessa Lima, from Brazil, recommends camping wild on some of Denmark's less frequented beaches. “Just find a place to camp there and spend few days with nature,” she says. 
 
Don't eat in restaurants too much 
 
Denmark's restaurants are some of the most expensive in the world, so a great way to save costs is to buy food in supermarkets and cook it yourself. “You don't necessarily need to eat out at every restaurant for every meal, so consider packing or making your own meals. Food costs go a long way,” Morgan says. 
 
Marta, from Poland, agrees, adding that you can save a lot of money by having barbecues while camping. 
 
Take advantage of the summer freebies in cities. 
 
“There are plenty of free things to do in Copenhagen. And until the middle of August a lot of museums are half price,” says the British travel blogger Karen Smedley. “The harbour bus is great for sightseeing, as is walking around the capital and admiring the architecture. There are plenty of lovely parks, especially the deer park, which are all free.”
 
Use student discounts
 
One Hungarian international student recommends take advantage of the thousands of student discounts on offer in Denmark, many of which relate to things you'd like to do on holiday. The train company DSB offers 25 percent discounts for students, and the student website Studenterguiden, has a whole section devoted to them, with discounts to most museums, and many theatres. 
 
 
WHERE TO GO
 
The smaller islands
 
Morgan thinks Rømø Strand is Denmark's best beach. It's such a unique beach where you can drive for a few kilometres on the beach itself and enjoy the low tide of the water, and then when high tide comes, you have to hurry out. It's great because you can stay there for hours, it's family friendly, and its really beautiful with soft sand and seashells and few crabs walking around.” 
 
Allegra De María, from Italy, also recommends Denmark's “smaller islands”, as the best places to get away from it all. You can check out a list here at the Visit Denmark website.  
 
Beaches between Aarhus and Skagen 
 
Lima recommends travelling a little south down the coast towards Aarhus from the most popular areas around Skagen. “Not too close to Skagen or Aarhus, [the beaches are] usually good places to enjoy nature.
 
Enjoy the parks around Copenhagen 
 
Morgan is a big fan of the Dyrehaven, or Deer Park in Klampenborg north of Copenhagen.
 
“Dyrehaven is really beautiful and its my favourite park in Denmark that I have visited so far. I arrived there the first time on a fall [autumn] morning and they sky was clear blue and the air was brisk, and the colour of the leaves were a perfect beautiful orange and brown and there were deers roaming all over the park. It's a beautiful walk in the park and you can bring a picnic and sit there and enjoy nature.” 
 
Megan Miller, from Scotland, recommends bicycling around Copenhagen's Amager island to Dragør, the prosperous 19th century sea-faring town south of Copenhagen. 
 
Day trips to sea near Copenhagen 
 
Maria Andrianova, a tour guide from Russia, recommends the chalk cliffs at Stevns Klint, a UNESCO site with a great sea view. “I was quite impressed to learn that a part of the church fell down onto the seashore in 1928. The island of Møn has a very similar breathtaking landscape, but Stevns Klint is closer to Copenhagen”.
 
“I am also a big fan of Bellevue Beach near Klampenborg station – especially because of all the history and architecture behind it,” she says. “The small lifeguard towers on the beach were designed in the 1930s by famous Arne Jacobsen, and there are a whole bunch of great buildings also designed by him just next to the beach (like the Bellevue Theatre, Bellavista Housing Estate, and Skovshoved Petrol Station).
 
 
Visit Denmark's excellent open air museums
 
Morgan is also a fan of Den Gamle By [the old city] in Aarhus and the Frilandsmuseet in Lyngby, both of which showcase Danish architecture of different periods and try to recreate how life has changed across the centuries. 
 
“In Den Gamle By, you get to go inside a pretty big area where it feels more like a city or small town, and you get to go into all of the houses that were imported from different parts of denmark and placed there and rebuilt to their original state, and also travel through time the further you progress into the open-air museum.” 
 
 
 
SHOW COMMENTS