Internet Connectivity - DSL & Wireless
For whatever reason people keep asking about internet connectivity.
Let's review some basics:
There are two basic types of internet connectivity, wired and wireless.
Wired
Fiber. For those who are eligible for fiber your search is over. Fiber sends information over glass strands. It's very fast and relatively inexpensive. Sign up with any major provider. Besides price they're largely undifferentiated, though price can vary wildly. Orange does have an English support number, 09 77 55 72 27.
DSL. A relatively old technology DSL is common but slows down the further you are from a central hub and the more people using it. Some DSL connections might be reasonably fast but many can be slow and some can be outright terrible. The only way to know for sure is to ask somebody either living in a house or a neighbor what speed they get with which provider.
For both types of wired connections the connection wait times can be abysmal; it took about two months to hook us up through Orange, which in hindsight isn't even bad. Repairs can take forever though when we called they came the next day.
Which leads us to ....
Wireless
There are two basic types of wireless; traditional and satellite. We won't even review satellite unless you're desperate. It's insanely expensive, slower than Trump's brain, and really only for desperate French hillbillies. Honestly, it's faster to drive to somebody with a decent connection than buy satellite internet in France. That brings us to traditional wireless.
4G. No matter what anybody says -- and there is a lot of misinformation -- there isn't any magic wireless besides 4G that's also called LTE. You buy a data plan that comes with a SIM then rent or buy a model the SIM goes into. The modem then works like an always-on hotspot, providing Wifi. After setup, which isn't difficult, this works like any other Wifi connection.
As of Fall, 2018 there are two French providers of 4G internet, Bouygues 4G BBox and SFR's La Box 4G. Both cost €33/month for 200GB of data, including rental of the box, after which they drop down to a 3G crawl. What's the difference? I can't see any; they are entirely undifferentiated.
There's also a service called CC Technician that offers a more useful 1TB (1000 GB) for about €60 per month but you have to buy a 4G modem that costs, along with setup fees, €200. It's run by English expats who speak fluent English which, if you're reading this, probably matters to you.
So ... what's the verdict? If you're eligible for fiber, sign up for that. If not, check your DSL speed. If you're over 5Mbs and like to stream Netflix or enjoy the Internet, sign up for that. If you're under that amount, or can't deal with the setup time -- and you like to stream -- head over to CC Technician. If you don't care about streaming, and use the web sparingly (come on .. really?), then one of the 4G plans will likely work. If you almost never surf, and have the patience of a Buddhist monk for setup times, then a slow DSL line will work.
BTW: what's the difference between the 4G home box and a regular mobile phone SIM?
Good question and the answer, for the most part, is ... nothing. The SIM and the technology are the same. The providers say the box will not work outside your home area, though I've never tested this. The box isn't especially portable and, at least now, doesn't include a voice line. So why not use a regular SIM and an unlimited plan? Because "unlimited" mobile internet, in the fine print, has a limit of fast 4G broadband. Like the home boxes the speed drops down to 3G after a certain amount of use, which is always a lower amount than any of the home 4G box plans.
Let's review some basics:
There are two basic types of internet connectivity, wired and wireless.
Wired
Fiber. For those who are eligible for fiber your search is over. Fiber sends information over glass strands. It's very fast and relatively inexpensive. Sign up with any major provider. Besides price they're largely undifferentiated, though price can vary wildly. Orange does have an English support number, 09 77 55 72 27.
DSL. A relatively old technology DSL is common but slows down the further you are from a central hub and the more people using it. Some DSL connections might be reasonably fast but many can be slow and some can be outright terrible. The only way to know for sure is to ask somebody either living in a house or a neighbor what speed they get with which provider.
For both types of wired connections the connection wait times can be abysmal; it took about two months to hook us up through Orange, which in hindsight isn't even bad. Repairs can take forever though when we called they came the next day.
Which leads us to ....
Wireless
There are two basic types of wireless; traditional and satellite. We won't even review satellite unless you're desperate. It's insanely expensive, slower than Trump's brain, and really only for desperate French hillbillies. Honestly, it's faster to drive to somebody with a decent connection than buy satellite internet in France. That brings us to traditional wireless.
4G. No matter what anybody says -- and there is a lot of misinformation -- there isn't any magic wireless besides 4G that's also called LTE. You buy a data plan that comes with a SIM then rent or buy a model the SIM goes into. The modem then works like an always-on hotspot, providing Wifi. After setup, which isn't difficult, this works like any other Wifi connection.
As of Fall, 2018 there are two French providers of 4G internet, Bouygues 4G BBox and SFR's La Box 4G. Both cost €33/month for 200GB of data, including rental of the box, after which they drop down to a 3G crawl. What's the difference? I can't see any; they are entirely undifferentiated.
There's also a service called CC Technician that offers a more useful 1TB (1000 GB) for about €60 per month but you have to buy a 4G modem that costs, along with setup fees, €200. It's run by English expats who speak fluent English which, if you're reading this, probably matters to you.
So ... what's the verdict? If you're eligible for fiber, sign up for that. If not, check your DSL speed. If you're over 5Mbs and like to stream Netflix or enjoy the Internet, sign up for that. If you're under that amount, or can't deal with the setup time -- and you like to stream -- head over to CC Technician. If you don't care about streaming, and use the web sparingly (come on .. really?), then one of the 4G plans will likely work. If you almost never surf, and have the patience of a Buddhist monk for setup times, then a slow DSL line will work.
BTW: what's the difference between the 4G home box and a regular mobile phone SIM?
Good question and the answer, for the most part, is ... nothing. The SIM and the technology are the same. The providers say the box will not work outside your home area, though I've never tested this. The box isn't especially portable and, at least now, doesn't include a voice line. So why not use a regular SIM and an unlimited plan? Because "unlimited" mobile internet, in the fine print, has a limit of fast 4G broadband. Like the home boxes the speed drops down to 3G after a certain amount of use, which is always a lower amount than any of the home 4G box plans.
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