Post & Telecommunication
La Poste. French post. Order stamps online.
Mon timbramoi. Design
your own real stamps. A service from French post.
Multitel.
International Telephone adapters.
Teleadapt. Adapters for foreign telephone plugs.
Minitel. Access the
Minitel network through the Internet.
Iminitel. Free software to access Minitel at high speed from a PC.
Landline telephone operators
Note: When comparing minute rates between the operators, then don't
forget to count the initial charges that are sometimes well hidden. Most fixed
operators bill per second, but there are usually other charges:
Connection charge: Fixed charge per call. This could cost as much as a 10
minute call.
Crédit temps: "Credit time". The classic French system of
charging a fixed amount for a specified minimum call duration before switching
to second billing.
Higher initial second rate: A recent method to look cheap. Calls may be
billed per second from the first second, but the seconds during the first minute
are more expensive.
Teleconnect.
"Anglopack" offer from Budget Telecom, all in English. They offer
landline, mobile and ADSL. No dégroupage.
Neuf Cegetel. Large
operator.
Alice.
Tele2.
Universal Telecom.
Low-cost operator. One of the cheapest, but beware the connection charge.
France Télécom.
The State operator. Reliable quality. Customer service is as mediocre as you
would expect from a formerly public company.
Budget Telecom.
Low-cost operator. Occasional drop-outs
experienced. Inconvenience: You must charge your account in advance.
Internet-based management.
Telerabais. Call to
European and other destinations at local rates without subscription. Very cheap,
but you pay for the time it takes to dial the number, including if the number
called is occupied. Inconvenience: You have to dial a 10-digit number before
every international call. In practice, the only user feedback I have heard of
was that it doesn't work from public telephones.
Mobile telephone operators
Add-on operators for cheap international calls
These operators require that you first have a cellphone operator from which
you call the add-on operator's server in France. The add-on operator then
bills you for the international call instead of the cellphone operator.
Because the traditional cellphone operators charge an arm and a leg for
international calls, there are savings to be had if you regularly phone abroad
from your French mobile while in France.
Teleconnect.
"Anglopack" offer from Budget Telecom, all in English. They offer
landline, mobile and ADSL. No dégroupage.
Vonroz. Fixed monthly
prices for unlimited calls. Note, you have to pre-store each number abroad on
their system before you can call a number.
MobileGlobe. Beware
that the savings they advertise do not include the cost of the mobile call to
their server. They charge in steppings of a minute at a time (hidden in their
T&C). One headline claims it works from abroad, which is incorrect and
contradictory to what they say elsewhere. You must prepay into an account -
which will be cleared by them if you don't use the service for a few months.
They reserve the right to modify their prices at any time without notice. That
is illegal under European and French consumer law.
The Physical Networks
There are 3 physical, independent networks in France. Orange and
SFR offer the best cover. Whether the SFR or
Orange network
suits you best depend on local conditions. SFR provides the best cover in TGV
trains while only Orange covers the whole of
Monaco. Orange generally seems to provide a
more complete cover of the territory. If you have a bad signal where you are, a
swap to another network may solve the problem. If you have signed a contract
with an engagement preventing you from cancelling the first 12 or 24
months (typical if a phone is included) and you find out that you don't have a
signal at home, then you are entitled to cancel the contract anyway, but you
must act quickly and send the cancellation by recorded letter with
acknowledgement of receipt. When choosing an
operator, take into account which physical network they use. You could ask
neighbours which network gives them an acceptable signal. Roaming
on another physical network than the one you're attached to is impossible in
France. Only if you have a foreign SIM card can you roam between the French
networks, depending on the agreements between the operators.
On the following three sites, you can study your local cover for the three
physical networks:
Orange: http://couverture-reseau.orange.fr/france/netenmap.php
SFR: www.sfr.fr/assistance/reseau-sfr-france/
Bouygues:
www.couverture.bouyguestelecom.fr/eci_11/accueil/index.html
Having compared these maps with two real situations of weak or failling network
cover, I get the impression that Orange's map is realistic while SFR's map is
optimistic.
Virtual operators that rent their network (MVNO)
In French, the English term MVNO - Mobile Virtual Network Operator - has been
retained. They are also known as opérateurs virtuels.
Virgin. Richard
Branson expands in France. Rents its network from Orange.
Virgin has interesting prices for low consumption users.
Teleconnect.
"Anglopack" offer from Budget Telecom, all in English. They offer
landline, mobile and ADSL. No dégroupage.
Auchan. Rents its network from
SFR. Auchan is a major supermarket chain.
Breizh. Rents its network from
Orange.
Carrefour. Rents its network from
Orange. Carrefour is a major
supermarket chain.
Coriolis. Rents its network from
SFR.
Debitel. Rents its network from
SFR. Bought by
SFR 2 February 2008.
Fnac. Rents its network from
Orange. Fnac is a major media store chain.
Neuf. Rents its network from SFR.
NRJ Rents its network from
Orange starting mid-2008. It formerly used SFR.
Existing clients will not be switched to Orange.
Tele2. Rents its network from
Orange.
December 2005: The telecoms regulator has received a large number of complaints
about this operator's incorrect handling of new lines where the client wanted to
keep his existing mobile number. In many cases, they don't send you the new SIM
card in time before your old subscription expires, so you risk having your
mobile line cut if you transfer to Tele2.
Ten-mobile. Unlimited
e-mail from your mobile for 6 € per month. Rents it network from Orange.
Company created by Tele2 France's former director Jean-Louis Constanza.
Transatel. Multi-country
virtual operator. Mainly for business.
Operators with their own networks
These operators are known for lousy customer service, illegal practices and
were given record-high fines for price-fixing and carving up the market between
them on the 30 November 2005.
Bouygues. They also
handle subscriptions sold as Universal Mobile.
Orange. They also handle subscriptions sold as M6 Mobile.
SFR They
also handle subscriptions sold as NRJ Mobile.
Brand name offers from the physical operators
These offers are not virtual operators. The
brands mainly target young clients.
M6 is provided by Orange.
Universal is
provided by Bouygues.
Internet Service Providers
Moved here
Radio, TV & Newspapers
For expat publications, please see expat resources.
Tvradioworld:
French radio stations on the Internet.
Radio France.
Noos. Cable TV. (November 2001: Noos severely criticised for bad customer service, operational problems and more by a major consumer organisation). Note: The vast majority of the channels they broadcast are French.
TF1. French TV channel 1.
France 2. French TV channel 2.
France 3. French TV channel 3.
Canal +. French TV Canal Plus.
Arte. French TV Arte.
M6. French TV channel 6.
Télésatellite. Satellite TV magazine.
Le Figaro newspaper.
Lycos.
Yahoo France.
Le Monde newspaper.
Electricity & Gas Providers
Note: Until 2007, only professionals registered with a SIRET number are
allowed to choose their electricity provider. If your consumption is partially
private and partially professionnal, then you are allowed to use an alternative
provider.
Information
CRE (Commission de Régulation
de l'Énergie). The energy regulator.
Nationwide
Direct Energie. Problems
experienced with customer service, and their phone number is charged at 0.34
€ per minute. Electricity only.
EDF/GDF. The state company.
Electricity and gas.
Electrabel. Electricity
and gas.
Électricité de
Strasbourg. Electricity only.
Endesa. Electricity only.
Gaz Électricité de
Grenoble. Electricity and gas.
Poweo. Electricity and gas.
Sorégies. Electricity
and gas.
UEM – Usine d’électricité
de Metz. Electricity only.
Regional providers (the numbers indicate the départements
where they are)
28: GEdia. Electricity
and gas.
28: Régie du syndicat
électrique intercommunal du Pays chartrain (RSEIPC). Electricity only.
57: Régie d’électricité
de Bitche. Electricity only.
60: SICAE Oise.
Electricity only.
67: Gaz de Barr.
Electricity and gas.
68: Synergie SAS (e-mail
address; no known website). Electricity only. Tel. 03 89 89 76 40.
74: Régie d’électricité
de Seyssel. Electricity and gas.
74: Régie électrique de
Thones. Electricity only.
76: Régie d'électricité
d'Elbeuf. Electricity only.
79: Ouest Énergie.
Electricity only.
80: SICAE de la Somme et du
Cambraisis. Electricity only.
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