RichW

Hi, everyone.
I have just got off the phone to Orange.fr. The operator was simply just rude and uncooperative - in fact every male operative I've talked to recently has been, the female ones are really helpful. I don't know if this is the correct place to ask this question, but I am at a complete loss and quite desperate as to what to do/where to go.
So: will someone here please recommend an ISP (not Orange, lol) that will offer an unlimited download, Broadband-only package, please?
Or at least some provider that is cheaper than our current 25€ per month, since Orange have no option to 'suspend,' or even lower, our charges when we are not in France - if we end the contract and start another this summer Orange will want 37€, and the ccontract is for a year. We don't mind paying every month, but 25€ for not using our line is just too much for us, particularly at the moment - we don't even pay that over here in the UK!
We are only at our house in the Vendee (just outside St Gilles) at Easter and in the Summer for 3 months under normal circumstances. Orange want 25€ per month, every month, and it is just a ridiculous amount to pay for something we do not use for over 8 months of the year, since we have jobs in the UK.
We don't generally use the telephone, just the broadband, as we use our mobiles to make calls when we are in France. Hopefully some kind person here is able to suggest a good, cheaper alternative to Orange, please?
We are in the UK at the moment and have been since last October, hopefully we can come back to our house and the beautiful Vendee again at the end of July?
Thank you, Richard

EuroTrash

There are lots of ISP providers. The offers change all the time so it's best to use a comparison website eg https://alloforfait.fr/internet/adsl
But you might have to decide whether you want cheap or whether you want unlimited because the cheap packages are normally capped. I guess it depends how much you want to use when you are there. If you can keep your usage down you should be able to reduce your costs. TBH 25€ for unlimited compares pretty well to the going rate, I pay 29€ with free.fr - probably time to shop around if I could be bothered.

Or if you only visit France occasionally, you might want to look at 3's UK mobile broadband packages. I believe you can pay less than £20 a month for unlimited broadband and you could potentially use it at home in the UK and when you visit France at no extra cost. But whether roaming will continue to be free after the end of transition, who knows - probably not.

Chatter Static

The Op would have to check his NRA or NRO is degroupage.

a NRA is a Noeuf de Raccordement d’Abonné is a telephone exchange or known as acentral téléphonique In bigger towns and is where NRA’s feed back too.

an NRO is a Noeud de Raccordement Optique and is what is replacing NRA with the fibre roll out.

To the OP Visit this link enter your address it will give you the options available from your exchange.

It is the norm these day to have to have a Livebox or whatever each operator offers for telephone service because the entire network is Sips based better version of voip you certainly can’t get San livebox service from Orange anymore and as each exchange becomes fibre enabled they well stop providing copper service.

The livebox 4 can be plugged into either copper or fibre and the later will provide up to 2Gbs service which works as 2 lan ports having concurrent 1Gb connections. Orange is traditional Gpon fibre and Free offer point to point fibre. 10 Gb is being trialed by Orange at the mo.

Listen Very Carefully

I would consider a dongle in your position ie a mobile device working off the mobile phone signal as has already been suggested Getting one in the UK will mean that the sim will search for the strongest mobile signal in your area which is a plus if your phone signal is not good but as has been suggested will there be a roaming charge post brexit? The other alternative is to buy a French one after doing a trawl of the phone shops to see what suits you

RichW

Thank you everyone who have taken the time to offer advise, much appreciated.
I had a dongle a few years ago, but it proved very expensive. Three months of the year - and all family piggy-backing just wouldn't work for us though.
25€ per month may not seem expensive, but if we're here in the UK and not using it all - and having to pay for our own broadband in the UK on top of this - makes it a very expensive option indeed. We had wondered about stopping it and then a new contract, but that makes it 37€ per month and it's a year's contract, which is just silly money.
I have the Livebox already - part of the Orange deal we took out years ago - but I prefer my Fritz! Box as it's much cleverer and faster - I have tested my line and fibre and ADSL are up to my home and fast.

It's just a cheaper monthly ISP than Orange's 25€ that I'm after, as I don't really want to pay once we have left for another 7 months in the UK. I may have to pay until the end of the summer - if we're allowed back by then?? - and then cancel with Orange and find someone else for the next time we're there; probably next April?

I/we do quite a lot of streaming, so Unlimited is really the only option. Many are doing 15€ deals at the moment, so they could be the favourites?

Thank you for the links, btw, we are investigating these as I type.

What does everyone else think, please?
Cheers, Rich

scrubbedexpat056

More a general point than a specific suggestion, but the best deals are for the first year only. They rely on you not being bothered to change your supplier once the year is up. When you compare the offers make sure that you are comparing suppliers that don't tie you in beyond the first year and plan to research and change every year. Also take into account that every new supplier will charge you a one off fee for supplying a new router and connection. This should still be cheaper than the price of your current supplier's prices leaping up in the second year, but you'll have to do some careful costing to save much money.
Good luck with it.

RichW

Yes, agreed. Good job I always change my insurance etc every year - it's a good idea to make a diary/calendar note to renew or cancel. I have noticed some French Telecom providors are offering 100€ if you switch to them. Maybe we are going to led it ride with Orange until the end of the summer, then cancel and start again next April with a new ISP. At least that way we will be saving at least 6 or 7 x 25€ payments that way. Or, looking at 'Free' they do a 14€ package, as long as we remember to cancel before the year is up, when it jumps to Orange's price.

EuroTrash

As Alianco says. All you can do is keep googling for the best current offers until you're bored, read the small print of any that look good, and be prepared to keep swapping providers when the introductory offer ends.
Your trouble is that providers prefer people to take out contracts, so they use unlimited as a carrot. Most if not all PAYG offers will be capped to make them less tempting. The longer the contract you sign up for, the cheaper the monthly fee. It's how the market works. So finding a very cheap "sans engagement" deal will need a bit of work.
I think most posters on here are permanent residents so don't have this issue.

FWIW, I started a work contract in the UK, living and working onsite, and I took out a contract for Three UK's mobile broadband deal. Then my job ended due to the health crisis, I'll be heading back to France shortly, and I'll be stuck paying the flippin' contract until next March. So I do feel your pain but c'est la vie, sometimes all you can do is the Gallic shrug.

Tweedpipe

For those who have already mastered the Gallic shrug, and wish to become even more fluent - in French hand gestures check out :

May contain nuts

We've been with Orange since 2007 - and we've had few probs with their service.
We had a fibre connection installed 2-3 years ago and it's blindingly fast.
I did a test a couple of minutes ago..



I know this doesn't help Rich with his problem - but I've heard horror stories from people who are contracted with other ISPs.

dmu

I manage most of them, but don't use the ambiguous one and didn't know the last one. But then I didn't see the film....

EuroTrash

I'm sure all providers have many satisfied customers and some dissatisfied ones.
I started off with Alice, who were taken over by Free in 2003, and a few years later I switched my Alicebox for a Freebox. At the time of the takeover itself I had trouble accessing emails over a period of several weeks (didn't matter because as a backup I always have 2 separate email accounts with a divert from one to the other so that in theory I get every email twice, and fortunately the divert still worked), and there was a slight hitch when I switched boxes. Apart from that, no issues. But the fact that the only problems I have ever had have been when changes were happening, puts me off shopping around and changing provider on a regular basis. If it ain't broke, don't fiw it

Listen Very Carefully

The cost of Dongles is coming down all the time so IMO it will be worth looking into them

RichW

I understand the 'if it ain't broke' and sticking with a current provider, because I have been happy with the speeds and service with Orange. I just don't feel like paying 25€/£20 for 8 months of the year when it is totally unused. It's just an utter waste of money - which at the current time could be much better spent/used over here where we need it. Plus the fact that the Orange (male) telephonists are so damned rude and unhelful when you have to call them. I had looked at 'Free' actually and may go with those when I have to change. But, as I know, the Devil's in the Detail - or small print, isn't it?

Thank you all for your continued help and advice.
Rich

Chatter Static

If you haven’t yet get a livebox 4 that with that you a 2 Gb connection if you opt for the highest speed. At the end of the day anyone who is on copper that has fibre available it is really worth the change purely on QOS basis. Because of the funding that has gone into fibre roll out the areas that NRO’s cover are being reduced so no one ends up being too far out for max speed. Orange are keen because when one area is completely on fibre the copper exchange equip is switched off and all the equip scrapped the fibre OLT in the exchange uses loads less power consumption than that to actively power a 48v copper line as well as dslam power needs for broadband.

Orange prioritizes repairs too their customers and the local loop is Orange’s responsibility for repairs on the copper network I known people to wait some time.