Magukat

Hi
We are moving to France (Cote d'Azur) . We need to arrange TV + Internet + mobile phone
I can see Red(via SFR), SFR, Bouygues available in the area.
ll seems to be offering pretty much the same so in doubts what to choose.

Our requirements:

TV: I'd like to choose a prover that apart from good French TV channels (art/documentaries) offers Italian and English channels too. Plus we don't speak french (well... not well enough to understand properly what customer support says at least). Any you would be happy to recommend?
Mobile: Looking at the coverage in the area, Free is not an option. Bouygues or Orange should be ok. Are there any particularities buying a SIM card in France? Do I need to have any documents to buy a SIM or could it be better to just buy any pay-as-you go for £1 maybe to start with?
ADSL: Looks like any provider would be ok as long as it's s available in our area. Is there anything particular I should consider? Which one has the best customer service? Does anyone offer the customer service in English maybe?


Thank you

cyrian

Hi
You should check the speed of broadband service or the availability of fibre. The high street shops should be able to do that for you.
Our tv comes via ADSL (or fibre) from SFR - no particular reason for choosing SFR.
Can't help with Italian channels but for US series or English language films we can (usually) change the language to English - with or without sub-titles.
You should be able (in the future) to add Canal+ or Netflix onto the tv package.
Our landline with SFR is a VOIP via the internet and we have free calls to landlines in most other countries including France.
Handy for phoning home to the UK.
I have a pay monthly RED sim which is as cheap or cheaper than I previously paid PAYG
In general, if you have PAYG sim most of the operators expire any unused minutes each month.
There is no contract with RED to you can stop it anytime but you cannot arrange it in an SFR shop - online only.
I don't think that there is much to choose between the providers to check what is included in the package; the price and the internet speed.

HTH

Magukat

Thank you. Very useful info about VOIP calls & monthly RED SIMs!

Found a website to check which operator offers a particular channel: https://www.ariase.com/fr/television/index.html . Mabe someone will find useful if looking for the same
Also to check the mobile operator nearest antennas: https://www.couverture-mobile.fr/#lat=4370558&lng=730553&z=16

Chatter Static

Everything on Ariase has to be taken with a pinch of salt with the exception of NRA "Telephone exchange information bandwidth rates and Statistic's which come from live line testing like BT" it's one big click advert leading to every operator in France

It's all about making people feel good about the network which is somewhat lacking on a plus side it's not like trying to get a sensible broadband connection in Spain....

But it takes them so long to approve a new technology here that by the time they roll it out, it is out of date and mobile phones have faster data rates than most wired rural locations.