Data SIM card for France - N Brittany

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richardm47

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I need a mobile broadband internet connection for my ipad, going from St Malo westwards to l'Abervrach, for the next 3 months. In the UK I get good service from Three.

Can anyone recommend a French network with good coverage in Brittany?? or even a good deal now?
 
I just aquired an Orange "Domino" (price shown does not include the SIM card)

http://abonnez-vous.orange.fr/residentiel/equipements/cle-le-domino.aspx

which is basically a mobile wifi hotspot with its own internal SIM card which links to the 3G network. About the size of a pack of cards, it can be used anywhere and if using with an ipad, it means you do not have to insert another SIM card - the ipad just recognises the Domino as a wifi hotspot with its own secure code. I bought it from a shop called Phone House and it cost me €39 which included the SIM card and also credit for your first connection period.

A friend of mine liked it so much, she went into an Orange shop and bought the same thing and they charged her €59. Whether Phone House were doing a deal or they got the price wrong I don't know but mine was definitely €39.

You do not need a contract - you need to buy it Sans Engagement - but you do need to register it to your passport details so you can top up on line. Take your passport into the shop and they will do this for you while you wait. Once you have used the initial credit, you can top up and the best deal is the €25 for a month of unlimited connection.

Hope this helps
 
Here it is..... Looks like the French version of Carphone Warehouse:

http://www.phonehouse.fr/forfaits.php?sku=OCLEE5832&operateur=1&type_offre=1

The first one at €8 per month is sans engagement. Can't see how much data you get for this.... And can't see a €25 per month option with unlimited data..... Hard to see such a good deal being available in France, perhaps they've seen the light :)

In fact, the €35 per month, on a 24 month contract, seems to allow 6 hours surfing a day, unlimited email, and unlimited use of Orange Wifi hotspots, so unlimited data on PAYG for €25 per month is highly unlikely.

I don't speak French, and have no experience of the French mobile Internet system other than what I've read here, but beware of something that seems too good to be true.
 
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The €25 a month IS available and the deatail for it comes with the Domino/SIM pack when you buy it.

Also available is a €20 per month unlimited sans engagement deal with Orange if you are using any of the 3000+ orange wifi hotspots around France - available in many marinas etc. This is what I have been using for the last three years now and it works well as long as you can get a reasonable signal. The reason I moved onto the domino is that it frees you from the reliance on being near a hotspot.

One issue is that you can't transfer credit from one to the other. So, if you have already paid €20 for the wifi hotspot deal and then connect with your Domino, the credit from the former can't be used & vice-versa.

However, the domino is much more flexible in that assuming you have credit, even if you are in a wifi hotspot area, you will certainly get a good 3G signal for the Domino.
 
Thank you all! I think I'll go for the Domino thing if it's still about in late June when I get to St Malo.

By the way, I think I've tracked down a Jersey Telecom deal for mobile broadband. 1 month contracts: 1Gb £5; 3Gb £10; etc. That covers Guernsey as well as Jersey. Just need to check if it is a small ipad-sized sim card.
 
Thanks LIBby! So I'll check the wifi in StPP before buying a sim card. My experience last year using ipad for half-day work sessions was that using data card was more reliable than wifi! Even paid-for wifi. But I'll try it again this year.
 
Thanks again for all the input. I'm just coming back with what I've found.

In St Helier, visited the Jersey Telecom shop in the main street, paid £10.49 for an ipad micro-sim with 1gb, worked well all week, didn't use it all up. Very happy.

In Granville, went to the Orange shop in main street. Think they did have some sort of Domino as mentioned in above posts, but language problems intervened. I paid €8 for 2 ipad micro-sim cards (one seemed to be free) with I think 100 mb total, worked well, used that up in few days. Back to Orange shop, they suggested different deal: I paid €20 for one of the sim cards to be topped up with 2 gb valid for 30 days. Still running on that, can't track usage online because of a 'bugga', I think she meant a computer bug.

BTW the marina in Granville has the best wi-fi I've ever found in a marina, and it's free, but it isn't perfect. Strong signal, quick if its working at all, goes down maybe once a day, no-one knows why. So I switch to Orange whenever the wi-fi goes down. Anyway I've liked it here in Granville, leaving tomorrow to do some time at anchor, maybe Cancale, maybe Chausey. In Granville, I've enjoyed local life at the Cafe de Pirate, in the main triangle opposite the tourist office. This modern working and cruising life is very civilised!
 
richardm47 said:
I need a mobile broadband internet connection for my ipad, going from St Malo westwards to l'Abervrach, for the next 3 months. In the UK I get good service from Three.

Can anyone recommend a French network with good coverage in Brittany?? or even a good deal now?
Click to expand...

We're on Free in Brittany.
Coverage good to very good.
Get the €19.99 sans engagement (without contract) - includes 3GB data AND unlimited free calls to UK landlines.
 
Am I the only one that thinks we are all seriously ripped off by mobile phone companies.

If I buy an airline ticket on one airline and then switch to another, the airlines have found a way of sorting out the money between themselves.

However, if I buy minutes from Vodafone in England I cannot use them with
Vodafone France.

Before you all shout at me, I do know there are various deals that go some way to sorting this, but in my mind none of them go far enough. Communications is supposed to be a global business but I get stuffed every time I use a phone abroad.

Don't even start me on data charges.
 
I tried to buy a dongle in France last year and they told me in the shop that you could not buy one without providing a French address.
 
I have a French Orange sim card Data only, had to give passport details at the time, €5 for a 7 day 100mb which suits me.
 
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