Data SIM in France... now an amazing deal

[Cardo]

For those cruising around France and after mobile data, you just have to look at Free Mobile. They do a €20/month monthly rolling contract SIM with, as long as your device has a 4G modem, ... 50, yes, FIFTY gigs of data. Until recently it was 20gb, but over the last couple of days they upped it to 50gb. Got a bit of a shock when I went to check our remaining usage and saw that instead of 5gb we still had 35gb remaining.

The main caveat is your device has to have a 4G modem for the big data allowance, otherwise it's a paltry 3gb. You still get to use the allowance on 3G if there's no 4G coverage, you just have to have the 4G capable modem.

If you stick it in a phone, you also get unlimited calls, texts and MMS in France and unlimited texts to the EU.

You can buy the SIM cards from Free shops, or one of the loads of vending machines dotted around the country. Just give it a name, address (we used marina), email address and a credit card. Job done.

Info here... http://mobile.free.fr

 

[cynthia]

Finally a sensible priced package for France. Which network does Free use, I'd like to check the coverage. Thanks.

 

[Cardo]

Finally a sensible priced package for France. Which network does Free use, I'd like to check the coverage. Thanks.

SWMBO says they have their own 4G network in the main cities and roams on Orange when out of 4G coverage.

 

[RobbieW]

Finally a sensible priced package for France. Which network does Free use, I'd like to check the coverage. Thanks.

Now we need Spain to do something similar!

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

For those cruising around France and after mobile data, you just have to look at Free Mobile. They do a €20/month monthly rolling contract SIM with, as long as your device has a 4G modem, ... 50, yes, FIFTY gigs of data. Until recently it was 20gb, but over the last couple of days they upped it to 50gb. Got a bit of a shock when I went to check our remaining usage and saw that instead of 5gb we still had 35gb remaining.

The main caveat is your device has to have a 4G modem for the big data allowance, otherwise it's a paltry 3gb. You still get to use the allowance on 3G if there's no 4G coverage, you just have to have the 4G capable modem.

If you stick it in a phone, you also get unlimited calls, texts and MMS in France and unlimited texts to the EU.

You can buy the SIM cards from Free shops, or one of the loads of vending machines dotted around the country. Just give it a name, address (we used marina), email address and a credit card. Job done.

Info here... http://mobile.free.fr

That's extremely useful, and timely, thanks. I've been looking for a cost-effective 4G mifi solution since joe-mobile.fr was closed down earlier this year; this Free offering could be it. Do you happen to know if they permit vpn traffic? (Some providers do still block this, annoyingly).

Don't spose you happen to know if there's a vending machine in Antibes, do you?

 

[Cardo]

That's extremely useful, and timely, thanks. I've been looking for a cost-effective 4G mifi solution since joe-mobile.fr was closed down earlier this year; this Free offering could be it. Do you happen to know if they permit vpn traffic? (Some providers do still block this, annoyingly).

Don't spose you happen to know if there's a vending machine in Antibes, do you?

VPN works just fine. Watched the F1 the other week with it.

Vending machine locator: http://mobile.free.fr/couverture/borne_interactive.html
There will no doubt be at least one in Antibes somewhere, often in news agents.

 

[Poignard]

Excuse my stunning technical ignorance but would one of these SIMs work in the Three dongle (Huwai) I bought to use with my laptop in France?

 

[Cardo]

Excuse my stunning technical ignorance but would one of these SIMs work in the Three dongle (Huwai) I bought to use with my laptop in France?

It depends if your Three dongle is unlocked (if not, many Huawaei units can be unlocked using codes easily found on the internet) and has 4G capability. If the dongle only does 3G (like our dongles) then the data limit is only 3gb. That's why we have the Free SIM card in our new iPad and use personal hotspot.

 

[Poignard]

It depends if your Three dongle is unlocked (if not, many Huawaei units can be unlocked using codes easily found on the internet) and has 4G capability. If the dongle only does 3G (like our dongles) then the data limit is only 3gb. That's why we have the Free SIM card in our new iPad and use personal hotspot.

Thanks. I'll have to take it into a Three shop and find out if it's 4G

 

[Cardo]

Thanks. I'll have to take it into a Three shop and find out if it's 4G

What model is it?

 

[TQA]

Do you by any chance know if this applies to Martinique?

I will be there for a while around Christmas and need a good wifi connection.

 

[Cardo]

Do you by any chance know if this applies to Martinique?

I will be there for a while around Christmas and need a good wifi connection.

I think this only works in the French nation territory?

 

[Poignard]

What model is it?

It's a Huawei E3231

 

[RobbieW]

It's a Huawei E3231

'fraid thats not a 4G device. At the prices Cardo's quoting its worth buying something 4G to get access to that deal, maybe a 4G MiFi would give better flexibility for devices connecting to it ?

 

[Poignard]

'fraid thats not a 4G device. At the prices Cardo's quoting its worth buying something 4G to get access to that deal, maybe a 4G MiFi would give better flexibility for devices connecting to it ?

OK. Thanks for your helpful advice.

 

[TQA]

I think this only works in the French nation territory?

Martinique is one of the twenty-seven regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the French Republic. As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its currency is the euro.

They have the same 20 Euro contract deal but it is not clear if the data deal is the same. Worth following up though and thanks for the steer!

 

[Cardo]

They have the same 20 Euro contract deal but it is not clear if the data deal is the same. Worth following up though and thanks for the steer!

I guess I should've mentioned it works in Corsica, so if Martinique falls under the same category, then it may well be the same?

Also forgot to mention, especially for those of you who aren't all that good at French, when you go to buy the SIM card, there's a one off €10 fee for the card itself. When you buy it, you also get the option of a one off month (so €30 one off fee and the SIM deactivates after a month) or the monthly rolling contract where your card gets charged every month until you cancel the subscription through the website.

If you're just passing through France and will be there for 3 or 4 weeks, the one off €30 for 50 gigs of data is a pretty sweet setup.

 

[Avalon]

A big thank you for this really useful thread. We are in Paris at the Arsenal marina and the data allowance on our 3 data SIM had run out. Today I went over to the Free Center near the Madeleine and got a Free SIM from one of the vending machines there - 10 Euros for the SIM and 19.95 for a month's data. You just need a credit card (CHIP/PIN), email address and a French Address - I used the Marina address.

It's working like a dream and we are really grateful for the heads up!

 

[LadyInBed]

Now we need Spain to do something similar!

This year orange Spain offered 1 month 3 gigs for €10

 

[RobbieW]

This year orange Spain offered 1 month 3 gigs for €10

In Italy I could get 20Gb for €30 so €3.33/Gb aint cheap.

EDIT: I'm currently using both Jazztel and Tuenti sims. Jazztel have a very similar offer to Orange, whose network they piggyback on, but you need to monitor the usage as its very easy to overrun the allowance and dip into €0.95/Mb standard charging. Tuenti is €7 for the first Gb each month and €4 thereafter, as many topups as you want and it can be set up to stop when the allowance is exhausted.