French network recommendation - PAYG Data.

niallb

I'm going to be in France at least once this summer,
and I'm looking for a recommendation or advice on
which network to use for reasonable data access.

I'd be looking to pick up a SIM only pack, Paris area,
and ideally looking for an addon of maybe 1GB over a week.

Can anyone recommend a network from personal experience who could supply this?
Is it possible in France just to buy a SIM in a shop, or do they require any documentation?

Looking forward to hearing any suggestions!

CivilEx

I've been using an Orange PAYG Sim that gives you an option for 500MB for 1 month usage for 9 Euro. Coverage for Orange seems to be good across France, but you would need to check their coverage maps for yourself.

I tried this plan in an iPhone and it gives you access to safari only. Email is extra. I picked mine up on ebay before I went.

niallb

Thanks.
Looks like they have the same deal for a week at 7 Euro.
Card is priced on their site at 7.90 including 5 euro credit,
so if I see one I'll be snapping it up. Might be able to get
one in a machine at the airport.

When you say 'email is extra', did you find an extra package you could buy that would give you complete access? If so, can you remember what it was called ?

CivilEx

General internet access is called "Option Internet Max". The email monthly option is called "Option Mail" for 9 euro.

once you have the sim in your phone type #123# and you will be taken through the options to add whichever one you need.

niallb

I eventually found that in the menus - they seem to change all the time.
I finally got to select it, and it said it can't activate until I go back to the shop I bought it in
with some ID - I handed the guy a passport when I bought it, and he said it wasn't needed any more.
After the ID, I'll have acess 'in a few days'. I'm here 'til Friday, and bought it in the airport,
so that's not happening. Alternative is the free APN, which runs at 50 cent a minute,
but I will use it over the next few days as I bought 15 euro of credit to get the addon.

Orange's site also won't send me a password to the phone, so I can't log in for a clearer view
of any other options, or to register any details. All a bit much :-(
Thanks for the suggestions guys, I guess it's just not so easy as a tourist!

As another note - since I found the menus hard to use, this is how to reach the Internet Max option.
The numbers can change depending on your account and your phone and maybe even the phase of the moon. Hopefully it'll be of help to someone someday.

Accessing Internet Max addon on an Orange France Mobicarte.

Dial #123#
You get a startup menu showing the credit on your prepaid account. You need enough credit on your account to buy the data plan.
Choose 2=Menu
Choose 4=Vos bons plans
Choose 3=Votre multimedia
Choose 6=Suite (Next) a couple of times until you see Option Internet Max
Choose Option Internet Max
Now you get a description, choose 1=Suite
Then choose 1=Souscrire (Subscribe).
Finally, choose 1=Valider (Confirm).

I'll leave a note here, and say if you want to try this, sort it out well before you go!