Travel Technology - SIM Card for Paris

I've never traveled overseas before. I know there's a forum for "travel technology" but since my question is specific to PHV I thought I would post it here.

I'm looking for a SIM card for my visit in August. I want to be able to use the GPS on my Blackberry and check web pages. Actual phone calls will be very limited (just an emergency contact method is case Mrs. Redtop and I get separated).

Any recommendations on where to get one and what brand or plan to buy?

Are you going to be in France only, or visiting other European countries while you're there?

What model Blackberry do you have and who is your current cellular carrier?

I've never traveled overseas before. I know there's a forum for "travel technology" but since my question is specific to PHV I thought I would post it here.

I'm looking for a SIM card for my visit in August. I want to be able to use the GPS on my Blackberry and check web pages. Actual phone calls will be very limited (just an emergency contact method is case Mrs. Redtop and I get separated).

Any recommendations on where to get one and what brand or plan to buy?

1. What or where is PHV?

2. Does the Blackberry use a standard size or micro-SIM?

Just came back from France, and picked up a couple of SFR sims for 10 euro each, 5 for the sim and 5 in credit. They were prepaid, so the case on the sim could be used for data, text or voice. The one I picked up at CDG in the store across from the RER ticket office and the other I got at an SFR store. Insert and go.

I picked up a French SIM from Orange last year. I used it in my MiFi but I would think it would work in a Blackberry. I think I put 10 euros on it, because I was using it for four days of data and that seemed to be enough.

SFR worked almost fine for me, except data only starts after 72hs of activation

That is strange. I know I had to manually update my apn settings, but it worked for me as soon as I left the store. Maybe I was just lucky?
And as a note, my 5 Euro in credit lasted about 3 days.

I picked up a French SIM from Orange last year. I used it in my MiFi but I would think it would work in a Blackberry. I think I put 10 euros on it, because I was using it for four days of data and that seemed to be enough.

Sounds like you used Mobicarte. It should be available for data and voice although I cannot find this on their website (http://boutique.orange.fr/ESHOP_mx_ft/?tp=php&donnee_appel=FTASN&IDCible=1&type=4&code_rubrique=5-504008) which is obtuse as usual.

The best prepaid SIMs when travelling are from Lebara. They are in France, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, UK, Australia and growing.

If you are travelling as a couple, Lebara to Lebara calls are free.

The data and voice costs are the best around.

I have no association with them other than saving money. Their closest competitor is Lycamobile. Usually they have the same pricing. So either will do.

That is strange. I know I had to manually update my apn settings, but it worked for me as soon as I left the store. Maybe I was just lucky?
And as a note, my 5 Euro in credit lasted about 3 days.

I've used my MiFi in France, Ireland, England and Italy. The only place I had to update the APN was Italy - in every other country, I just popped in the SIM card and it worked fine.

I've used my MiFi in France, Ireland, England and Italy. The only place I had to update the APN was Italy - in every other country, I just popped in the SIM card and it worked fine.

There is a thread on the Lonely Planet Travel Tech forum about someone who has been repeatedly refused the right to purchase a data enabled prepaid SIM without a phone at both Orange and SFR stores. In additional to the 48 hour data waits, they seem to be saying that they no longer do SIM only sales. I have not verified it and am passing it on without recourse.

There is a thread on the Lonely Planet Travel Tech forum about someone who has been repeatedly refused the right to purchase a data enabled prepaid SIM without a phone at both Orange and SFR stores. In additional to the 48 hour data waits, they seem to be saying that they no longer do SIM only sales. I have not verified it and am passing it on without recourse.

48hrs data wait is a stupid thing. France have the worst data service in europe it think

The best prepaid SIMs when travelling are from Lebara. They are in France, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, UK, Australia and growing.

If you are travelling as a couple, Lebara to Lebara calls are free.

The data and voice costs are the best around.http://www.lebara.co.uk/allinone

Unlimited Lebara to Lebara calls + SMS (though there is a cap of 3k minutes & sms messages; valid through 9-30-12), and a total of 300 to apply to minutes (which includes calls to 60 countries), SMS messages or data MB for £10. Really interesting way to do it, and I like how it doesn't force you to buy individual top-ups each for data/voice/SMS.

For infrequent travellers, it looks like the best part may be that if you top up online, the credit doesn't expire.

The only downside I see is that their roaming charges aren't great. For data, they charge the max allowed under the new EU rules.

Edit: Whoops! Those are the Lebara UK rates. On the Lebara FR page, I can't find any reference to this all in one plan. I see that each call has a 0.15€ connection fee. I can't find any rates for data though. Can't imagine that it's not offered, but there's no mention anywhere.

48hrs data wait is a stupid thing. France have the worst data service in europe it think

Two years ago, my recommendation for France was a Vodafone IE or Wind IT SIM with a roaming package. It was easier and cheaper than dealing with the French system.

I'm wondering whether the loophole in their system may be the iPad SIMs. They don't seem to be restricted by some of the rules. You don't get voice, but data is becoming increasingly what most of us want.

I'll be in France early next month as well and would like to better understand 3G SIM options. I don't care about voice or text so much as data. I'd like to be able to call restaurants and such if needed, but I'm mainly after data. Lebara seems to be geared more towards recent immigrants who want to call home for cheap - its data options seem pretty spendy.

I've heard good things about SFR, and their La Carte seems to fit the bill if they can get me a micro SIM. Has anyone used SFR with an iPhone?

There is a thread on the Lonely Planet Travel Tech forum about someone who has been repeatedly refused the right to purchase a data enabled prepaid SIM without a phone at both Orange and SFR stores. In additional to the 48 hour data waits, they seem to be saying that they no longer do SIM only sales. I have not verified it and am passing it on without recourse.

Who knows what he or she is talking about? Both Orange and SFR are definitely selling prepaid SIM cards

48hrs data wait is a stupid thing. France have the worst data service in europe it think

Worst in terms of what, price or service quality?


I'll be in France early next month as well and would like to better understand 3G SIM options. I don't care about voice or text so much as data. I'd like to be able to call restaurants and such if needed, but I'm mainly after data. Lebara seems to be geared more towards recent immigrants who want to call home for cheap - its data options seem pretty spendy.

I've heard good things about SFR, and their La Carte seems to fit the bill if they can get me a micro SIM. Has anyone used SFR with an iPhone?

One of my friends there uses SFR for his iPhone and he seems pretty happy although he doesn't know much about tech. Take a look here: http://www.sfr.fr/mobile/offres-detail/prepaid_la_carte_simonly?vue=000029 The prepaid iPhone SIM is at the bottom of the page.

In the past, based on comments of French friends and colleagues, I have likened Orange to Verizon and SFR to AT&T in terms of service. (Bouygues was T-Mobile.)

If you are coming from the USA with an iPhone, it is absolutely essential to verify that your phone has been unlocked.

By the way, while France may sometimes have a lot of red tape, it has nothing on Japan.

There is a thread on the Lonely Planet Travel Tech forum about someone who has been repeatedly refused the right to purchase a data enabled prepaid SIM without a phone at both Orange and SFR stores. In additional to the 48 hour data waits, they seem to be saying that they no longer do SIM only sales. I have not verified it and am passing it on without recourse.
That wasn't my experience at all. I walked into the Orange store on Place de la Madeleine and, ten minutes later, walked out with a working data SIM card.

Price and quality.

In London you go to three and you will have for 10 pounds unlimited 1 week usage.

In SFR it cost more, was limited, and they only activate it after 48hrs.


Who knows what he or she is talking about? Both Orange and SFR are definitely selling prepaid SIM cards



Worst in terms of what, price or service quality?




One of my friends there uses SFR for his iPhone and he seems pretty happy although he doesn't know much about tech. Take a look here: http://www.sfr.fr/mobile/offres-detail/prepaid_la_carte_simonly?vue=000029 The prepaid iPhone SIM is at the bottom of the page.

In the past, based on comments of French friends and colleagues, I have likened Orange to Verizon and SFR to AT&T in terms of service. (Bouygues was T-Mobile.)

If you are coming from the USA with an iPhone, it is absolutely essential to verify that your phone has been unlocked.

By the way, while France may sometimes have a lot of red tape, it has nothing on Japan.

That wasn't my experience at all. I walked into the Orange store on Place de la Madeleine and, ten minutes later, walked out with a working data SIM card.

Ditto in the Orange store in Forum des Halles. It did take until the next day for 3G data to work, though.

I'm going to be in Paris for 5 days at the end of next month, and have scoured the information in various threads here (including the main prepaid data SIM card (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/1093467-pre-paid-data-sim-cards-consolidated-thread.html) one and the France/UK one (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/1369647-best-prepaid-iphone-sim-cards-uk-france-data.html)). I'll have my Verizon iPhone 5 (which should be unlocked on international GSM carriers) and a factory unlocked iPhone 4 as backup if needed. I'd really like to have data, about 200-300Mb should be sufficient for those 5 days for email/maps/etc but it'd be great to have 1Gb and not worry about usage. This would be really easy in the UK with a giffgaff goodybag. Voice is needed but minimal use (so no data-only SIM).

I see that it appears to be easy to pick up an SFR or Orange SIM card once in Paris, but reports of it taking a day (or even two) to activate data has me hesitant in counting on this. In addition, I'd really like to have it activated and the number known before I leave the US.

I've found a couple of great plans through Sosh (http://shop.sosh.fr/forfaits-mobiles)(an Orange MVNO) and SFR's Red Series (http://www.sfr.fr/telephonie-mobile/series-red-de-sfr.html#sfrintid=V_nav2_mob_serie-red), both have nano-SIM's too. It's 20-25 Euros for a month of 1Gb-3Gb data (even 4G speeds perhaps) with unlimited calls and SMS. This would be SO perfect and reasonable; does anyone have any experience with either of these? Any way to get it in the US? Looks like it'd be a real hassle to get even in Paris.

I'll also be in London for a day at the end of the year, so I could perhaps hang on to this and roam - data will be expensive, but it's only a day so I can keep the usage fairly low.

I've found a couple of great plans through Sosh (http://shop.sosh.fr/forfaits-mobiles)(an Orange MVNO) and SFR's Red Series (http://www.sfr.fr/telephonie-mobile/series-red-de-sfr.html#sfrintid=V_nav2_mob_serie-red), both have nano-SIM's too. It's 20-25 Euros for a month of 1Gb-3Gb data (even 4G speeds perhaps) with unlimited calls and SMS. This would be SO perfect and reasonable; does anyone have any experience with either of these? Any way to get it in the US? Looks like it'd be a real hassle to get even in Paris.



Please see the thread Free Mobile (Iliad) (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/france/1356506-free-mobile-iliad.html) that I started in the France Forum a few months ago, particularly messages 3-6.

Please see the thread Free Mobile (Iliad) (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/france/1356506-free-mobile-iliad.html) that I started in the France Forum a few months ago, particularly messages 3-6.

Thanks, don't know how I missed that. I may be able to contact a friend who lives in Paris, so perhaps he can sign up for Sosh or SFR's Red and mail the SIM card to me? Don't know if that'll be worth it just to sign up for a month and then cancel as these don't appear to be the typical prepaid product. A pity, it's such a great deal!

Given my desire to have an active SIM card upon arrival in Paris, perhaps it's best to pay a premium and buy one from eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/320851910142)? The Orange Mobicarte is probably the cheapest option (still trying to decipher their packages, looks like Internet MAX is cheap but then no email access through that?); LeFrenchMobile (http://www.lefrenchmobile.com/en/data-bundles.html)could be good too, though relatively expensive, but they'll deliver it to me and have English instructions.

Thanks, don't know how I missed that. I may be able to contact a friend who lives in Paris, so perhaps he can sign up for Sosh or SFR's Red and mail the SIM card to me? Don't know if that'll be worth it just to sign up for a month and then cancel as these don't appear to be the typical prepaid product. A pity, it's such a great deal!

Depends on how good the friend is. :) There is no red tape in the U.S. that compares with French red tape.


Given my desire to have an active SIM card upon arrival in Paris, perhaps it's best to pay a premium and buy one from eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/320851910142)? The Orange Mobicarte is probably the cheapest option (still trying to decipher their packages, looks like Internet MAX is cheap but then no email access through that?); LeFrenchMobile (http://www.lefrenchmobile.com/en/data-bundles.html)could be good too, though relatively expensive, but they'll deliver it to me and have English instructions.

I would not buy a foreign SIM on eBay but maybe that's just me. My advice is that if you have a good friend, have him or her buy the Mobicarte and activate it in France and then mail it to you.

I am an Orange subscriber and when I got my last SIM mailed to me here in the U.S., it was a major headache to have it activated here since New York is off-network. It took a couple of calls to France.

I would not buy a foreign SIM on eBay but maybe that's just me. My advice is that if you have a good friend, have him or her buy the Mobicarte and activate it in France and then mail it to you.


Does the Mobicarte activation tie itself to a phone; IOW, my friend can activate it using his phone, then mail it to me and I can use it in my iPhone without any problems? Then I can add the Internet MAX option a couple of days before I leave and should be good to go when I land?

In the UK, use 3: 15 pounds for unlimited data and a couple thousand minutes and texts.

In France, I used a Bouygues SIM. 3G data worked in a few minutes. The network was a little spotty, but it was fine.

Bouygues would be a good way to go for the least hassle, but that's still only once I get there. I'd still like to find a way to acquire and activate a local SIM before I leave. I did find a decent overview (http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/france/4759-report-using-orange-mobicarte-france-5.html#post37378) about doing this by buying one through an eBay seller and setting it up here in the US - a little risky though and hampered by the language barrier.

Does the Mobicarte activation tie itself to a phone; IOW, my friend can activate it using his phone, then mail it to me and I can use it in my iPhone without any problems? Then I can add the Internet MAX option a couple of days before I leave and should be good to go when I land?

I don't see how a SIM card can be locked to a specific phone (some others here might know if this is possible) but I don't know because I have not been a Mobicarte customer for years. I'm a regular monthly bill subscriber. This would be an excellent question for your friend to ask Orange either on the phone or at one of their "boutiques."

Bouygues would be a good way to go for the least hassle, but that's still only once I get there. I'd still like to find a way to acquire and activate a local SIM before I leave. I did find a decent overview (http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/france/4759-report-using-orange-mobicarte-france-5.html#post37378) about doing this by buying one through an eBay seller and setting it up here in the US - a little risky though and hampered by the language barrier.

Regarding Bouygues, I've said this here before; you can compare the top three French carriers to American ones. Orange is like Verizon, SFR like AT&T and Bouygues like T-Mobile. Few of my French friends have Bouygues.

Personally I don't recommend trying the activation over the web routine. If it doesn't work, then what? I can tell you that I was able to log into my account from here in the U.S. a few minutes ago (I had loads of French spam in my box) but I think I set it up while in France.

I think it indeed is risky especially if you don't speak French.

Regarding Bouygues, I've said this here before; you can compare the top three French carriers to American ones. Orange is like Verizon, SFR like AT&T and Bouygues like T-Mobile. Few of my French friends have Bouygues.


Ok, Orange or SFR would be better then. Got to see if my friend can get that SFR Red card, be great to have 3Gb of 4G data with great coverage in the city! :)

We just used the Lebara cards for voice only in two unlocked phones for a week. No issues whatsoever. Loaded $10 euros on each card which were mailed to us for free.

$0.15 connection charge then $0.01 a minute per call to the US.

@jsocpa, how was the Lebara coverage in Paris? Did you have/use 3G data without any issues? Were the cards active before you left the US? Thanks!

We had no issues with coverage. We only used these phones for voice. Paid Verizon the $25 for data on our iphones.

I activated the cards before leaving. Used my Sapphire Preferred to load and notified Chase first that I would be making charges abroad.

Lebara's site only mentions shipping the SIM to French residents, how did you get and activate it in the US?

If you enter a US address, you will receive it. It will come addressed as

John Smith
111 Main St
NY, NY 10001
France

But we received it with no issue. In fact, I had one sent to my office as a backup and it arrived as well. Received 2 cards at each address.

Ok, Orange or SFR would be better then. Got to see if my friend can get that SFR Red card, be great to have 3Gb of 4G data with great coverage in the city! :)

Again, assuming your friend speaks French, try and have him or her available in case you need someone to talk to customer service or tech support. Tech support in a foreign language is, let's say "interesting" because even if you speak the language well, your technical vocabulary may not be extensive.

Please stop back to this thread and report on your experience.

Bonne chance!

Before I traveled to Paris in July of 2011 I went to Ebay and purchased a Orange sim from someone that sells them. It was really cheap.

Please stop back to this thread and report on your experience.

I've emailed my friend and will see how it goes. I also got in touch with LeFrenchMobile and they've been very responsive (and in English!) so I may just go that way even though it's quite a bit more expensive at €39 for 300Mb. Free incoming calls and €0.19 outgoing (to France, USA, etc.) works well for me.

Does anyone have experience with LeFrenchMobile's coverage in central Paris?

Before I traveled to Paris in July of 2011 I went to Ebay and purchased a Orange sim from someone that sells them. It was really cheap.

I mentioned that possibility in earlier posts here; did you activate your Orange card before leaving the US? How did that work out for you?

I mentioned that possibility in earlier posts here; did you activate your Orange card before leaving the US? How did that work out for you?

The woman that was selling completed the initial activation steps before sending it to me after she determined which level of data I wanted and how many minutes i needed. Once she had that information she sent the sim along with the pin, which I used to complete the activation. It the sim worked as advertised. The only issue I had was that using Google Maps was a iffy proposition. Not really sure why. Calls were fine. I only called for taxis but not issue there.

Are there any sims that work in both London and Paris? Kind of assuming not, but I sort of remember an Orange UK last time I was in London.

Are there any sims that work in both London and Paris? Kind of assuming not, but I sort of remember an Orange UK last time I was in London.

Sure, almost any card bought from either country will roam in the EU - there is a maximum imposed on roaming charges and it's pretty high (especially data, which can be exorbitant).

It's probably a good way to go if one will only visit a country for a few days, saves the hassle of looking for a local SIM in that second country.

Three UK (and Giffgaff, which is an MVNO of 3 I believe) have great UK rates, FWIW.

Are there any sims that work in both London and Paris? Kind of assuming not, but I sort of remember an Orange UK last time I was in London.

I did take the Eurostar over to London for a day from Paris and I had my phone and the Orange sim. Personally, it didn't work for me. I had to use free wi-fi where I could get it.

I used holidayphone.com. They have pre-activated SFR SIMs for 3-days of use for $21 each. I believe these are data-only.

I bought 2 for $42 and they didn't charge shipping (otherwise they would have for only one SIM). They shipped it out of Sweden.

So I used these two for a week trip to Cote d'Azur. I didn't have great reception at my Cannes hotel (though reception in Cannes in general was fine).

Used it in a Mifi and the data was suppose to be unlimited but didn't come close to using a lot of data.

Reception and speed was fine when I used it on a train from Cannes to Monaco.

I've just ordered a SIM card from LeFrenchMobile (http://www.lefrenchmobile.com/); I do need voice too so a data-only product won't work.

I like these guys because everything is in English, and their support was very quick in responding to questions. I bought the SIM card for €22 (including shipping to the US) and it comes with €15 credit. I found a code (http://www.americansinfrance.net/Store/LeFrenchMobile-SIM-Card.cfm) that gave me another €5 voucher with the order. I will then top-up €40 online (can be done with my US credit card) which gives a 30% bonus, so I will have a total of €72 credit to start.

I'll then add the "XL Data Bundle" which is €39 for 300Mb data; this should be sufficient for my 5 days in Paris. I get free incoming calls (my US cell number will be forwarded to this French number at $0.069/min via Localphone) and can call within the EU and back to the US for €0.19/min (with €33 credit left over).

So it wasn't dirt cheap, I will spend $80 total but have good use of my phone and don't need to worry about finding/registering/activating a SIM upon arrival.

I will report back on my return how it worked out. This uses Bouygues' network and should be fine in central Paris.

CatJo,

Coming back about the LeFrenchMobile sim card I talked about before, I had full 3G coverage in Paris, no trouble at all.
Hope it is working as well for you too!

I received my LeFrenchMobile SIM card a few days ago; cut it down to nano size (bought one of those cutters on eBay) and it worked just fine in my Verizon iPhone 5. Entered the PIN code provided to unlock it and it soon picked up a AT&T signal.

However, I'm unable to use it here in the US because the first call has to be made while in France. At that point I will supposedly receive a text with my French phone number. It should all work out fine, though it would've been nice to have the number before and be sure things will work. Not a big deal I suppose.

They've been good to deal with, and I'm glad to hear positive experiences with their product while in Paris. Thanks!

I used holidayphone.com. They have pre-activated SFR SIMs for 3-days of use for $21 each. I believe these are data-only.

I bought 2 for $42 and they didn't charge shipping (otherwise they would have for only one SIM). They shipped it out of Sweden.

So I used these two for a week trip to Cote d'Azur. I didn't have great reception at my Cannes hotel (though reception in Cannes in general was fine).

Used it in a Mifi and the data was suppose to be unlimited but didn't come close to using a lot of data.

Reception and speed was fine when I used it on a train from Cannes to Monaco.

Glad to hear it - I ordered two of these also. I'll be in Paris, so I'm assuming reception will be solid. And my guess is, with my family, we'll use plenty of data and test out to see if there's really a limit.

I used holidayphone.com. They have pre-activated SFR SIMs for 3-days of use for $21 each. I believe these are data-only.

I bought 2 for $42 and they didn't charge shipping (otherwise they would have for only one SIM). They shipped it out of Sweden.


Thanks for this info, I decided to order two of these as well. Pretty good deal actually, for unlimited internet. I'll use these in a MiFi so both our iPhone's can use the data, and I've already received a LeFrenchMobile SIM for voice calls for one of the phones.

Sorry for joining the thread late, but thought I'd add my $0.02 -

I used LeFrenchMobile for a data SIM for my iPad back in May. It generally worked okay (only 3G, no 4G) and it absolutely saved the day when I tore a huge gash in my rental car's tire. My phone and my wife's phone (which worked throughout France) couldn't connect to Hertz France's support phone #. After 1+ hours, I had the idea to use Google voice on my iPad to connect my cell phone to Hertz France, and it worked great.

I'd also ordered a free Lebara SIM (http://www.lebara.fr/?isoCode=en_GB) and received it today. While it's supposed to be mailed within France only, I'd read of others' success in just putting USA by the state.

The SIM was already activated and had the phone number printed on an accompanying sheet. I cut it to micro-SIM size and inserted into my old unlocked iPhone 4 and it picked up an AT&T signal.

I then went through the process on Lebara's site to setup an account, used my credit card to top-up €10; all worked just fine, and my phone was showing the correct French number. I dialed this French number from another phone and it works just fine.

This is a voice-only SIM and actually has reasonable rates to call back to the US while in France (cheaper than calling a French number actually); €0.05/min plus a €0.15 connection fee. This will be a good way for me to call back home during the trip.

Pretty easy and straight-forward process, and I now have at least one known French number available to use as soon as I land.

I'd also ordered a free Lebara SIM (http://www.lebara.fr/?isoCode=en_GB) and received it today. While it's supposed to be mailed within France only, I'd read of others' success in just putting USA by the state.

The SIM was already activated and had the phone number printed on an accompanying sheet. I cut it to micro-SIM size and inserted into my old unlocked iPhone 4 and it picked up an AT&T signal.

I then went through the process on Lebara's site to setup an account, used my credit card to top-up €10; all worked just fine, and my phone was showing the correct French number. I dialed this French number from another phone and it works just fine.

This is a voice-only SIM and actually has reasonable rates to call back to the US while in France (cheaper than calling a French number actually); €0.05/min plus a €0.15 connection fee. This will be a good way for me to call back home during the trip.

Pretty easy and straight-forward process, and I now have at least one known French number available to use as soon as I land.

Does your phone number begin with Country Code 33 and number exchange 06?

Does your phone number begin with Country Code 33 and number exchange 06?

Yes it does, looks like it's a Bouygues Telecom number. Why do you ask?

Yes it does, looks like it's a Bouygues Telecom number. Why do you ask?

This tells me that you have a telephone number assigned to French cell phones. That's a good thing because you should be able to call both toll free and surcharged numbers (e.g. the number for Air France reservations is simply 3654 and is surcharged at €.34 a minute). Also, if you do something like call for a cab, they like to see a local number on the Caller ID.

This tells me that you have a telephone number assigned to French cell phones. That's a good thing because you should be able to call both toll free and surcharged numbers (e.g. the number for Air France reservations is simply 3654 and is surcharged at €.34 a minute). Also, if you do something like call for a cab, they like to see a local number on the Caller ID.

Yes, and I believe my LeFrenchMobile SIM card will also give me a similar Bouygues Telecom number when I get to Paris. So I should be all set - I'm feeling pretty comfortable having one number already and being pretty sure the second will work as soon as I make the first call in France.

I should also be receiving the HolidayPhone.com (SFR) unlimited data SIM cards any day now, so I think I have my voice and data needs covered :)

Got back from my short trip to Paris and wanted to update on my SIM card experience. I already had my Lebara SIM number and topped up online with £10 - used this in an iPhone 4 as backup (and for calls back to the US since that was only £0.05/min). When I landed in Paris, I made a call with the LeFrenchMobile SIM card in my iPhone 5, received an instant text message with my new number, texted back to add the "Special Deal" 50Mb/week data package and was up and running right away.

I used the two HolidayPhone.com data-only SIM's (they used SFR) in my Mifi device for main data access between two iPhone 5's, and everything worked well. Had decent 3G coverage in most of central Paris though it dropped to "2G/E" in parts.

So it all worked great, and it was nice to be able to make/receive calls and use data as needed.

Found out about some other options at another forum. Seems promising, though maybe some FTer going to France could try and report back:


http://shop.sosh.fr/forfaits-mobiles

https://www.b-and-you.fr/checkout/cart/configurateur/

Seems like both offer 2 or 3 GB plans for about 20 Euro. These are on Orange and Boygues networks and are supposedly in response to the Free.fr mobile, which is only available on a contractual basis to those with French bank accounts.

These may not necessarily be available at retail. May have to have them mailed to a French address.

But if a visitor could make one of these work out, then France prepaid data becomes more competitive.

Found out about some other options at another forum. Seems promising, though maybe some FTer going to France could try and report back:


http://shop.sosh.fr/forfaits-mobiles

https://www.b-and-you.fr/checkout/cart/configurateur/

Seems like both offer 2 or 3 GB plans for about 20 Euro. These are on Orange and Boygues networks and are supposedly in response to the Free.fr mobile, which is only available on a contractual basis to those with French bank accounts.

These may not necessarily be available at retail. May have to have them mailed to a French address.

But if a visitor could make one of these work out, then France prepaid data becomes more competitive.

Sosh is contract only, so unless you have a French bank account and sign up for a monthly contract, that won't be an option. Same thing for B&You's plans with the exception of their new prepaid card offer (https://www.b-and-you.fr/carte-prepayee/) at 4.99€ for the SIM including 15 minutes, with recharges available in varying amounts. The downside with that is there's not much data offered, the SIM will be mailed to a French address, and I'm not sure whether a foreign credit card can be used for the online purchase.

Ahh, tant pis.

Quick update on my HolidayPhone SIMs.

Both worked great once I got over an initial hurdle: My MiFi (Huawei E585) needed to be set for APN: websfr.

Frankly, I wish I didn't have to ask about this - not sure why HolidayPhone doesn't tell you up front that this is the proper setting. Maybe most devices auto-configure and mine is just old? In any event, it would have been nice for this to work when I got off the plane, not the next day after I submitted a support ticket and got a (fast) response.

Quick update on my HolidayPhone SIMs.

Both worked great once I got over an initial hurdle: My MiFi (Huawei E585) needed to be set for APN: websfr.


My ZTE MF62 MiFi had the same issue where the auto APN picked up a different setting; I do recall that the pamphlet that came with the HolidayPhone SIMs mentioned the "websfr" setting though, did you check that?

@wco81, I'd mentioned that Sosh (and a similar SFR Red) prepaid option earlier (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19505862-post21.html)in this thread; great options, but appear to be available only to French residents and designed for recurring monthly use. Would be so good to be able to use those, very inexpensive for plenty of 3G data!

I think the HolidayPhone data SIM's are good for use in MiFi's, and Lebara's free SIM worked great too (plus could activate and charge online here in the US and have the French number known before leaving).

All around though, I liked LeFrenchMobile's offering; not the cheapest, but still pretty reasonable voice and data packages. Good service, all in English, and was reliable.

Sosh is contract only, so unless you have a French bank account and sign up for a monthly contract, that won't be an option. Same thing for B&You's plans with the exception of their new prepaid card offer (https://www.b-and-you.fr/carte-prepayee/) at 4.99€ for the SIM including 15 minutes, with recharges available in varying amounts. The downside with that is there's not much data offered, the SIM will be mailed to a French address, and I'm not sure whether a foreign credit card can be used for the online purchase.

This is now two different threads on two different forums where iff has stepped in with the right data. Merci beaucoup. ^

If anyone has any doubts that you will not be able to use Sosh, here is what they require to open an account (http://communaute.sosh.fr/t5/FAQ-Welcome/Vous-souhaitez-souscrire-%C3%A0-un-forfait-Sosh-Comment-%C3%A7a-se-passe/ta-p/285337):

Les informations dont vous aurez besoin lors de votre commande :

- Un justificatif d’identité en cours de validité

- Un relevé d’identité bancaire

- Une carte bancaire s’il s’agit de votre mode de paiement

- Un n° de téléphone valide pour pouvoir vous joindre en cas de besoin

- Une adresse mail qui nous permettra entre autres de vous parvenir le mail de confirmation de commande.


Putting this through Google Translate will not give you a clue of how much red tape this really is. The second item, for example, in reality means "proof of a French bank account for debit purposes." In other words, your Citibank ATM card will not do.

Sosh is contract only, so unless you have a French bank account and sign up for a monthly contract, that won't be an option. Same thing for B&You's plans with the exception of their new prepaid card offer (https://www.b-and-you.fr/carte-prepayee/) at 4.99€ for the SIM including 15 minutes, with recharges available in varying amounts. The downside with that is there's not much data offered, the SIM will be mailed to a French address, and I'm not sure whether a foreign credit card can be used for the online purchase.

I just bought the prepaid B&You SIM for my just-in-case personal phone (my main mobile is my office Orange). I can't remember what credit card I used to pay for the SIM carte itself but definitely to recharge it, I had to use my French card as my S'pore card would not be accepted (whether by phone or through one's bandyou online account). Nice thing for frequent visitors and foreign residents in France is that B&You prepaid does not have a validity period (maybe 1 recharge a year or something).

Essentially all the low cost: Sosh, Red, BandYou and Free are still contracts but much cheaper. So they come with all the registration hassles of the full service jobs.
But the French prepaids (my experience thus far are with Bouygues and Orange for phones, SFR for ipad prepaid data) are quite painless. US prepaids on the other hand are proving to be a real ........

Essentially all the low cost: Sosh, Red, BandYou and Free are still contracts but much cheaper. So they come with all the registration hassles of the full service jobs.
But the French prepaids (my experience thus far are with Bouygues and Orange for phones, SFR for ipad prepaid data) are quite painless. US prepaids on the other hand are proving to be a real ........

How much and how much data are the prepaids?

Can they be used for tethering or will they not work in Mifis?

Useful information on pay as you go 3G in France here - http://oneeyeddog.wordpress.com/2011/08/07/low-cost-mobile-broadband-in-france-french-orange-mobicarte-payg-sim/

Mostly Orange France but some info on SFR too.

How much and how much data are the prepaids?

Can they be used for tethering or will they not work in Mifis?

Bouygues BandYou prepaid has various recharges of 10€ to 60€. You will need to charge your B&you prepaid upon purchase since it only has 15mins of talk time which does not appear to be useable for normal calls. In terms of data, I believe it is 20mb per € or 0.10€ per minute of call or 0.05€ per SMS. B&you works for me bcos I can decide how much of my credit to spend on data or calls or text. Have not used the data yet so don't know what the speed is.

I don't think orange mobicarte prepaid has data. At least I've never used it with data.

SFR ipad prepaid data is 30€ for 2Gb valid for 30 days. 9€ for 500mb for 7 days. Can't remember how much the data sim costs tho but i think it has 1 or 2 days of unlimited data?

Don't know about tethering.

SFR may be the way to go, if you can split it among several devices. But since it's for the iPad, it may be micro or nano SIM.

This has some interesting info.

http://prepaidwithdata.wikia.com/wiki/France