Travel Technology - Rental laptop connect card for France

I'm going to be leaving for France in 2 weeks for a 2 week "vacation". My office has decided that I cannot be dark for two weeks, therefore I need email access. Can anyone recommend a rental USB aircard that I can rent for use in France? I live in the US, so I would like something that can be shipped to me here before I leavel


I already have a Verizon aircard, but obviously that won't work there....

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Orange has a prepaid solution that'll be much cheaper than any rental card:

http://www.orange.fr/bin/frame.cgi?u=http://mobile.orange.fr/0/accueil/Retour?SA=NPV2GEOFFRESBOUTIQUE

USB adapter is 9 Euro's and comes with 2 hours usage over 15 days.

You'll have to contact them (or someone in France) to confirm that you can just pick one up on a retail store.

And if you want a US based company that can rent a card, I recommend Cellhire.com:

http://www.cellhire.com/services/int_data/european_data_cc.htm

Orange has a prepaid solution that'll be much cheaper than any rental card:

http://www.orange.fr/bin/frame.cgi?u=http://mobile.orange.fr/0/accueil/Retour?SA=NPV2GEOFFRESBOUTIQUE

USB adapter is 9 Euro's and comes with 2 hours usage over 15 days.

You'll have to contact them (or someone in France) to confirm that you can just pick one up on a retail store.

Your link leads to another page which is understandable since Orange is known to change links often. :) The one that works today is here. (http://www.orange.fr/bin/frame.cgi?u=http://mobile.orange.fr/0/accueil/Retour?SA=NPV2GEOFFRESBOUTIQUE)

Your advice about asking someone in France to make the purchase is very sound since Orange is not very big on sending anything outside of the EU.

One idea I'd suggest is waiting until OP gets to France and taking his laptop directly to Orange and having them do the sale and setup in person.

An Orange store is centrally located at 125 Ave des Champs Elysées near the Arc de Triomphe and not too far from the electronics chain FNAC (that sells products from all major cell providers) as well as the Virgin Megastore (assuming Virgin stays in business).

OP, please advise; parlez-vous français?

http://www.cellhire.com outside of U.S. http://www.rovair.com for use within the U.S.

If the OP wants something in the US, he can always get a 3G USB aircard from AT&T and ensure international roaming is enabled on the account. It'll be expensive, but it sounds like your company might pay for it since they want you to have it.

Or just get a Blackberry. :)

I remember getting an email from a cellular rental company that said they had "unlimited" wireless broadband in France, but now I can't find it !




OP, please advise; parlez-vous français?

Tres peu

OP, please advise; parlez-vous français?



Tres peu

Are you going to Paris?

At Orange stores, there's usually a tech who has at least some knowledge of English who can help you. There are frequently English speaking people at FNAC.

I speak French and let me assure you that I would not wish Orange telephone customer service or tech support on my enemy. I shudder to think of what it's like if you don't speak the language.

You are much better off doing this in person.

My best friend purchased the Orange package last year and cursed it the entire time. He had huge connection problems, but most importantly when the system accidentally disconnected rather than when he signed off, the clock still counted. He went to check his e-mail one evening before dinner and the system disconnected mid-download. He said "the h with it," unplugged the USB modem and when out to dinner. He lost all his time because the system still had him logged in even though he pulled the stick out of the computer.

Be careful with Orange.

My best friend purchased the Orange package last year and cursed it the entire time. He had huge connection problems, but most importantly when the system accidentally disconnected rather than when he signed off, the clock still counted. He went to check his e-mail one evening before dinner and the system disconnected mid-download. He said "the h with it," unplugged the USB modem and when out to dinner. He lost all his time because the system still had him logged in even though he pulled the stick out of the computer.

Be careful with Orange.


I can't say anything about what happened to your friend except to wonder if he called customer service and if so, what happened.

As to your warning, however, I can say after being an Orange France subscriber for several years that it is not much different from being a Verizon customer. In 2006, I was in Paris and the battery in my RAZR went dead. They didn't have a new battery at the store to sell me, so they replaced my phone. No charge. ^

If the OP wants something in the US, he can always get a 3G USB aircard from AT&T and ensure international roaming is enabled on the account. I'm not an AT&T customer, but a year ago I walked into an AT&T store and asked about this and was told that enabling international data roaming required mucho pre-existing account status.

My friend speaks mid-grade French (he can read a newspaper or even a novel very slowly) and is not very technical. I am not sure how that impacted on his calls to tech support. I suspect that he could have got the credit restored if he had the linguistic skills to fight the good fight with Orange Customer Service. I believe him 100%. He is not a liar and has told the story consistently.

I have used an unlocked Sierra USB Modem with Sierra software (not carrier software) all around the world and have not had problems. I put the initial deposit on the SIM with it in a phone. After that, I switch it to the modem and have done well in most places.

When I almost went to France this year, I had decided on buying a Vodafone DE prepaid data SIM. Their roaming plan in France seemed to be much better than anything offered by a French carrier.

Even though they don't offer it on their website, Cellhire has a "unlimited" (really 5GB) rental plan that works in France. I have ordered this and I will post the results when I return from my "vacation". :)

Hi to answer your question, I have googled some options for renting a usb internet card. cellhire is good, also travelcell.com. I got an internet usb card with travelcell, and it worked very well for me. I had perfect internet connection the entire trip to london.
hope that helps.
:D