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Mobile Phone
Hello everybody,
I'm over in France for 2 weeks between September 16th and 29th and I'm looking to buy a prepaid SIM card for my mobile phone. Yes, my phone is GSM and France uses GSM. Any suggestions how and where I can get those prepaid SIM Cards or Prepaid mobile phone services? Along with it, what service provider would you recommend such as Orange? |
Originally Posted by CX_First
(Post 8285210)
Hello everybody,
I'm over in France for 2 weeks between September 16th and 29th and I'm looking to buy a prepaid SIM card for my mobile phone. Yes, my phone is GSM and France uses GSM. Any suggestions how and where I can get those prepaid SIM Cards or Prepaid mobile phone services? Along with it, what service provider would you recommend such as Orange? Also, you can't use a different SIM in your phone unless it's "unlocked." Most US phones are restricted to just one carrier (the carrier whose plan you are on) and won't work with another carrier's SIM card. You can pay someone to unlock the phone for you (it cost me $30 to have it done a few years ago for one of mine). |
Well the phone that I'm using was at least sold in France, I'm not sure if they still sell it there anymore.
The phone is a quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900). |
Quad band is a good start - but we're not there yet. :p
Virtually all phones sold in France are "locked" with one single provider, and unlocking costs between 15-50 euros depending on the phone. If your model of phone is also sold here, I guess you can have it unlocked here in Paris as well. If you can read French, apparently these guys http://www.deblocage.net/ do the unlocking online; or I'll help you with the translation. I have never tried them, though. Next step: can you remove / change the SIM chip at the back of your phone, under the battery ? It was not possible on any of the phones I tried in the US... but Canada ? Getting a prepaid card here requires you to replace the chip. If the answer is yes (phone can be unlocked AND chip replaced), the best offers are from carriers Orange (service is "Mobicarte") and SFR (service "La Carte"), the cards cost 15-30 euros with a phone number and a few minutes of credit, and you can buy these easily - from a "bureau de tabac" (tobacconist) or maison de la presse (newsagent). I'd add at this point to check - does your phone charger accepts 220 volts / 50 Hz which we have in France ? Unlike for laptop chargers, which usually take anything, most phone chargers don't. If you answered "no" to any of the above, you can buy a phone along with your "Mobicarte" or "La Carte", this time in large supermarkets, computer stores, FNAC or Virgin Megastores and the like... count 40-50 euros for a basic one (+cost of card). Eventually, these guys http://www.fonquest.com/ can rent mobile phones for your time here, and they're located in CDG airport. I expect the service to be quite expensive vs. buying your own phone to keep, but I have not actually tried. Please feel free to ask for further info I may be able to help with... Cheers, J- |
Yes, the SIM Card is removable.
I have charged my phone while I was in Hong Kong and I had no problems there. Most of the current phones do have the universal voltage. What particular stores can these SIM cards be purchased at? |
At the airport, look for the "Relay" newsagent, you can't miss them - huge white "RELAY" logo on red background, and the entire store is decorated in red tones... they'll have them. :)
Otherwise tobacconists everywhere in town (they're usually open very early and very late); same price everywhere, imposed by the carriers. There's also "Relay" in the larger subway stations such as Chatelet Les Halles. My personal preference is SFR but in large cities the coverage is identical whichever carrier you choose. Orange is good too. I think SFR is cheaper for international outgoing/incoming calls (?) Cheers, J- |
Originally Posted by JudgeJ
(Post 8286514)
At the airport, look for the "Relay" newsagent, you can't miss them - huge white "RELAY" logo on red background, and the entire store is decorated in red tones... they'll have them. :)
Otherwise tobacconists everywhere in town (they're usually open very early and very late); same price everywhere, imposed by the carriers. There's also "Relay" in the larger subway stations such as Chatelet Les Halles. In the Technology forum, there's a sticky topic about international SIMs where someone gave specific details on where to buy a SIM at CDG. You might want to take a look through that topic if you haven't already (yes, it's long, but it will likely answer most or all of your questions). For what it's worth, even though I know others prefer Orange or SFR, I've been a Bouygues Carte Nomad user for over 5 years now and have had no problems whatsoever. |
If any of you know where I can get one of those in Lyon, that would be great.
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Originally Posted by CX_First
(Post 8288575)
If any of you know where I can get one of those in Lyon, that would be great.
Go to http://www.pagesjaunes.fr/ciweb2g-pa...PagesJaunes.do and use the Recherche ΰ proximitι function to put in the address where you'll be staying and search for tιlιphonie mobile. It should bring up a map and list of phone stores near the specified location. |
RE:French cell phones
Additional, potentially useful trivia. I've been using an unlocked Nokia phone with a French sim chip for years(I bought a French phone quite cheaply a number of years ago, and just transferred the chip into my American Nokia when I'm in France.) I also acquired a razr V3 recently. I had it unlocked here in SF at a cellular store, since the previous experience having AT&T unlock the Nokia was quite lengthy. The two west coast carriers that seem most compatible with French GSM are T-Mobile and AT&T/Cingular. Other carriers like Verizon & Sprint seem to use different, incompatible frequencies.
Additional information on the unlocking process. The easiest route is to pay some online vendor for an unlock code for your model and carrier. This often doesn't work, and a cable/download system that is trickier is the next step. I found it faster/easier to just pay someone here $25 and be done with it. Your charger will work in France with just an adapter for the plug---you don't need a converter. You can verify this by looking on the back of the converter. Most say 110-240v, and this will cover both. Like the previous poster, I use Bouygues, since that was the carrier for my first French phone. Twice a year, I buy E60 recharges, since the size of the charge determines the length of its validity. The smaller recharges have shorter useful terms. I also get some sort of bonus for buying the larger recharge. This keeps my phone number valid for the entire year. It's not much cheaper than the AT&T .99/min rate, but I find that it works for me, unless I call lots of other cell phones. Calls to cell phones in France are significantly more expensive than calls to fixed phones. Hope some of this is useful to the original poster. |
What are the rates per minute are we looking at from each carrier if I we're to make calls within France?
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French prepaid mobile phone options
Here is a breakdown of the three major operators in France. Note that prices and other details are subject to change at any time; specific details may be obtained from each operator.
Each operator offers various options including SMS recharges, night/weekend rate plans, etc. For the sake of comparison, I included only the standard plan which most travelers would use. PREPAID FRENCH MOBILE PHONE OPTIONS Orange (http://www.orange.fr) Mobicarte - SIM card includes 4.5 credit. Recharges: 5 (credit valid 7 days, number valid 1 month) 10 (credit valid 15 days, number valid 6 months) 15 (credit valid 1 month, number valid 6 months) 25 (5 bonus credit, credit valid 2 months, number valid 6 months) 35 * (10 bonus credit, credit valid 3 months, number valid 6 months) 50 * (15 bonus credit, credit valid 4 months, number valid 6 months) 75 * (25 bonus credit, credit valid 4 months, number valid 6 months) 100 * (50 bonus credit, credit valid 5 months, number valid 6 months) (*Recharges of 35, 50, 75, and 100 are only available if you use a French-issued credit/ATM card online, from your mobile phone, or in an ATM offering this service. Other recharges are available at points of sale.) "Classic" plan rates: 0.55 /minute Sending text messages: 0.13 /minute (0.10 /minute Monday-Thursday 9:30 p.m. - 8 a.m., Friday 9:30 p.m. to Monday 8 a.m.) to numbers in France. 0.28 /minute international (free to receive). International calls from France: 0.70 /minute to Europe, 0.80 minute to Maghreb/USA/Turkey, 1.55 to the rest of the world. International roaming: (NOTE: European rates are subject to change due to the new agreement to lower intra-European roaming charges) Rates for making calls while roaming: From the European zone (not including Monaco): 1 /minute currently, 0.59 minute after October 1, 2007 From the Maghreb/USA/Turkey: 1.18 /minute From the rest of the world: 2.90 /minute Rates for receiving calls while roaming: In the European zone: 0.30 /minute currently, 0.29 /minute after August 30, 2007 In the Maghreb/USA/Turkey: 0.55 /minute In the rest of the world: 1.40 /minute Calls to Customer Service: 0.37 /minute. Open 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ------------------------------------------------------------------ SFR (http://www.sfr.fr) SFR La Carte - SIM card includes 5 credit. Recharges: 10 (credit valid 15 days, number valid 6 months) 15 (credit valid 30 days, number valid 6 months) 25 (credit valid 60 days, number valid 6 months) 35 (7 bonus credit, credit valid 60 days, number valid 6 months) 65 (20 bonus credit, credit valid 90 days, number valid 6 months) 95 (30 bonus credit, credit valid 120 days, number valid 6 months) "Classic" plan rates: 0.55 /minute Sending text messages: 0.12 /minute (0.10 /minute Monday-Friday 10 p.m. - 8 a.m.) to numbers in France. 0.30 /minute international (free to receive). International calls from France: 0.75 /minute to Europe, 0.75 minute to Maghreb/USA/greater Europe, 1.55 to the rest of the world. International roaming: Rates for making calls while roaming: From Europe: 0.58 minute From the Maghreb/USA/greater Europe: 1.20 /minute From the rest of the world: 2.90 /minute Rates for receiving calls while roaming: In Europe: 0.28 /minute In the Maghreb/USA/greater Europe: 0.55 /minute In the rest of the world: 1.40 /minute Calls to Customer Service: 1 minute 15 seconds free, then charged at regular base rate. Open 6 days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Bouygues (http://www.bouyguestelecom.fr) Carte Bouygues Tιlιcom - SIM card includes 4 credit. Recharges: 10 (credit valid 15 days, number valid 8 months) 15 (credit valid 1 month, number valid 8 months) 20 (credit valid 1-1/2 months, number valid 8 months) 25 (2.5 bonus credit, credit valid 2 months, number valid 8 months) 35 (10 bonus credit, credit valid 3 months, number valid 8 months) 60 (15 bonus credit, credit valid 6 months, number valid 8 months) "Classic" plan rates: 0.50 /minute Sending text messages: 0.12 /minute to numbers in France. 0.30 /minute international (free to receive). International calls from France: 0.60 /minute to Europe zone 1 (western Europe) 1 /minute to Europe zones 2 and 4, 1.50 /minute to Europe zone 3 (eastern Europe) 0.60 /minute to Maghreb/USA/Canada 1.50 /minute to Africa and the rest of the world. International roaming: Automatically enabled. NOTE: Rates and zones subject to change as of September 2007. Current rates for making calls while roaming: From Zone 1 (includes western Europe): 1 /minute From Zone 2: 1.50 /minute From Zone 3 (includes USA, Canada, and South America): 2.30 /minute Current rates for receiving calls while roaming: In Zone 1: 0.60 /minute In Zone 2: 1 /minute In Zone 3: 1.50 /minute Calls to Customer Service: Free until connected to an agent, then 0.48 /minute. |
This is discussed in one or more threads in Travel Technology -- try the sticky How much is a European SIM, exactly?
In your situation a year ago I bought a Mobicarte from Orange, then popped into the tabac two doors down to buy more minutes. The minutes expire in 30 days but the number is good for a year (or more, if you refill), IIRC. |
Originally Posted by Fornebufox
(Post 8293794)
I bought a Mobicarte from Orange[...]The minutes expire in 30 days but the number is good for a year (or more, if you refill), IIRC.
I forgot to mention that Bouygues has a new option called MAX de temps: Calls to France/Europe/Maghreb priced at 0.25 /minute and SMS at 0.075 /minute; calls to the US/Canada are 0.60 /minute, SMS 0.30 /minute. The differences are that the validity of the credit is shorter (4 days to 3 months) and that the time is charged in units of 30 seconds after the first minute (whereas the other plans are charged by the second from the first second). The number is valid for 8 months. This would be a great option for travelers who are in France for short periods of time. You simply choose the option "Max de temps" when adding your refill and you're set. |
When I was in my neighborhood Ed store today, they were selling phone starter packs and recharges for Carrefour Mobile. I hadn't heard of Carrefour Mobile, so I checked out their site:
http://www.carrefourmobile.fr They sell phone starter kits as well as SIM cards and recharges, and their rate for calling mobiles and landlines within France is only €0.39/minute, cheaper than most of the other prepaid plans. SMS are €0.10/minute. You can buy a €24 International Recharge which lets you call Maghreb/Turkey/North America for only €0.39/minute. The SIM card is €15 and includes €4 of credit. They use the Orange network. Carrefour stores aren't conveniently located for everyone, but if you happen to be near one, this might be another reasonably priced option to consider. |
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