Daily LifeInternet Access France

The French in general have not embraced the Internet, France has one of the lowest on-line rates in Western Europe. Still getting connected to the Internet in France is just as easy as in the States as there are many companies selling both Dial-up and ADSL. If you are in a ‘zone dégroupée’ you can have a package deal that includes telephone, ADSL and TV. Check the list of French ISPs below for more information.

Dial-up can be more expensive in France than in the States as local phone calls are expensive. French ISPs can have many different payment levels (forfaits), depending on the amount of time you spend on-line. Make sure you get the plan that is right for you.

I personally have used Orange (it was called Wanadoo when I used it) and Free.fr.

Orange is the ISP of France Telecom. I used it for almost two years and found it to be as reliable as Earthlink, my ISP in the States. Orange used an Alcatel SpeedTouch USB modem and chargesd 45 euros a month for unlimited access. I think it's now 30 euros a month for unlimited ADSL access. Any France Telecom office in France can sell you the Orange service, either dial-up or ADSL. Orange also now has a help line in English - 0800 364 775.
Note: I’ve had a report that Orange is Windows centric and doesn’t work well with Macs. Email becoming difficult to download was the complaint. I can’t confirm this as I don’t use a Mac, but it might be worth investing.

When we moved from Strasbourg to Dijon, I changed from Orange to Free.fr. I did this because of the price; Free.fr charges 30 euros a month. They also supply an ADSL modem - called a FreeBox and an emergency dial-up account free of charge. As of this writing, I have used Free.fr for over two years. I have had very few problems and it seems to be faster than Orange, 640 Kpbs for Free.fr to Orange's 609 Kpbs. Also, the modem that Free.fr supplied has an Ethernet port, which allows for easy networking.

Looking for ADSL in English? You might give Teleconnect a try. They advertise as the first and only ISP with ADSL designed specifically for the English-speaking community.

French ISP's (Fournisseurs d'accès Internet) - all sites in French
AOL France - www.aol.fr, Dialup and ADSL.
Club-Internet - www.club-internet.fr, Dialup and ADSL.
Free - www.free.fr, Dialup, including free access and ADSL.
Orange (was Wanadoo) - www.orange.fr, Dialup and ADSL.
Tiscali - http://www.tiscali.fr/ Dialup and ADSL.
9 telecom - http://www.neuf.com Dialup and ADSL.
Numéo - www.numeo.fr ADSL wireless internet for the countryside.

This list is by no means comprehensive, as there are many more ISPs in France; this list is to just get you started. If you buy a new computer in France, it will have access to an assortment of preinstalled French ISPs. For a more complete list in French, see this French ISP info web site French ISP info web site.

Follow @jeffsteiner