Short term mobile internet in France

September 24, 2010 6:47 AM

How can I get pseudo-mobile internet in France for just two months? There are wifi hot spots all over but the prices seem outrageous, presumably the unlimited wifi is only for DSL customers? I'd happily tether to my N900 or buy a separate GSM modem. Any recommendations? It seems odd if Orange's Mobicarte the is the cheapest?
posted by jeffburdges to computers & internet (5 answers total)

If you are happy with using wifi then you may want to consider this subscription service for hotspots. You can put your postcode in France and see if you have a sufficient number of locations. It is only $ 7.95 for a month and does not seem to have download limits.
posted by london302 at 6:57 AM on September 24, 2010

I'm only interested in paying for access that'll work inside my apartment. I've already got free access from various hotspots around town, including the closest listed Bingo spot. There are however hotspots owned by the big three DSL providers that are accessible from almost anyplace, notably my house.
posted by jeffburdges at 7:09 AM on September 24, 2010

Long story short: France's phone+internet providers have a big problem with price fixing, so the prices you find at SFR and Bouygues won't be much different. We're the most expensive in the world for mobile data plans. Have you checked with neighbors to see whether they'd be kind enough to let you use their wifi? Subscribers don't pay for traffic, so the worst it could do would be to slow down their own browsing.

The royal pain in the behind of mobile data plans here is a major reason I still don't have a smartphone.
posted by fraula at 7:24 AM on September 24, 2010

I was possibly too brief: the reason I didn't suggest any short-term DSL subscriptions is that there aren't really any. With any provider, if you cancel your subscription you'll end up paying frais de résilisation that would cost you more than the options you linked to. Also, with any of the providers, there is no guarantee that they'd even have the DSL connection set up within a month or two. Thus my suggestion to check with your neighbors! Wifi sharing is more and more common a practice for people living somewhere for less than 6 months.
posted by fraula at 7:32 AM on September 24, 2010

If you intend to travel afterwords, pick up a Vodafone branded mobile sim modem - I had to buy one in South Africa (Vodacom) but it works with Elisa here in Finland so that was a nice surprise. VF are all over EU...

Thanks for the insight on high French telco costs btw...
posted by The Lady is a designer at 11:58 AM on September 24, 2010