Best local cellphone option in France?
April 15, 2011 6:21 PM Subscribe
My family is meeting up in Paris this June to spend time together, and my parents would like to have a cellphone to use there. They don't currently use one, and know very little about how to get one. They've asked me to figure out their best option.
Thing is, I'm pretty clueless about SIM cards and the like myself. They want a cellphone to make and receive local calls only (no Internet use or anything else). I've done research, and I think the best plan is to unlock my old Blackberry Storm, which is locked to the Bell Canada network. Then, I'll order a SIM card from Orange and they will be all set before they leave. Is this a good plan? Is it a better plan than having them get a temporary cellphone once they arrive? Please tell me if I'm missing something. Thanks!
Thing is, I'm pretty clueless about SIM cards and the like myself. They want a cellphone to make and receive local calls only (no Internet use or anything else). I've done research, and I think the best plan is to unlock my old Blackberry Storm, which is locked to the Bell Canada network. Then, I'll order a SIM card from Orange and they will be all set before they leave. Is this a good plan? Is it a better plan than having them get a temporary cellphone once they arrive? Please tell me if I'm missing something. Thanks!
It's easy to go to a cell phone store in Paris and get a prepaid phone. You or they would have to give an address but a hotel address is fine. Your unlocked Blackberry will work only if it's a GSM phone that works on the bands used in France; if it's a CDMA phone, no luck. I travel in Europe often enough that I bought an unlocked GSM quad band RAZR, but if you just need a phone for France, that's overkill.
If convenience trumps cost, they can also buy or lease a phone when they arrive in CDG; it will cost more but it will be less hassle. If they are pennypinchers, buying the phone from a shop near their hotel would be best. If they are worrywarts who want a way to make calls as soon as they arrive, then paying more at the airport might be worth the extra peace of mind.
posted by brianogilvie at 8:33 PM on April 15, 2011
If convenience trumps cost, they can also buy or lease a phone when they arrive in CDG; it will cost more but it will be less hassle. If they are pennypinchers, buying the phone from a shop near their hotel would be best. If they are worrywarts who want a way to make calls as soon as they arrive, then paying more at the airport might be worth the extra peace of mind.
posted by brianogilvie at 8:33 PM on April 15, 2011
Response by poster: Your unlocked Blackberry will work only if it's a GSM phone that works on the bands used in France; if it's a CDMA phone, no luck.
How can I figure out whether it's a GSM phone that works on the right bands?
posted by smilingtiger at 9:18 PM on April 15, 2011
How can I figure out whether it's a GSM phone that works on the right bands?
posted by smilingtiger at 9:18 PM on April 15, 2011
If it's from Bell Canada it is likely to be a CDMA phone, as they don't operate a GSM network (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Mobility)
You could probably pick up a cheap pay-as-you-go phone from Rogers or Fido (both GSM networks) and unlock that one. But as brianogilvie says it is likely cheaper and easier to buy something equivalent once they actually get to France.
posted by sanitycheck at 10:52 PM on April 15, 2011
You could probably pick up a cheap pay-as-you-go phone from Rogers or Fido (both GSM networks) and unlock that one. But as brianogilvie says it is likely cheaper and easier to buy something equivalent once they actually get to France.
posted by sanitycheck at 10:52 PM on April 15, 2011
Best answer: I'm an American in Paris now.
I brought my Verizon Wireless Droid Pro, which is marketed as a global phone. [This means I can go into the "Wireless and Networks" menu and change between CDMA and GSM. If you can't easily find this option on your phone, it probably won't work in France.] I went to an average "phone shop" -- there are about a jillion here -- and picked up a prepaid SFR SIM card to pop into my unlocked Droid. SFR's prepaid plan is called "La Carte," but Orange and Bouygues have similar plans. It works great, and I just recharge when my credit expires.
If I had to do it again, though, I would just buy an entirely new phone here. You can get a cheap-o handset and prepaid plan for around 25€ and just recharge it when necessary. This is what all my friends did, and their approach seemed to be less hassle than mine.
Caveat: For some reason that I don't understand, my phone (with SFR prepaid SIM card) stops working as soon as I pass outside of France. So if you're planning on any short trips elsewhere in Europe, keep that in mind.
posted by Comic Sans-Culotte at 3:28 AM on April 16, 2011
I brought my Verizon Wireless Droid Pro, which is marketed as a global phone. [This means I can go into the "Wireless and Networks" menu and change between CDMA and GSM. If you can't easily find this option on your phone, it probably won't work in France.] I went to an average "phone shop" -- there are about a jillion here -- and picked up a prepaid SFR SIM card to pop into my unlocked Droid. SFR's prepaid plan is called "La Carte," but Orange and Bouygues have similar plans. It works great, and I just recharge when my credit expires.
If I had to do it again, though, I would just buy an entirely new phone here. You can get a cheap-o handset and prepaid plan for around 25€ and just recharge it when necessary. This is what all my friends did, and their approach seemed to be less hassle than mine.
Caveat: For some reason that I don't understand, my phone (with SFR prepaid SIM card) stops working as soon as I pass outside of France. So if you're planning on any short trips elsewhere in Europe, keep that in mind.
posted by Comic Sans-Culotte at 3:28 AM on April 16, 2011
The easiest way to confirm if its a CDMA or GSM phone is to call the company and ask, or to open the phone, take out the battery and see if there is a slot for a SIM card. First option is obviously better if you don't have any experience with SIM cards, though. If it does happen to be a GSM phone, you might have to go to an underground/unofficial place to get it unlocked. The norm is that you must have had the phone for two years before you can get it unlocked.
If your parents are insistent on having the phone before getting to Paris, I would go online and order a cheap used GSM phone from a reputable store. The last one I ordered was from here, and it worked fine in Dubai and India. I used an old SwissCom phone when I lived in France, but I'm sure the phone I ordered from there would work in France as well.
I would definitely wait to get the SIM card in France, though. All SIM cards use locate rates of its provider's country, and charge significantly more anywhere outside of the country. Also, if you get it in France, it will definitely work in other European countries. When you go to buy a SIM card though, stick to getting in a touristy area of Paris, unless you speak French well. In addition to providing an address, you'll also have to tell them you will be in the country for at least a few weeks, or they may not give it to you. Most places (in France and elsewhere) try to avoid giving SIM cards to people who won't be around for too long. It's a waste of a number otherwise.
posted by msk1985 at 8:01 AM on April 16, 2011
If your parents are insistent on having the phone before getting to Paris, I would go online and order a cheap used GSM phone from a reputable store. The last one I ordered was from here, and it worked fine in Dubai and India. I used an old SwissCom phone when I lived in France, but I'm sure the phone I ordered from there would work in France as well.
I would definitely wait to get the SIM card in France, though. All SIM cards use locate rates of its provider's country, and charge significantly more anywhere outside of the country. Also, if you get it in France, it will definitely work in other European countries. When you go to buy a SIM card though, stick to getting in a touristy area of Paris, unless you speak French well. In addition to providing an address, you'll also have to tell them you will be in the country for at least a few weeks, or they may not give it to you. Most places (in France and elsewhere) try to avoid giving SIM cards to people who won't be around for too long. It's a waste of a number otherwise.
posted by msk1985 at 8:01 AM on April 16, 2011
Best answer: The Storm (both Storm 1 and Storm 2) IS BOTH CDMA AND GSM. It operates in Canada on Bell's CDMA 3G network (that's why it says "1X-EV" as its connectiviity status) but it also comprises both 2G GSM for roaming on, say, Rogers or on ATT in the US, and, if I am not mistaken, 2100 band UMTS for roaming on 3G in Europe and Asia. It is definitely unlockable and after unlocking it you'll be able to swap SIMs and use it in Europe.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 9:01 AM on April 16, 2011
posted by ethnomethodologist at 9:01 AM on April 16, 2011
Best answer: ... and yep, I just looked it up and the Storm 2 (I'm assuming this is what you got from Bell) operates on NA CDMA frequency but is also quad-band GSM, and has both EVDO and 2100 band UMTS for pretty much all the connectivity you'd want everywhere in the world. Get it unlocked (I used a company called cellfservices and got an unlock code with very clear instructions for my Rogers Bold 9780 emailed to me in mere minutes for $14.99) and you're good to go in France or anywhere. You can even change carriers in Canada if you care to.
sanitycheck, almost all of Bell's new phones are GSM, not CDMA. Canada is dumping CDMA.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 9:06 AM on April 16, 2011
sanitycheck, almost all of Bell's new phones are GSM, not CDMA. Canada is dumping CDMA.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 9:06 AM on April 16, 2011
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Orange stores in Paris are on about every other block. You'll kind of stumble of them.
posted by alex_skazat at 6:50 PM on April 15, 2011