Very slow 3G in Paris

June 22, 2012 5:41 PM

Parisian Mefites: How do you find the quality of 3G service in your city.

I'm on a European roaming data plan using my unlocked iPhone 3GS and so far I've used 3G in Amsterdam and London with no problems. When I get to Paris, I'm automatically on SFR. Often I find I have full bars and the 3G indicator, but the Internet is so slow that it times out a lot. This makes it nearly impossible to use data. I've noticed that this happens only in some parts of the city (eg around Gare Montparnasse where I'm staying).

Is this something that locals also experience or is it due to something like SFR prioritizing bandwidth for local customers over roaming ones?

posted by reformedjerk to Computers & Internet (1 answer total)

Response by poster: Just a quick update for future reference. I found out near the end of my trip that for some reason, MaxRoam doesn't get 3G in Paris very well even if the phone says 3G. I just turned off 3G and was able to get data through Edge. Not the fastest connection, and not ideal, but it was still miles better than not having data at all.
posted by reformedjerk at 3:05 PM on July 24, 2012