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Free Mobile in France -- too good to be true?

Posted by on

I'm moving to France for a while and need to get mobile service for my unlocked iPhone 6S. According to the Apple website, the following carriers support the iPhone:

Bouygues
Free Mobile
La Poste Mobile
NRJ Mobile
Orange
SFR
Virgin Mobile

I will spend about 75% of my time in France, 20% in other countries in the Schengen area, and 5% in the U.K. I would like a no-contract plan, as well as have data working on my phone at all times if possible.

From what I've read, it seems like Orange and Free Mobile are two of the most popular options. Orange's Sosh plan offers unlimited calls & sms, and 5GB of 4G data (increasable to 6GB for €1). Free Mobile's website says:

The Package € 19.99 Without commitment
Unlimited calls in France, moving to the United States, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, China, DOM and fixed 100 destinations
Unlimited SMS from metropolitan France and overseas to France metropolitan
Unlimited MMS in France
Unlimited SMS from the European zone and overseas to French mobile operators
Unlimited FreeWiFi
Internet 4G: 50GB / 3G: 3GB (reduced flow beyond)

Where's the catch? How could they possible offer 50GB (!) of 4G data for € 19.99/mo?

Thanks for your advice!

Posted by
219 posts

I will have to ask my daughter but I'm pretty sure she has a plan with Orange. 20euro per month plus tax, she has unlimited calls, texts, data and calls to the US.

Posted by
4160 posts

Just my considered opinion , no specificity - As services and products in the industrial and post industrial world become commoditized ( an undeniable trend throughout history ) the value always drops . Think of steel , oil and so forth . Communication technology is clearly following that path . Voice has become virtually worthless ( my Verizon plan now gives me unlimited voice and text , not so , a few short years ago ) Even data ( especially with the proliferation of wifi ) is becoming a commodity . I can't go into the details , but the trends are unmistakable

Posted by
2 posts

Just my considered opinion , no specificity - As services and products in the industrial and post industrial world become commoditized ( an undeniable trend throughout history ) the value always drops . Think of steel , oil and so forth . Communication technology is clearly following that path . Voice has become virtually worthless ( my Verizon plan now gives me unlimited voice and text , not so , a few short years ago ) Even data ( especially with the proliferation of wifi ) is becoming a commodity . I can't go into the details , but the trends are unmistakable

Well it's sure not dropping in the U.S! I pay $100/mo for my Verizon plan without a contract (unlimited calling/sms and 12GB data).

Posted by
4799 posts

In the US they're giving away voice and text and marketing their data - that shows you where the money is. And we also trail much of the world in internet speed. But boy there sure are a lot of ads on TV trying to poach customers from other companies.

It's gonna be hard to grow the data spectrum enough if they keep trying to push people onto it. Watching just a little video eats up a lot of space.

Posted by
10602 posts

The home TV, internet and phone packages are much cheaper in France than in the States, too--free international phone to 100+ countries included. The whole package goes for about 100 euro per month.

Posted by
11294 posts

If you are bringing an unlocked iPhone, you are not restricted to the carriers you listed, but can use any one. In addition to any responses you get here, look at the France Forum on the Prepaid GSM website. But be aware that the answers can get very technical - don't be afraid to ask for clarification: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=37

Posted by
219 posts

Correction....my daughter's plan is with Free. Unlimited talk, text, data and free calls to US. 20€ is the total bill.

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