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Comment by neitsab | Hacker News Reader

Reading this thread, I am reminded of how cheap telco prices are in France: e.g. in 2020, fibre internet plans averaged between €26 and €28.35 (USD 28-30 at current rates) per month.[0]

Mobile plans are also on the cheap side, to the point of being competitive with many third world countries (for example, I wasn't that impressed with prices in Thailand in 2020 for comparable plans, only a 1-2€ difference with what I had at home).

This is getting to the point that I find myself often suggesting fellows from border countries open a line in France, just so that they can enjoy the "European roaming data envelope" that comes with most plans (i.e. several gigabytes are free to use from anywhere in Europe, and you can make calls and texts to other EU countries when abroad...) after realizing how expensive and suckish mobile plans are in their country (Belgium in this instance).

[0] https://www.connexionfrance.com/article/French-news/Best-and...

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> enjoy the "European roaming data envelope"

Which provider would you recommend? I remember taking a look a while back and the most viable option was Free, but 15.99 EUR a month for when I need roaming 3–4 times a year seemed a bit excessive at 180.- per year.

For your specific use case, I'd say give Lebara mobile a shot.[0]

SIM card is free, you can top it up with a prepaid amount or do a one-month plan without renewing it, and I just checked their T&Cs relating to roaming and they are actually quite generous[1][2].

Besides, their website is (for the most part) translated in English due to their target demographic, so no need for full French fluency here!

Some good info in English on the French telco landscape can be found at [3].

[0] https://mobile.lebara.com/fr/en/

[1] https://mobile.lebara.com/fr/en/international-call-rates

[2] https://mobile.lebara.com/fr/en/terms-and-conditions#section...: See section 2.4.2 (in French unfortunately)

[3] https://en.selectra.info/broadband-phone-france/guides/mobil...

Edit: missing word

I'll nention it for completeness sake: another possible solution, albeit a bit cumbersome, would be to get a regular contract-free plan but suspend it for the period you don't need it.

A cursory search indicates that both Orange and Bouygues (as well as their contract-free offshoots, Sosh and B&YOU respectively) still offer this as a paid option at 5€ and 7€ per month respectively.

This means you could get the plan appropriate for your needs, then suspend it (for at most 6 month per year it seems) and only reactivate it when you need it.

However since this procedure requires getting in touch with customer service, it should be reserved for people well versed in French :-)

Edit: adding links (all in French)

https://www.echosdunet.net/dossiers/suspendre-ligne#suspensi...

https://assistance.sosh.fr/faq/308268

https://www.assistance.bouyguestelecom.fr/s/article/suspensi...

Thanks. France really does have insanely good mobile plans!

You need a French address though.

I was under the impression that they only requested an ID and a mean of payment, but after verification you are right, a proof of residency is also required for postpaid plans.

If you know someone in France, you may ask them to make a "solemn declaration" that you live at their address; then you only need provide their own proof of residency (people living with their parents routinely do so).

Tourist and prepaid SIM cards are still exempted and, depending on your case, can prove quite interesting.

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