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Looking for a Mobile Phone or Internet Plan in France?
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Since a few years now, telecom providers in France are starting to offer phone plans withunlimited access to the Internet. While these plans can work out more expensive than regular deals, they offer great comfort and the peace of mind for users who won’t need to worry about running out of Mbs. Here is a summary of the unlimited data plans available in France.
What is an Unlimited Data Plan?
An unlimited data plan is a phone deal which gives limitless access to the web and comes with or without acontract. A very comfortable plan for those who need and want to use their smartphone a lot. Services such as streaming music, surfing online, using social media and downloading files are all very data-consumingand will make any limited phone plan reach exhaustion very quickly, leading to frustration and high fees to pay for going over the allowance.
Over time, providers in France have come out with plans with bigger and bigger data allowances - some going up to 300Gb/month - and now some come with unlimited Mbs, to browse the Internet to your heart’s content. But which providers in France offer such deals, and for what cost?
Which French Unlimited Data Plan is best for me?
SFR’s Unlimited Data Plan
SFR offers a deal named “Premium Internet Illimité”, which you can subscribe to it as a new client, or switched to it from another SFR plan if you are already a client to them. It comes with the free “SFR Voyage” service, guaranteeing the regular tariffs to phone, text and use data abroad.
The major drawback about this phone plan is its price, 10 times higher than a standard, limited deal. Its costvaries depending on whether or not you subscribe to a contract and if you take it in combination with a new phone:
- €90/month for the deal without a contract
- €70/month for the deal with a 12-month contract
- 90€/month for the deal if taken with a new phone and a 24-month contract
This plan can be combined with one or more add-ons, ranging from €6 to €9 the first year of subscription, then from €10 to €19, namely:
- Napster, a music service that allows you to stream and download tunes anywhere and on any device.
- RMC Sports, a series of channels dedicated to football, rugby, extreme sports and more. Access to live competitions such as the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Premier League, Jeep Elite and more.
- SFR Presse Premium, which gives access to a big range to high-quality press on any device.
- SFR Ciné Séries, a service which gives access to unlimited films and series via channels such as SFR Play VOD.
You will also have the option to add-on a subscription to Netflix, SFR cyber-security and Coyote (a live traffic and navigation app).
Need help in finding the unlimited data plan that’s right for your needs and your budget? Get guidance from one of Selectra’s English speaking advisors, by calling 09 77 55 72 27 (Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 9 pm and 9:30 am to 6:30 pm on Saturdays and on Sundays 9 am to 5 pm), or askingfor a free callback
Free Mobile’s unlimited data plan
Through its “Le Forfait Free” deal, the operator Free Mobileoffers unlimited access to 4G in mainland France, although under certain conditions:
- If you aren’t a Freebox client, this deal will be priced at 19.99 a month and won’t exactly be unlimited, as it will be capped at 100Mb.
- If you are a Freebox client (Freebox Crystal, Freebox Revolution or Freebox Mini 4K), this deal will come at a monthly cost of €15.99 and will not be capped.
- This package is only available for 5G equipped mobiles. If you subscribe to this package with a 4G mobile, the allowance will be reduced to 4Gb in mainland France.
- ”Le Forfait Free” isn’t unlimited when used outside of France, but does come with a monthly allowance of 300 to be used across Europe, DOM territories, Switzerland, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Algeria, Israel, Turkey, South Africa, Australia, New-Zealand, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Russia and Ukraine.
Other, virtually unlimited data plans
While not all providers offer unlimited data plans, some do however propose plans with an extremely high Internet allowance of 100Gb or above. Here are some of them:
- Bouygues Telecom offers a 24-month contract with a 100Mb monthly allowance for €74.99/month the first year, then €89.99/month.
- Red by SFR has a €20 a month package with includes 100Gb on data to use in France, and 10Gb to use across Europe.
- Orange offers a 150Gb/month deal, 100Gb of which can be used across Europe, the DOM territories, Andorra, Switzerland, Canada, China and the United States. It comes at a cost of €64.99/month for 12 months, then €79.99/month thereafter.
| Offer | Included services | Price |
|---|---|---|
 Série spéciale B&You 300 Go 5G Validon17/06/2024 |
| €14.99/month Subscribeonline |
 Forfait Free 300 Go 5G Validon17/06/2024 |
| €19.99/month Subscribeonline |
 Forfait SFR 250 Go 5G + mobile Validon17/06/2024 |
| €34.99/monthfor12 months Then€44.99/month 📞09 77 55 72 27Subscribeonline |
Forfait Bouygues 300Go 5G Validon17/06/2024 |
| €57.99/month 📞09 77 55 72 27Subscribeonline |
Forfait SFR 300 Go 5G + mobile Validon17/06/2024 |
| €64.99/month 📞09 77 55 72 27Subscribeonline |
 Forfait Orange 240Go 5G + mobile Validon27/06/2024 |
| €67.99/month SubscribeonlineFreeCallback |
Is Unlimited Data really necessary?
While an unlimited data deal can provide a great peace of mind, meaning you never have to worry about going overboard with your data consumption, in many cases a person’s average data needs is rarely above 8Gb, and thus by opting for an unlimited data plan, you may end up paying a lot more than what you actually should.
Below is a summary of what different data amounts allow you to do on a daily and monthly basis, to give you an idea of how much data you really need.
| Sending emails and files | Using apps and browsing the Internet | Downloading apps | Streaming videos | Listening to music | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500Mb | 25/day | 1 hour/day | 5/month | 1 hour/month | 1 hour/month |
| 3Gb | 75/day | 3 hours/day | 10/month | 5 hours/month | 4 hours/month |
| 5Gb | 100/day | 4 hours/day | 20/month | 10 hours/month | 8 hours/month |
| 8Gb | 175/day | 7 hours/day | 30/month | 15 hours/month | 12 hours/month |
It is important to assess your actual data needs and which mobile plan option is going to meet them best. Any phone deal which includes less than 500Mb of monthly data will only be suited to people who only rarely use the Internet. An allowance of above 3Gb will allow to watch a few videos, stream a few songs and go online on a daily basis. A deal with 5Gb or above will allow for very comfortable browsing on a daily basis, and for people who use the Internet profusely, a deal with at least 8Gb is recommended.
Although an 8Gb will be more than enough for most users, others will easily reach 30 or 50Gb if using their phone to for very data-consuming activities such as streaming videos. These volumes are already extremely high, and thus don’t appear necessary for most consumers.
