osie Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Hi AllI am taking a closer look at my telephone bill and apart from the horrendous service charges it seems the price per call is also expensive.http://www.agence.francetelecom.com/vf/tel_maison/pdf/tarifs_fixe_ft.pdfI think I have understood the tariffs(above) section which suggests that I pay about 10cent / minute for local calls and for calls to Britain. This coincides with the invoice from France Telecom.My point is... I thought calls these days were a few cent. In other counties there are the pre-dial numbers where you are billed by FT and on the bill is the cheaper rate calls. Does this exist in France.Any recommendations on good ones to use.There seem to be options with FT but they do not look very good. Monopole comes to mind.Any suggestions from this dilema will be greatly receivedThanksOsie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groslard Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I use free.fr instead of France TelecomCalls to UK fixed phones are free.There are also such firms as Onetel and Expat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 When I had a FT line, I used to use Budget Telecom for calls abroad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarksinfrance Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 we still use expats for supplying our telephone calls, on an FT line. Certainly not the cheapest, but never had a problem, and has saved a considerable amount on call costs over FT. The simplicity of the system is that once signed up, there is no contract, and you don't have to worry about dialling access codes or whatever. Oh and any advice or help is in English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
val douest Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 We use Telerabais (www.telerabais.com) with our France Telecom line. You dial the special prefix and then calls to the UK are charged at French Telecom's local call charges by France Telecom - there's no separate bill. It works well for us and there is no commitment or anything - if we find another company we prefer we'll just use their prefix instead. The website is in French but it's very easy to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I was very happy with Telerabais and saved lots compared to my FT bill, now like Groslard I am with Free.fr and save even more including the most of the cost cost of the line rental.I do quite often get an echo during a call with Free which was very rare with Telerabais and never with FT.I agree that it is easy to understand the Telerabais website and I am sure the home page can be accessed in English, the system is simple and I never had need to contact them by phone.Your language skills would need to be at a higher level to benefit from Free.fr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley1952 Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I use skype as much as possible its free to other comp users and if I telephone a landline the price is really cheap and I do not have to pay a monthly fee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le rouge Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I use Telephone Illimite through my Orange Livebox. For 7 euros per month I get all my calls to France and UK. Even allowing for the odd month when I am in England I am still quids in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osie Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 I am very surpised there is a telephone Illimite for 7€/month. I use to pay 15€ but that was only for 40 minutes(mobile or UK).Can you point me to the site where this offer is?If it does it exist it would be the perfect solution...p.s. I do use skype which is great but for me it is not a replacement for the good old telephone. I think it is good for skype/skype and for mobiles in other countries and land lines in countries that are normally quite costly... I would not use it for calls to UK. Its also great if you are at a friend house and dont want to use their phone but are happy to use their comuter with your skype id.Thanksosie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osie Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 ... Telerabais looks good... So have I understood it correctly that it costs either 1.4cent or 2.8cent to call UK.The reason I ask is because my local calls all cost 10cent with France TelecomDoes that mean it will cost 10cent? Thanksosie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesdee Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I have highlighted elsewhere on this forum an alternative to Skype which allows you to use your normal telephone handset and has call charges similar or a little cheaper than Skype. Also calls to friends on the same system are quite free. Have a look at JajahI have no connection or relationship to Jajah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesdee Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I am getting confused by this. I am sure I have read somewhere that FT and some other providers have a deal that includes free calls to metropolitan France, the UK and a few other countries. You will see from my location that I am not actually in France but we plan to get there in the middle of April, so all this information is grist to the proverbial mill. I thought I had sorted out the phone and broadband package, to include a raft of free calls but from what is being posted here, it looks like I am back to square one. Help!!!![:(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 J[quote user="Jamesdee"]I am getting confused by this. I am sure I have read somewhere that FT and some other providers have a deal that includes free calls to metropolitan France, the UK and a few other countries. You will see from my location that I am not actually in France but we plan to get there in the middle of April, so all this information is grist to the proverbial mill. I thought I had sorted out the phone and broadband package, to include a raft of free calls but from what is being posted here, it looks like I am back to square one. Help!!!![:(][/quote]JamesdeeIf you have access to broadband, most providers have offers of all-in-one packages which include free tel calls to landlines within France and to many countries. However, some people prefer to keep their FT landline and pay a tel subscrition (or they choose an Orange package), fearing being left without a tel line should a problem arise with either their broadband access or their electricity supply, which would leave them without a tel line (or just a mobile) to make or receive calls.They can also opt for a tel provider which offers prices deals for what would be expensive calls abroad from their FT landline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 [quote user="Clair"]J[quote user="Jamesdee"]I am getting confused by this. I am sure I have read somewhere that FT and some other providers have a deal that includes free calls to metropolitan France, the UK and a few other countries. You will see from my location that I am not actually in France but we plan to get there in the middle of April, so all this information is grist to the proverbial mill. I thought I had sorted out the phone and broadband package, to include a raft of free calls but from what is being posted here, it looks like I am back to square one. Help!!!![:(][/quote]JamesdeeIf you have access to broadband, most providers have offers of all-in-one packages which include free tel calls to landlines within France and to many countries. However, some people prefer to keep their FT landline and pay a tel subscrition (or they choose an Orange package), fearing being left without a tel line should a problem arise with either their broadband access or their electricity supply, which would leave them without a tel line (or just a mobile) to make or receive calls.They can also opt for a tel provider which offers prices deals for what would be expensive calls abroad from their FT landline.[/quote]Clair, it is possible with certain broadband suppliers to keep the FT line and still have free, inclusive VOIP calls to France and many other countries. We are with 'Alice' and have had no call charges for a very long time. We decided to keep the FT line and still pay line rental to FT. This is possible with 'Free' too but not with 'Neuf' . One must give up the FT line with them to benefit from their free inclusive VOIP international calls.I am not sure if this is what you meant but I just wanted to make it clear. It is possible to keep the FT line and still have have the all in one packages including free VOIP calls.Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 You're right and I just wanted to highlight why people would opt to keep their FT line when there were packages available... [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesdee Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Thanks Clair and Danny, [:D]I am not confused anymore[:D]. What you have explained is how I understood the situation to be. I think we shall also keep our FT line, adopting the strategy that it is always best to have one foot firmly on the ground. Sorry ossie if I have hijacked your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le rouge Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I keep my FT line for incoming calls as I always give out my fixed line number to macon, plombier etc etc. Also from what I read on here when I first set out I decided that if I went with Orange I would be better to stick with FT as they are basically the same company. Touch wood I have no regrets. All services have been good, clear and continuous.Osie - sorry if I confused you earlier. I didnt mean that I get the whole service for 7 euros! I pay 29 for unlimited ADSL Broadband and VOIP telephone then pay an extra 7 to cover ALL calls through the VOIP to mainland France, 30 minutes per month to any mobile and ALL calls to UK (as long as each call is less than 2 hours long). There is a charge for the FT line per month but I think it is worth it. I never use that phone to call out but of course it is there in an emergency say if my Livebox goes down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osie Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 Okay.. I am starting to understand a few things now... For Orange:I dont think I can do the orange offer for 7€ as I have a Livebox pro just so that the contract can be registered in the company name. There is an offer of 54€ but this is not worth it for me.I am now thinking rather radically of changing my line/provider to free or alice but I need to check if they will allow it to be registered in a company name. Does anybody do this already? I did want to phone free but in fact it cost 34cent/min which makes me think that this is quite a bad first impression.I will try alice after lunch.Thanksosie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Osie, the best thing for me about Alice is the free calls to tech help or customer services. There is nothing more infuriating than being charged to complain or report a fault. They also do a contract for businesses http://www.alicebox.fr/index_pro.html it is a little different to the mormal alice adsl but still has free calls. You can always ring them (free) if you want to clarify anything.Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 29 Euros for Orange ADSL plus 7 Euros for calls in France and to England plus line rental I think of 8.5 Euros comes to around 44 or 45 Euros per month.Not particularly good value when compared to Free.fr degroupée at 30 per month which also has loads of great TV and radio channels, a built in hard drive recorder and unlimited free calls to most world destinations including mobiles in the USA.The economy was what persuaded me to change (I had been using FT +Orange + telerabais) and I am still very happy, time will tell if it was the right decision to ditch the FT line rental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 J.R.it is even more than that with Orange:29.90 adsl + VOIP calls in France7.00 international calls3.00 livebox rental16.00 FT line rental.That makes 55.90 euros a monthI have still kept the FT line though. Your economies with Free are great but you might regret it if your modem happens to pack up and no one can call you and Free take 3 weeks to get it sorted if you manage to get through to them on a mobile or other phone. I tried to call up Free to ask them something before I chose Alice and they didn't answer the call for ages and then when they did, it was just a recorded message saying they couldn't talk and to look at their website which didn't help me as their website said if you can't find the answer to your question here, call up the hotline. Basically a crap service. And that was me trying to sign up!I think the FT line is worth keeping just in case.Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osie Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 J.R.I just gave Alice a ring and the first contact was very good... Free, friendly and the offer does sound quite good....From what I understood it would be 34.95€ HT which includes everything I need (ADSL, a WIFI modem, free calls France + UK)and they also pay the Orange line fee.With orange I pay ~46€ without any calls included.5€ - rental of live box25€ - ADSL16€ - LineWhy does it ask about if I want to continue paying for the FT line or not... what advantage is there in still paying it?Thanksosie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Hi Osie,You can choose to keep the FT line and you will still pay 16 euros a month. This is what we do. I think it is worth it to have a real phone line just in case anything happens to the VOIP or the ADSL or the modem.If you give up the FT line, you will save 16 euros a month but all your calls will go through the modem (in and out) and if there is a problem with either the line, modem, adsl or Alice, you will not have any means of making or receiving calls except by mobile. That also means that all of your calls will be VOIP - through the modem. We have used the inclusive VOIP calls for months and months and been very happy with them. BUT anything can go wrong...For me, it is like paying insurance. Not putting all the eggs in one basket etc. I did have a problem with the line previously when I was with Club Internet and we spent a week calling up Club internet at our expense to rectify the problem. It worked after about a week and 20 euros in calls to their hotline. At least Alice is free to call in the event of any problem.I would recommend keeping the France Telecom line, especially if you need it for business calls. It would mean that you would not be able to receive calls in the event of a modem or adsl problem.It still works out pretty cheap nonetheless. Ours is 34.95 a month and 16.00 to France telecom for the line but we have had no call costs at all for a very long time. Be careful about calling mobiles!We also got 3 months free with Alice which covers more than half the yearly cost of the FT line.They are also doing some promotions at at the moment - a choice of 3 months free or inclusive 4 hours to mobiles in France, I believeI am also not sure bout the differences between the residential Alice and the Alice pro for businesseshttp://abonnement.aliceadsl.fr/adsl/signup.php?goto=ADSLhttp://www.alicebox.fr/index_pro.htmlhave a look or call them againDanny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Osie,I have just noticed that the ALICE pro version is 34.95 HTThe normal Alice, the one we have is 34.95 TTCthere are diffirences in certain things e.g. fixed IP addresses in the pro versionDannyEDITED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osie Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 I phoned alice again and there is a major problem... I do not know the techinical differences with each service provider but Alice will not work with a credit card terminal (which I need). Orange does.It is luckily for me the first question in there FAQ is:L'offre ALICEPRO est-elle compatible avec les terminaux de paiement électroniques (TPE) ?La compatibilité de l'offre ALICEPRO avec les TPE n'est pas garantie.So I may well be back to square 1. As much as I hate orange and FT there seems to be need for their services.Thanksosie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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