taking lap top to France and getting a french ISP

[Babbles]

I'm a real luddite when it comes to this kind of thing but have marginally more IT skills than the other half so its down to me to sort out.

We hope to be moving to our house in france full time in about 4 monthes but want to try and have everything up and running when we get there as we are in the process of selling our business in the the UK stress levels are quite high.

• So at the moment the house has a France Telecom phone line which was switched to our name last July.
• I have an Acer lap top (not wireless) but no cable to plug into the phone socket
• The lap top is set up with Office outlook and I would like to continue to use this
• we don't want a minimum contract as the french house is also up for sale so we hopefully we wont be in that house for a year so a by month account would be best.
• I've checked our phone line on degrouptest.com and it says we can have up to 8 mega wotsits

I think these are all the key points so what do I need to do now?

Haven't posted for over 6 months but glad to see the same faces about, and hoping your oracle skills are still as on form as they used to be.[:D]

 

[Babbles]

There must be someone out there who can help, reading all the other posts that someone else with a new lap top got, I really do need advice on which ISP will suit my needs with no fixed term contract, also what cable do I need to plug into the phone line where do I go to get one, and how do you set up an ISP, I assume it will give me a new email address, so how do I get that to put all my mail in outlook, I know these a really dumb questions but thats me with IT , dumb. please help.

[Will]

You have probably not had a reply because you refer to 8MB which implies you want ADSL (haut debit in France, broadband in Britain). As far as I know you cannot normally have this without entering into some sort of contract - though I believe FT/Orange has a scheme without minimum contract.

To have ADSL you need an ADSL modem, such as the Orange Livebox, though you can buy equivalents on the open market. If you get one in France it will come with all cables etc for the French phone system. If you had a wireless laptop, then you wouldn't need to plug that in - though the modem/router will obviously need to be plugged into the phone socket and the mains.

If you want dialup (bas debit, i.e. non-broadband) then you need either a cable with a French plug one end and a standard modem connection at the other, or a travel adaptor so you can plug an English lead into the French phone socket. The former will come from a computer shop or even a large supermarket in France, the latter (lead and adaptor) can be bought in England.

Setting up your dialup connection is covered in the FAQs on this forum; to set up a broadband connection you follow the provider's instructions.

That's basically it - if you need more information then if you ask a specific question I'm sure somebody who knows far more than I do can give an answer.

[Tim]

 Miss Babs, it's not that no-one wants to help, it's probably due to the fact that you have put in so many possibilites in your question that when I first read it I didn't know where to start.

Unless someone knows better, I think the way I set my system up worked well for me, so here's what I did.

A few months before I was due to move to France I picked an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that I knew operated in France. I didn't have the advantage of knowing about these forums then, so I went for the only one I knew - Wanadoo. I went to the Wanadoo (now Orange) website in England and applied for an e-mail address. Withing a few days a package arrived at my house in England with all the details of my dial-up, pay as you go account. I activated my e-mail address straight away. This meant that when I moved over a few months later I had all the details ready to get on line in France. Changing a few settings on my Outlook from the UK ones to the French ones and it was working fine. This type of account is paid for through the telephone bill and is what I had in England.

This may the best way to get started. There was no broadband (ADSL) in our village at that time so this was not an option. All I had to do was to go to the local electrical store and buy a connecting lead to go from my computer to the phone socket and I was 'on line' within a few hours of arriving - it would have been sooner but my wife kept finding me things to do on our moving in day - like constructing the beds etc[:)]

Hope this help - a little.

Regards - Tim

[John L]

[quote user="Miss Babs"]There must be someone out there who can help, reading all the other posts that someone else with a new lap top got, I really do need advice on which ISP will suit my needs with no fixed term contract, also what cable do I need to plug into the phone line where do I go to get one, and how do you set up an ISP, I assume it will give me a new email address, so how do I get that to put all my mail in outlook, I know these a really dumb questions but thats me with IT , dumb. please help.[/quote]

Hi Miss Babs

The easiest way for you is to go to your local FT shop and talk to them about using their dial-up service. I dont know of any ISP that will set you up with broadband without a contract. FT will give you a user ID, Password and Telephone number to access their service. You will also need a modem (probably already in your laptop).

I would also suggest you obtain a google mail account and use that for your emails as it will allow you to use Outlook via POP3 and your emailings wont be tied to FT in the future. Also I would suggest you keep your FT line and dont go degroupage as its very useful to be able to drop in to FT shops when you get a problem.

I hope that gets you started.

[Will]

If you want broadband without contract go to www.orange.fr, choose the 'Internet and Telephone' boutique, then look for 'à la carte - sans engagement' under 'forfaits internet' on the left hand menu. The only problem with going to the shop is that they will almost certainly try to sell you all sorts of unwanted telephone and TV options and tie you in to a contract.

 

[Babbles]

Thanks for all that, I don't mind having a contract just not one that has a minimum of a year ( 6 months ok) Here is another dumb one, can you still have ADSL/Broadband if you plug the lap top in rather than wireless ( I did have a wireless router and a plug in card and it was nothing but trouble and took the company I bought the lap top 3months to get it to work so really don't want to want to try and set that up on my own, I thought a a hard wire would be easier)

As we have a FT phone line do you think that is the best option to be the ISP provider.

My lap top is an Acer inspire 1510 which is probably about 3 years old as it was set up with this dodgy plug in wireless router, I assume there is a modem in the lap top to hard wire in, how can I check?

Can I use dial up to my english ISP in the short term, how do I change the number being dialled to include the international codes. I ahve vague recollections of doing this in my old job 6/7 years ago but can't for hte life of me remember how to do it.

I'm determined to get this sorted out before we actually get there, it just will take me a while!

[Will]

[quote user="Miss Babs"]

1...can you still have ADSL/Broadband if you plug the lap top in rather than wireless

2 As we have a FT phone line do you think that is the best option to be the ISP provider.

3. I assume there is a modem in the lap top to hard wire in, how can I check?

4. Can I use dial up to my english ISP in the short term,

[/quote]

1. Yes. You use an ADSL modem with an Ethernet or USB connection. Most reasonably modern computers will have both.

2. I am a strong believer in using the phone line provider for internet too - but others will equally strongly disagree.

3. Unless you have taken the modem out it will still be in there. Other than connecting the modem socket to a phone line, or taking it to a computer shop to check, I don't know how you can be sure.

4. No (although I think AOL used to have some sort of provision for connecting from overseas). There's no point, it's so easy to set up a connection to a French ISP.

 

[Babbles]

Yet again Will to the rescue! Have been poking about on the old lap top and seem to have found where I can change the internet settings. I will look on FT website and see If I can get something set up before I go next time.

If I go into local area connection properties it says connect using broadcom netxtreme gigabit etherne net, should I uninstall this as i want to use a hard wire?

[clarksinfrance]

I will attempt to answer some of your questions/theories etc.

1. Its good your house has a phone line, at the very least you will be able to get some kind of connection.

2. You can continue to use all your software loaded on your laptop, though you will need to setup a new account in Outlook; with your new details.

3. If you want ADSL (as your post suggests) Orange and Teleconnect do provide without contract ADSL connections. Both ISPs endeavour to provide UPTO 8Mbs/sec (megabits/second). Orange is all in French, Teleconnect all in English. Both services have other options including VoIP (telephone using the internet).

4. To connect to the ADSL service once you have your box, you will need an ADSL filter for each telephone socket in the house, that is in use.

5. Both Orange and Teleconnect will provide the relevant cables that you need.

6 Next steps are to look at both web-sites and decide which provider you wish to use, taking careful note of all small print.

7. One small drawback with the Teleconnect service is the fact that you need to use a free, web-based e-mail service such as google or yahoo. One small drawback with Orange is that their e-mail has a 1.3MB limit.

Does this help/clarify?

[Will]

I am sure somebody more knowledgeable will tell you, but I would leave that alone - it looks like the Ethernet connection you would use to link to your ADSL modem.

If you are using broadband, particularly Orange/FT, I don't think it it will be possible to set it up in advance as it doesn't start working until it has been connected to the exchange for a while.

(edit - just to clarify, this is in response to the post before the last one)

 

[Danny]

Hi Miss Babs,

here is my two bob's worth.

As to which ISP and what kind of contract. There are many choices but from your description of your circumstances, I think it would be easier to go with FT/Orange. There are cheaper options out there but normally with less flexibility.
There is a large choice. If you go for a minimum 12 month contract, it works out a bit cheaper - essentially 5 euros less than the no minimum time limit contract. So for the difference of 60 euros extra a year, you can cancel any time. There are conditions of course - I think with Orange you have to cancel in writing a month in advance.
The no minimum time limit deal is called 'a la carte' see this page here 

You also have to decide whether you want just ADSL or ADSL plus VOIP telephone package and also TV if available in your area. If you want just ADSL, you can use any ADSL modem to connect. You can buy one (many people recommend the Netgear brand) or rent one from Orange. If you would like to use the Orange telephone by VOIP package, you must rent (possibly buy but I am not sure) the Orange Livebox ADSL modem/router and use that to connect.

As to the local area connection properties, you do not need to do anything. The ethernet connection is the main cabled connection -'hard wired' as you said and this is most likely what you will use to connect to the ADSL modem if you do not want to use wifi (or wireless connection)You will see an ethernet socket on the back of your laptop and the cable goes in there.

Sorry for all the jargon if it is more confusing but I am trying to explain some things you didn't seem to understand very well.

If you have any more questions, then fire away

Danny

I have been beaten to it by other posters...

EDITED one more thing - you should be able to order the contract on line so it will be pretty close to working when you want it to. Of course, you will need to be there to receive a parcel if you go for a subscription which involves renting a modem supplied by whichever company you choose.

[Babbles]

Thanks everyone, that should get me started, if I'm still posting in a month or so I've got connected![:D]

[Will]

Just one more point - if you go for Orange. If you want any of the telephone/TV options, and the telephone is, in my opinion, worth having, then you will need the Livebox (which if I remember rightly has only wireless or Ethernet connections). If you just want ADSL, then any ADSL modem should do, but bear in mind that the Livebox comes with full instructions for setting it up on the Orange system (and a ridiculously long security code, printed in a small and unclear typeface, difficult to distinguish between 1 and I and between 8 and B, which has to be entered twice, identically) whereas others may have less specific instructions.

[Cjlaws]

[quote user="Will"]Just one more point - if you go for Orange. If you want any of the telephone/TV options, and the telephone is, in my opinion, worth having, then you will need the Livebox (which if I remember rightly has only wireless or Ethernet connections). If you just want ADSL, then any ADSL modem should do, but bear in mind that the Livebox comes with full instructions for setting it up on the Orange system (and a ridiculously long security code, printed in a small and unclear typeface, difficult to distinguish between 1 and I and between 8 and B, which has to be entered twice, identically) whereas others may have less specific instructions.[/quote]

Two points here -

1. The Livebox has wireless, ethernet and USB connections.

2. The Livebox has a 24 digit/letter code, which may be difficult to read (they are printed very clearly on mine), printed on its base, but it also comes with the same code printed very legibly on the instructions which come with it.

[RicandJo]

If your laptop has a PCMCIA slot you can buy a wifi card to slot into it and have wireless connection to your livebox (if you go down that route).

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=136500

You then have the added benefit of being able to access any wireless network available not just at home but at friends houses, hotels, airports etc etc.

 

By the way the link is to Belkin's home site in USA - just to show you what to look for.  They are widely available both in France and UK (Currys, PC world etc)

[Will]

Thanks CJ Laws - There are several Liveboxes, I checked and both the current ones (sagem and Inventel) do indeed have USB connectors as you say, so that's another point in its favour. I'm in England at this moment and ours is in France so I can't be certain but I only remember two Ethernet connectors, not a USB. As for the label, that certainly needed to be improved, so glad to learn that it has. I used the one stuck in the instructions, which was certainly clearer than that on the box itself, but even so it took two of us, and a magnifying glass, to decide if it said 8 or B. And then it had to be entered again...

I'm told that with the British equivalent you can choose your own password/security code, as with most other routers, but I'm not surprised that the French seem to insist you use theirs.

Thanks for the update. [:)]

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

Have you considered totally mobile internet access? it does assume that you have coverage (bit like a mobile phone) where you want to use it, but you are not tied to a particular house. It's slower than a good landine but a helluva lot better than dial-up.

The first two are UK sites, just to explain the concept. The last one is an actual French supplier.

http://threestore.three.co.uk/broadband/

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/mobile-internet/on-your-laptop/usb-modem-and-datacard/

SFR -- French Supplier

 

 

[Debbie62140]

Hi Miss Babs,

I found this thread whilst browsing and had to join this forum just to reply.

I'm afraid that some of the information you have been given here is misleading, a little knowledge of a subject can be a dangerous thing.

Most importantly DO NOT sign up for orange in the UK and assume that it's all going to work for you in France, it won't. A UK Orange livebox will NOT work in France.

If you require ADSL with a minimum contract I would advise Teleconnect France, I have installed several systems using this company and can reccommend them. At present they are offering ADSL with free calls to the UK and a free modem/router.

Be aware that in France it will take up to 20 days to 'activate' your line for ADSL, I have known much longer.

You do not need to change anything on your computer, the installation information will tell you exactly what to do and, with Teleconnect,  in English too.

From what you have said you do have an ethernet socket on your laptop, you can use this as the connection between your laptop and the modem router. However, for a relatively small cost you can buy a wireless 'dongle' which will allow you to use your laptop anywhere within range of the modem/router. At any rate, in the first instance you must hook up your laptop to the router with an ethernet cable (supplied with the modem/router) in order to configure it. I usually set up the router manually (without the disk) as it takes less time, but the disk is easy to use and will guide you through the installation process.

Just one thing more ... it is VERY important with ADSL to use the filters provided in the correct way, in other words, if you have another phone plugged into the telephone system somewhere else in the house it must have a filter inserted between it and the line.

If you require anymore information please go to http://www.ftc62.eu and send me an email via the contact page.

Best wishes

Debbie

----------------------------------------

[Danny]

[quote user="Debbie62140"]
I'm afraid that some of the information you have been given here is misleading, a little knowledge of a subject can be a dangerous thing.
[/quote]

Debbie, it might be useful to point out what you think is misleading. I have found mostly good, helpful advice and suggestions.

[quote user="Debbie62140"]
Most importantly DO NOT sign up for orange in the UK and assume that it's all going to work for you in France, it won't. A UK Orange livebox will NOT work in France.
[/quote]

I can't find any suggestion to sign up to broadband in the UK and take the UK livebox to France and expect it to work. Maybe I missed something.
[quote user="Debbie62140"]
If you require ADSL with a minimum contract I would advise Teleconnect France, I have installed several systems using this company and can reccommend them. At present they are offering ADSL with free calls to the UK and a free modem/router.
[/quote]

Teleconnect are fine but this is slightly misleading as the free calls with teleconnect are only two hours per month. One has to pay extra to get unlimited VOIP calls and that is only to 5 countries. Other companies offer inclusive unlimited voip calls to many other countries.

Danny

[Tim]

I agree with you Danny - I can see plenty of options and suggestions that have been made available in response to the original question but no obvious glaring errors in the information given.

Plainly, the some of the suggestions will be better than others if only for the fact that each person has different requirements and bearing in mind that the original question was so broad it was always going to get a wide range of answers.

I purposely did not recommend a specific supplier because of this reason, although I do have my preferences.

I too have assisted many people with their internet installations - firstly with dial-up connections, now more likely ADSL, all with a variety of suppliers and like you, I would also like to know what information given was misleading in any way, if only to ensure that any future information is correct.

Tim