Internet

[La Touche]

Hi all,

We will hopefully be moving to France in 2-3 months, approx 5 miIes south of Civray (86). I really need high quality internet for my work (working from home). Having researched the issue, it seems ADSL is pretty low in my area, the next option is satellite - which seems expensive. The best solution seems to be a 4g router. From what I gather i buy the router and then purchase a sim from orange, sfr etc. My questions are:

How can I be sure 4g works in my area (have tried several websites that show 4g coverage but the general consensus is don't believe what they say)?

Will the router be sufficient or will I need an antennae?

Is the wifi via the router good and can the router support multiple devices?

Is the router reliable for streaming (Netflix etc) and for online gaming?

Does my choice come down to best coverage or is there anything else I should know?

Thanks for your time and any advice gratefully received!

LT

[suein56]

You might be ok .. as suggested here :

https://www.zone5g.com/couverture-mobile/vienne/civray-86400.html

There are some excellent routers available to buy .. and I am sure that someone more knowledgeable will be along soon to give you chapter and verse.

In a poor adsl area then your idea sounds workable.

Depending on your requirements then you might need up to 100Go a month .. so you might need 2 different sims .. but you know more about your needs than me.

Generally each router can support up to 4 or so appliances .. but it depends.

Some people have found Huawei good in general, others tp link .. eg tl mr 6400.

Can you visit the area with your 4G phones to test the signal ? Or do you know people who already live there ?

Edit : This site is good but you need to make sure that you tick the right boxes ..

https://www.monreseaumobile.fr

[alittlebitfrench]

Call me old fashioned but if you are running a business in France that requires high quality internet then surely that is the first thing you check before choosing a location/buying house.

What am I missing here ?

P.S I have just googled Civray, it is in the middle of sôding nowhere. What do you expect ?

Anyway, if you live there internet will be the least of your problems.

[EuroTrash]

I also work from home and I have to say that decent internet was a deal breaker for me when it came to buying a house. Being risk averse I also needed a plan B, and for that reason I didn't want to be in the ar5e end of nowhere. I bought in a small town that has a centre de télétravail within walking distance where I can work if my home internet goes down, and it's been a lifesaver on a couple of occasions. In fact sometimes when I have a lot of work on, I rent a desk there so I can get a bit of work/life balance, work a 9 to 5 day at the office and then come home. The télécentre has been a real bonus but I would have thought twice living anywhere that didn't at least have a MacDo or an internet caff within range.

[johnnyboy]

Good morning All,

Went down this route a while ago, search for the thread. However, if you look at "cartoradio" website, it gives the position of the masts in the area and also who/what is broadcast.

Very handy for me as the "orange" technician who came to try and fix our landline gave me completely the wrong info!!

If you need to work and stream/game etc, you will probably need a lot more than 50Go /month which is currently on offer. That may mean setting up two routers with different SIM cards, for different needs.

In my case I needed an external aerial to get the best signal, have now put the whole assembly up in the loft space. (Works a treat!)

There are masts all around the Civray area, just depends on your precise location as to which you choose.

Bouygtel, Free, Orange(SOSH) and SFR all available apparently. Ideally, you would need a friend with similar equipment to verify the signal, or your mobile with the relevant SIM card.

Johnnyboy

[Patf]

"P.S I have just googled Civray, it is in the middle of sôding nowhere. What do you expect ?"

ALBF - The Gers was the first dept. in France to have the new cables laid. For ADSL, or HT internet (whatever it's called.) Our village of about 100 inhabitants was one of the first to have it. That was about 4 years ago.

And you can't find a dept. much quieter than the Gers.

Lozere maybe?

[BritinBretagne]

Ignore him. He is highlighting his total lack of understanding of France outside his domestic bubble.

[alittlebitfrench]

Brit has just woken up.

Morning Brit. Or is afternoon ?

Don't worry, countdown is on in a minute.

It's your fav.

[BritinBretagne]

I always wonder what people mean when they say that they need good internet to allow them to work from home as the requirements for video conferencing are a lot different from the requirements for transferring documents. If the internet is of such vital importance it’s not difficult to check for any location before signing on the dotted line.

[EuroTrash]

Especially if a cheap adsl package isn't going to do the job, I really do think there's a case for arranging things so you have convenient access to professional shared workspace. Not prohibitively expensive and you get state of the art services and a motivational working environment where you can network with other freelancers. Espaces de coworking seem to have caught on in France, I've had occasion to use several up and down the country. I expect they have in the UK too, haven't seen any but then it's a long time since I was in a UK town of any size.