France

[Airb330]

I most likely will be in Paris all of January next year with my college. I have researched what I could. It seems Bouygues Telecom's Carte Nomad is a much better deal over Orange and SFR/Vodafone. Calls seem to be .60 eurocents (lol?). With Orange and SFR they are .75 cents to the USA. The initial price of the BTelecom seems to be better. This was all research done on www.prepaidgsm.net There is also an option to get double the minutes for 1/2 the active time (Advantage Flash), which would be prefect for me, since I am only there for 1 month. But, I don't know if this will count for international minutes or not. I really need someone who can understand French to muck through the Btelecom website for me...please!

http://www.boutique.bouyguestelecom....mePrec=CAT_012

[ZaphodB]

Here's the translation:

The only service that charges by second FROM THE FIRST SECOND, without extra cost !
Voicemail (660) is free in mainland France and is accessible throughout the length of validity of your recharge, even if the credited minutes are used up.
One more reason to choose Nomadcard !

LET YOURSELF BE SEDUCED BY NOMADCARD :
- The freedom to use your credit to make calls or send SMS
- 8 months to receive calls (2 months for the €10 recharge)
- The minutes-used report free and automatic
- Extra credit offered starting from €35 recharges
- Your choise of the method of recharge: by Recharge Card or Recharge Ticket, by credit card or at Crédit Lyonnais ATMs bearing the Bouygues Telecom logo.
- The possibility of calling from abroad without any extra fee with the Trip Service Recharge.

20 € IN REBATES !

For each purchase of a Nomadcard kit between 21 June and 24 August 2004, with recharge of 20€ minimum in the following two months

To take advantage of it:
Return the coupon included in your kit before 24 October 2005 midnight (postmarks accepted) to the address indicated on the coupon, with the proof required (photocopie of the receipt and the barcode)
The rebate of 20€ is given to you by bank transfer or by a cheque through the post within 2 months starting from the date of receipt of the completed request and the minimum of 20€ recharge.
The offer is limited to one rebate per Nomadcard telephone number.


Nomadcard, it's the ideal choice for calling without a contract, with a little price to aid in mastery of your budget and complete freedom. With each recharge you have the possibility of choosing freely Nomadcard Classic or one of the 3 'Advantages' which permit you to double your talk time. Whichever your choice, your talk credit will be debited in 1-second increments starting from the first second.

NOMADCARD CLASSIC:
20 min or 66 SMS, 15 days validity
30 min or 100 SMS, 1 month validity
55 min or 166 SMS, 2 months validity
90 min or 293 SMS, 3 months validity
135 min or 433 SMS, 4 months validity
215 min or 700 SMS, 6 months validity

AVANTAGE FLASH: New: your SMS at half-price, that is 7.5 Eurocents! Take free advantage of twice as many SMS and twice as much talk time by using up your credit twice as fast
40 min or 133 SMS, 8 days validity
60 min or 200 SMS, 15 days validity
110 min or 333 SMS, 1 month validity
180 min or 586 SMS, 90 days validity
270 min or 866 SMS, 2 months validity
430 min or 1400 SMS, 3 months validity

AVANTAGE SPOT: Choose Avantage SPOT and take advantage of two talk credits: one ad-free, one with ads (note 3)
20+20 = 40 min
30+30 = 60 min
55+55 = 110 min
90+90 = 180 min
135+135 = 270 min
215+215 = 430 min

AVANTAGE Nights and Weekends: Choose Avantage Nights and Weekends and take free advantage of twice as much time for your night calls starting at 9pm and the weekend (note 4)
40 min
60 min
110 min
180 min
270 min
430 min


(1) Calls and SMS from mainland France, not including short-numbers for SMS, special numbers (like 0892 and 0800), and data calls.
(2) Calls and SMS from mainland France, not including short-numbers for SMS, special numbers (like 0892 and 0800), and data calls. The validity of the line is as long as the Nomadcard Classic allows.
(3) With each call you will choose which credit to use. You alone hear an ad before the call, afterwards it's free. Calls from the mainland to landlines or Bouygues Telecom users (not including short-numbers for SMS, special numbers, or data calls). The validity of the line is that of the Nomadcard Classic.
(4) Calls from mainland France, not including short-numbers for SMS, special numbers (like 0892 and 0800), and data calls. The validity of the line is as long as the Nomadcard Classic allows.

[Andy]

Hey,
since you're only going to be in Paris, any carrier would work great for you.
If you were looking for coverage around the country though, I can tell you from personal experience that SFR works best from my trips to France.
Good luck with everything,
Andy

[ZaphodB]

Any major city will have 100% coverage. Paris, Lille, Dijon, Aix, M****ille, Nice, Besançon, Clermont-Ferrand, St.-Malo, Rouen, Roussillon, Strasbourg, all 100% covered by all three carriers.

Bouygues is the weakest of the three but that's only relevant if you're going hiking in the Basses-Alpes or the Luberon or the Pyrenees or you've gone looking for the Cathédrale d'Ys off the rocky Breton coast.

Mais attention, AirB330, il faut t'habituer à parler français si tu veux habiter en France !

[AnthroMatt]

Originally Posted by ZaphodB

Mais attention, AirB330, il faut t'habituer à parler français si tu veux habiter en France !

[Gamer03]

Originally Posted by ZaphodB

Mais attention, AirB330, il faut t'habituer à parler français si tu veux habiter en France !

He is only going to "live" there for a month (not permanently ), so he doesn't need to be able to speak French perfectly......just take a translation book with him.

That's what I would do.

[Airb330]

Actually, I heard BT is the best in the Alps and that SFR sucks there! Lol.

BT seems to be the cheapest, therefore I'll go with them. No one on Hofo knows much about Orange or BT, only SFR. Since SFR's PDF's and website doesn't work right for me, screw them! BT has the cheapest rates to the USA, cheapest SIM card, and free voicemail retrievals. Are all 3 900 GSM in Paris too?

[ZaphodB]

A Paris, c'est mixte.

I don't know what their 900 EGSM coverage footprint looks like... if you can get a 900/1800 that's a better idea.

I don't think they have an alternate international access code like Hong Kong does, but it's worth investigating. (In Hong Kong you can dial 001-1-302-xxx-xxxx or you can dial 1968-1-302-xxx-xxxx... and 1968 is less than half the price.)

[Gideon H]

Isn't it 011-1-302-xxx-xxxx? (011 to get out of the US, right?) You put 001.

[Airb330]

I've always used 001 when in Mexico, Europe, etc. Jesus, the payphones in Scandinavia are a pain. Ugh....wish I had a GSM phone with me there in 00. Glad I'll have GSM in Paris though....I do need to apply for the trip tommorow though haha. I'll be using my v400 over there, so I'll have 900 and 1800. I just figured if one company used 900 more, they'd have better coverage; though I am pretty much leaning towards BT.

[ShoresGuy]

Airb, did my PM from a couple weeks ago help you at all?

[Airb330]

Yeah, I'm thinking of taking a side trip to Germany or Italy. The professor is giving us 3 days off, cuz he is from london. I was thinking of booking ryanair or easyjet and go somewhere. I wish my dad and I could have went to Germany this summer, but we just went to Vegas due to cost (though Europe was super cheap this summer) and his health. Shat...I can't apply today....i gotta pay 200$ for a deductable within 48 hours of applying...and yeah...UD's office will be closed till Monday...stupid!

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Airb330

Actually, I heard BT is the best in the Alps and that SFR sucks there! Lol.

BT seems to be the cheapest, therefore I'll go with them. No one on Hofo knows much about Orange or BT, only SFR. Since SFR's PDF's and website doesn't work right for me, screw them! BT has the cheapest rates to the USA, cheapest SIM card, and free voicemail retrievals. Are all 3 900 GSM in Paris too?

True...BT is the cheapest in France, and even though their footprint is still a little smaller than the competition(outside of large cities), they have built out a great network, which will serve you great while in Paris.
Good Luck,
Andy

[Gamer03]

I remember six years ago that taking a plane from Ft. Myers nonstop to Frankfurt, Germany (roundtrip) for $400 or $420....can't remember which amount.

Now flights are generally more expensive to Europe unless you get a real good deal online.

[ShoresGuy]

Originally Posted by Gamer03

I remember six years ago that taking a plane from Ft. Myers nonstop to Frankfurt, Germany (roundtrip) for $400 or $420....can't remember which amount.

Now flights are generally more expensive to Europe unless you get a real good deal online.

Ditto even though supposedly the Cologne/Bonn Airport is in talks with ATA to allow cheap transatlantic flights from Germany to the US (most likely NYC and eventually Chicago).

Airb, let me know if you need more info on Germany etc.

Later

[ZaphodB]

Originally Posted by Gideon H

Isn't it 011-1-302-xxx-xxxx? (011 to get out of the US, right?) You put 001.

The IDD (International Direct-Dial) code varies from place to place. In the US and Canada, it's 011. In most of Europe it's either 00 or 001. In HK it's either 001 or 1968 and 1968 is cheaper. When I went to Russia they had just started to allow IDD to the US and you had to dial this ridiculous string of numbers, something like 009507 or something and you still ended up having to shout at the woman in the post office.

[Gamer03]

Originally Posted by ShoresGuy

Ditto even though supposedly the Cologne/Bonn Airport is in talks with ATA to allow cheap transatlantic flights from Germany to the US (most likely NYC and eventually Chicago).

Airb, let me know if you need more info on Germany etc.

Later

That would be cool.

ATA is the best airline to get from Ft. Myers to Chicago Midway nonstop or from Ft. Myers to IND (Indianapolis, IN).

[Yugopro]

I was in Hong Kong last week and I was told to use + instead of 00 for international conections, same in Chengdu on the mainland.

Sometimes the + would not work then 00 would, couldn't figure out why.