Rod_vw Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Does anyone know if there is a way that Neuf WiFi http://wifi.sfr.fr/ can be accessed by tourists? The SFR website is totally 'unfriendly' to any non French speaking visitor and as far as I can see there is no way that a non French visitor can use the system even by paying a connection / rental fee. The system looks to have very comprehensive coverage if only 'outsiders' could gain access to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 RodThis is not mobile broadband, but fixed, landline based, ADSL broadband. You can get it OK if you have a house in France, even if you are British, 'cos some friends of ours have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod_vw Posted July 26, 2009 Author Share Posted July 26, 2009 Thanks Brian, That was my understanding of the system. If you are able, could you ask your friends in France if they know of a 'non French fixed line user' being able to subscribe to the service. Is there perhaps a scheme where SFR mobile phone users can use it (on WiFi basis not mobile broadband)? That may make it worthwhile purchasing a SFR Mobile SIM. I have accessed the 'Log-on' screen whilst out in France but of course it needs a Neuf WiFi user name and password etc. I have no problem with paying to be able to use such a system provided that the charge is reasonable. With the coverage being so good in most habitated places it seems such a pity that I can't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_C Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I think some Neuf WiFi hotspots are part of the Fon network. BT Total Broadband customers can get access to it, others can buy vouchers. See http://www.btfon.com/ and http://www.btopenzone.com/buy/ Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicwo Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I bought an SFR dongle for my laptop in May. It would not work and i returned to the shop. The staff tried but nothing, they even got in touch with tecnical sfr staff. In the end it was thought my UK bought Advent was not compatable with the french dongle. A long hour spent trying to get my money refunded. By the way it cost 70 euro for the dongle, not good value Vicwo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod_vw Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 Vicwo, Sorry but you are on a different track. I am talking of WiFi not wireless broadband. If you have a WiFi adaptor in your PC and simply scan for available Access Points when in a French village you will most likely see a Neuf Wifi AP available. However if you access it with a browser you will be presented with a logon screen to which you have no access. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicwo Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Rod I know about wifi and what you are refering to. I was simply putting an exoereience forward. You mentioned in your post Quote "Is there perhaps a scheme where SFR mobile phone users can use it (on WiFi basis not mobile broadband)? That may make it worthwhile purchasing a SFR Mobile SIM " I am just making the point that even if wifi is possible if you buy the sfr sim. We could not make the sim work on my puter. Regards Vic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod_vw Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 Cheers Vic, It all looks like typical French - we don't want any other European to play with our ball! But of course we love to have the tourist's money. Or am I being cynical?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Rod_vw - 2009-07-27 10:44 AM Cheers Vic, It all looks like typical French - we don't want any other European to play with our ball! But of course we love to have the tourist's money. Or am I being cynical?? Course its typically French, its a French Company. We have a French Orange Dongle and an English laptop and it works perfectly well. As long as there is mobile phone coverage you will get Internet coverage with the Dongle. For our Internet Broadband in the house we use www.phonexpat.com or there is another English speaking Company called Teleconnect. If you are wanting to connect Wirelessly without a Dongle then you should be able to use any unsecured access point, McDonalds is a prime example and also there are quite a lot of the large Supermarkets now that have free WiFi. You still have to register with whichever system you are going to try. Its the same with Wetherspoons to use their free Wifi you have to register it, I think it is Cloud the same as McDonalds in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod_vw Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 Thanks Randonneur I was aware of McD but not the other French Supermarkets. There seem to be getting fewer and fewer open routers in France (not like Belgium where there are plenty!). We are over onto the 'Mainland' again for three weeks as of the 15th so for the time spent in France we will see how we go. By the way (if you don't mind me asking) how much does the broadband dongle cost? Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Well, I paid 9 euros when it was on offer, Patricia also ordered the same one. I think they are 29 euros now (69 euros with 40 euros cashback). Try this link, it should take you to the epage and you want 'Sans Engagement' - this is called Internet Everywhere - the costs of the connection now lasts for 1 month before it was 15 days. http://www.orange.fr/bin/frame.cgi?u=http%3A//mobile.orange.fr/content/ge/high/v2_offre_boutique/offre/internet_everywhere/fie_presentation.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Rod_vw - 2009-07-27 6:42 AM Vicwo, Sorry but you are on a different track. I am talking of WiFi not wireless broadband. If you have a WiFi adaptor in your PC and simply scan for available Access Points when in a French village you will most likely see a Neuf WiFi AP available. However if you access it with a browser you will be presented with a logon screen to which you have no access. The NeufBox is just a private wireless gateway. When they are installed (by an SFR engineer) it seems all connections are password protected via the log on screen, but the wireless transmitter is left "on", so that it can be seen, and transmits its SSID, but you can only connect if you are an authorised user. The same is true for the installed wired LAN ports. Thus the subscriber can connect wirelessly or via cable, and can give their user name and password to anyone that they wish, but the Box cannot otherwise be accessed.As most of these NeufBoxes will be in private houses or businesses, I can see no reason why strangers should be able to connect. After all, I would not want you parking outside my house and using my broadband for free, either! So maybe I'm typically French, as well. C'est la vie! :-)Many French camp sites now have WiFi, and many of these are free to access if you ask, though some, like the UK clubs, appear to think anyone with a laptop is also a multi-millionaire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod_vw Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 'appear to think anyone with a laptop is also a multi-millionaire!' Yes, how right you are! I pay £17.60 per Month for my broadband with 5Gb download, Fixed IP address, 100Mb webspace and Free domain name registration. On top of that the reliability is good and has been so for at least seven years. The same provider offers up to 50Gb for less than £35 per month. Now couldn't that provide a decent service for a campsite? Say average 5 paying users at £1 per night looks to me like about £150 per month if that alone were the income from the offering over just a 3 month summer season there is still profit in the service. Why do these greedy site owners have to charge so much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsandywhite Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 B-) Back in January I was stuck in Clermont Ferrand for 4 days. I connected with Orange Wifi for 9 Euros for a 24 hours connection. Was watching Live UK TV and Catch up online. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Just one or two comments: Broadband in France is more expensive than in England and some areas cannot choose their internet provider - I have forgotten the French term for it but suffice to say they are only allowed to connect via Orange which costs over 40€ per month. I use my neighbours connection (with his permission and access codes of course) but when travelling I bought, as Randonneur has already said, an Orange dongle. However, you have to have a French address to purchase this and unless you have a monthly contract then you cannot use it outside mainland France. I ordered mine in March, experienced fuss and confusion about registering it, and still have not managed to connect as you need to be in France to do so. I will now have to wait until I return to France to try again. By the way Randonneur, glad to hear that yours is working well now. In 2008 the 15€ lasted for a month, then they reduced it to 15 days and now back to a month - presumably not many people took them up on their offer. I used T-Mobile very sparingly this year in France and Spain. They have reduced their charges to £1.50 per mb so hope the bill will not be too large!! I certainly agree that many sites, in England and in France and Spain, charge far too much for access. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 As Patricia has said, Broadband is expensive in France, I pay 29 euros per month, which is the average. When I got the Orange France dongle I didn't intend using it outside France as from what I have read on this and other forums Dongle Roaming charges in other countries is expensive. When and if we visit Spain/Portugal I will then look for WiFi hotspots. I seems from what I have learned over the past 10 years living here that although the French are up-to-date on their Technology they are way behind in economical pricing of Broadband and Mobile Phone services and we are still on the Mobile PayGo system that if you don't re-credit your phone after the time allowed, 3 months in my case, then you lose any credit you have accumulated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod_vw Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 We seem to have strayed onto the 'Mobile Broadband' subject, the original query was about access to Neuf WiFi fixed routers. Do I assume that although they are visible to the outsider with the log-on screen coming up without problem there is no intention from the suppliers of them being useable to other persons than the 'renter'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Yes, I think your assumption is correct. If someone tried to access our Wifi connection they would need the correct code as it is a secure connection. By the way, I think if you have a BT Internet service in the UK there is a service called BTFon which, I believe, that once you have registered you can use any BTFon or equivalent access point in France, but don't quote me on that. Just found this FON Blog site, it could be of interest. http://blog.fon.com/en/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Randonneur - 2009-07-30 9:33 AM As Patricia has said, Broadband is expensive in France, I pay 29 euros per month, which is the average. When I got the Orange France dongle I didn't intend using it outside France as from what I have read on this and other forums Dongle Roaming charges in other countries is expensive. When and if we visit Spain/Portugal I will then look for WiFi hotspots. I seems from what I have learned over the past 10 years living here that although the French are up-to-date on their Technology they are way behind in economical pricing of Broadband and Mobile Phone services and we are still on the Mobile PayGo system that if you don't re-credit your phone after the time allowed, 3 months in my case, then you lose any credit you have accumulated. Hi Randonneur, just to say , if you go to Portugal, you will be able to access internet without any probs, as the govenment are trying to get all of the country on the net. \We had no probs getting access anywere in Portugal this year, all free!! And not a dongle in site, just a good laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Thanks for that PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_C Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Randonneur - 2009-07-30 10:37 AM Yes, I think your assumption is correct. If someone tried to access our Wifi connection they would need the correct code as it is a secure connection. By the way, I think if you have a BT Internet service in the UK there is a service called BTFon which, I believe, that once you have registered you can use any BTFon or equivalent access point in France, but don't quote me on that. That's what I said - four days ago... AndyC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod_vw Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 So no access in France to 'Neuf WiFi' or 'Free WiFi' it would seem from experience. However just to add an Aire with free WiFi, the one at Crest boasts of such and can be confirmed as I post this message using it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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