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Data Roaming in France: Which One Should I pick?
If you are traveling to France soon, international roaming is an option that will allow you to stay connected to the internet.
Your next destination is France, but you don’t know how to stay connected to the internet? Not to worry! There are actually many alternative ways to stay online, and one of the most common is with international data roaming for France. An option that will allow you to stay connected to cellular internet in France as if you were at home.
Also, if you want more options for having an internet connection during your trip to France, we will be talking about other alternatives later on. Among the different options, we will talk about Pocket WiFi, places with free WiFi, and our favorites, eSIM and SIM cards.
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What is Roaming?
Have you ever imagined walking through the streets of the cities of France and being connected to the internet as if you were at home? Well, this is a reality, thanks to international roaming on your mobile phone.
This is a service offered by most domestic carriers to their users who travel abroad, with which they can make use of their mobile phone services while they are in another country.
Among the advantages of this service, you will find that you will be able to use cellular data services, calls and text messaging. In addition, you will be able to count on the service of your operator, in case you have any problems with the roaming services.
On the other hand, roaming services also have certain disadvantages, the most notorious of which is that they can be pretty expensive. That’s why here, we will tell you more about the roaming prices for France so that you can evaluate if it is convenient to use this service with your operator.
Roaming rates in France
The roaming prices for France will depend mostly on your domestic mobile phone operator. Also, there are different ways in which you can make use of the international roaming service, and this will also have an effect on the total cost of the service used. Among the ways you can use roaming is through plans and packages for certain days or countries, as well as the usual pay-per-use option. However, this tends to be more expensive than other data roaming options.
In general, roaming costs for France can range from $5 to $10 per day with some operators. However, if you use the pay-per-use option, you could spend $2 to $3.5 per MB of consumption, not counting the calls and messages you use on your mobile device. Next, we will talk about the roaming services of several international operators.
O2
First, we will talk about O2, a UK company that allows its users to make use of its telephone services in many European countries, including France. You can use this service in France as if you were using your local data allowance.
The great thing about this company is that it tends to give a lot of benefits to its customers, especially if they will be traveling to countries in Europe.
Telstra
Telstra is an Australian company that allows its users to maintain an internet connection throughout their trips with international roaming. For France, you can use international roaming in two ways. Firstly, you can purchase a day package, with 500 MB of high-speed data available, as well as unlimited calls and messages, for a price of 10 dollars per day.
On the other hand, in case you prefer to use the pay-per-use option, it will be priced at $3 per MB. However, if you use the latter option, you will have to be very careful with your usage, as you could end up with high bills due to the data roaming charges.
AT&T USA
AT&T is one of the most famous telecommunications companies in the world; the services of this company are currently available in many countries, however, we will be talking about the data roaming charges for USA-based customers.
This company’s users can use the International Day Pass, with which they can use cellular data, voice calls, and text messages in France for 10 dollars a day. They can also use the pay-per-use option, in which if they want to use cellular data, they will have to pay 2.05 dollars per MB, a little cheaper than the other options mentioned.
Vodafone
Finally, if you are a Vodafone user, specifically in the UK, you will also be able to roam on your trip to France. If you have one of the Xtra Airtime Plans, you will be able to use your phone services at the same rate you use at home, with no extra roaming fees.
However, you can also roam from €9 to $27 with their European roaming passes, in case you don’t have a plan that allows you to have an internet connection in France at no cost. However, keep in mind that if you don’t limit your data usage, you could have very hefty bills at the end of your trip due to using your phone abroad.
How to avoid roaming charges in France
If roaming is not your best option for staying connected during your trip to France and you wish to avoid it at all costs, we are pleased to tell you that there are many more alternatives for an internet connection.
Among these alternatives, you will find eSIM and SIM card services for France. Likewise, you can also rent a Pocket WiFi or look for places with free Wi-Fi in the city of this European country you’ll be visiting.
Below, we will explain each of these alternatives in more detail so you can compare them and purchase the one that best suits your travel needs.
Prepaid International France SIM Card
As a first alternative to avoid the high roaming costs, we will tell you about the Prepaid SIM card for France. There are currently International SIM cards available for travelers. How do they work? Basically, they allow you to have cellular data while traveling to another country. It’s like having the SIM card you use at home but in another country, especially for cellular data.
Getting a SIM card for France is very simple, especially because many companies and virtual stores currently offer this type of service. There are also local providers and international SIM card carriers where you can get a traditional chip.
eSIM for France
As a second option, we will talk about International roaming eSIMs, these are virtual SIM cards, which tend to be very easy to acquire and activate through QR codes, in less than five minutes. So, if your trip to France is coming up soon, and you need a quick alternative to purchase, Holafly’s eSIM for Europe or France is probably your best option.
With Holafly, the online store we told you about earlier, you can also purchase an eSIM. And for France, you can customize your data plan with the days you need. So you can choose the one that best suits your trip.
One thing about Holafly’s eSIM card for France is that people will get a service similar to international roaming but will pay a lot less, which helps to save money and avoid any extra costs. When using an eSIM, people will get unlimited data from $6 for a day. Unlimited data plans from Holafly are available for up to 90 days!
Definitely, the eSIM is a very competitive alternative, easy to acquire and that will bring you many benefits on your trip to France. However, we recommend that before acquiring one of these, you verify that your cell phone is compatible with an eSIM.
This eSIM also includes data-sharing with the unlimited data packages. People can share up to 500 MBs of data per day with the eSIM for France. This benefit is also offered in other destinations on the continent such as the Spain prepaid eSIM.
Pocket WiFi
If you will be traveling with many people, or on the other hand, you will have many devices with you, such as your cell phone, laptop, and smartwatch, among others. Then we recommend the Pocket WiFi, which is a wireless device, which allows you to keep several devices connected to the internet at the same time.
So renting a Pocket WiFi could be a good option for you. Currently, there are different companies with which you can rent one of these devices for your trip. For France, we recommend companies like Cello Mobile or Hippocket WiFi, with which renting a Pocket WiFi for seven days could cost you between $50.00 to $349.99.
However, keep in mind that to rent one of these Pocket WiFi, you will also have to pay for delivery to your location, as well as extra accessories and sometimes insurance. So, this could end up being a costly alternative as well.
Free WiFi
As a last alternative, we will talk about the cheapest option of all, since you will not have to pay anything for it. Yes, we are talking about free WiFi. In European countries, it is very common to find many places where you can connect to their WiFi for free, with which you can stay connected to the internet. However, you must consider that you must be close to the places to be able to catch the WiFi signal on your cell phone.
So, if you want to have an internet connection at all times during your trip, we recommend you to think about another option, such as the eSIM or SIM cards that we already mentioned. However, keep in mind that in case of emergency, you can find places with free WiFi in the different cities of France.
FAQ
Yes. If you are traveling from another country with your mobile phone, you need to activate the data roaming services if you want to use your local allowance while abroad.
No. Prices will vary depending on the service provider, and some might have lower rates, but the service is not free.
No. While data roaming service is among the cheapest, Vodafone doesn’t provide free international use of their services.
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Hi! Leoneska here, your guide to traveling connected. I'm a Venezuelan SEO content specialist with over four years of experience sharing tips and tricks for using mobile internet while traveling and making the most of your adventures. At Holafly, I take care of providing reliable and high-quality information to travelers like you. I hope you enjoy my content and find it useful!
