This month we will be looking at some of the issues of the broadband service here in France. However, if you have any specific queries have a story that you want to share with our readers, please write in and let us know!

What is Broadband?
Everyone is talking about it, but there’s no shame in asking, what is Broadband? In fact, for that matter, what is ADSL? Well they are one and the same, the fastest service for going on-line.
A broadband connection is actually not all that different from a dial-up connection. The equipment is very similar: you still use a modem, and plug it all into your telephone line. The difference is that you’ll have an Internet connection that is always on, 24 hours a day, and a telephone service that will still operate even while you’re on-line. What’s more, you are no longer roped into a pay per use service, you just pay a flat monthly fee to use the service, so you can go on-line whenever you want for as long as you want at no extra cost. And if that wasn’t good enough, everything works at least ten times faster!

The Dangers of Opting out of France Telecom
Now I am no fan of France Telecom, however, there is something to be said for keeping them onside when you sign up for Broadband. In the good old days, there was no choice, you signed up for your broadband connection, paying your monthly subscription to the Internet Service Provider (ISP), and were automatically obliged to continue paying your line rental to France Telecom. The logic behind this was simple, France Telecom owned – and still own - all the telephone cabling in France, therefore, any maintenance issues with the infrastructure (aka the cabling) into your house lay squarely on the shoulders of France Telecom. However, times are changing. The ISPs are getting more and more competitive offering bigger and better deals to get your custom. Some companies appear to have cheaper monthly rental costs, but charge you extra if you want a better line speed, or if you want to have “free” phone-calls. It is all a balancing act. Depending on your normal telephone use, each contract has it’’s own pros and cons, have a look at your previous phone bills, and work out which offer is best for you. The one offer which would seem straight-forward is whether or not to continue paying France Telecom line rental? On the face of it, it would seem an obvious choice, stop paying 15 € a month! After all, you will still be able to receive telephone calls via your new broadband modem. Won’t you?
If all goes well, and your Broadband connection works flawlessly, then yes, your telephone service will work just as well as it did before. However, if there are any problems then there’s a knock-on effect for your telephone service. Once you have cut France Telecom out of the equation you can only receive landline phone calls through your broadband modem, therefore, if your broadband connection doesn’t work, then neither does your telephone!
France Telecom own all the telephone cables in France, and as such they are the only ones allowed to work on them - it is illegal for any unauthorised person to work on these cables without permission from France Telecom. Therefore, if you are unlucky enough to have any problems with your broadband service then you are going to need France Telecom on-side to deal with them. However, with no contract between you and France Telecom, you are at the mercy of your ISP to sort out a solution. This can not only be a time-consuming, and frustrating process, but can also get quite expensive as someone has to cover the call-out costs.

Considerations
There are a couple of things you should consider before you make this decision.
In our experience, the most likely time for problems to arise with a Broadband connection, is when it is first activated, therefore, we advise all our customers to continue paying their line rental to France Telecom for the first couple of months. Once you are confident that your service is in full working order then contact your I.S.P. and ask them to make the arrangements – there is normally a nominal fee for this, of around 45 euros.

What if I don’t get it?
France Telecom have made a commitment to make Broadband available to all households in France, however, at the moment, not everyone can get it.
To find out whether your existing telephone line is capable of accepting the service you can check it out on the following website: www.degrouptest.com
If you cannot get Broadband all is not lost! There are promises of a broadband service via radio being made available in the summer this year. Work is underway, but no promises of dates, so watch this space!