WiFi availability in France: How reliable is it?

Wednesday, 10 May 2023 11:33

WiFi availability in France: How reliable is it?

Pexels

GUEST OPINION: Discover the ins and outs of WiFi availability in France in our latest blog post. Learn about its reliability, speed, coverage, and more.

Whether you’re planning to visit France for leisure or business, having a reliable way to access the internet is a must. Although this is the most popular European travel destination by far, free WiFi in France is surprisingly hard to find. For the most part, you’re going to place your bets on finding one in coffee shops, restaurants, and similar, but this is hardly the most convenient solution to your connectivity woes. Today, we will give you an overview of how you can access the internet while in France as well as give you a couple of alternatives to free WiFi to have a plan B in your back pocket.

So what’s the plan B?

Most travellers want to play it safe, so it’s common to see them using multiple ways of accessing the internet. One of them is through data allowance on their France sim card, whether it be a local French card or an eSIM, which is its fully digital younger brother.

Both of these are much better than relying on data roaming that can shoot your costs through the roof if you’re not careful due to non-transparency and hidden charges. Getting an eSIM in advance, on the other hand, will get you covered for the entire duration of your travels, and you simply need to pick the right plan to save money.

There is also the option of getting pocket WiFi in France, which is a good option for travellers considering it doesn’t need to be plugged into work. However, the price can be high, and the stability of the connection certainly leaves something to be desired.

Do you consider yourself a foodie?

If so, you will be spending lots of time at the local coffee shops and restaurants in France, your natural habitat. Both are somewhat reliable places to find free WiFi, but you’ll have a somewhat better shot at finding it when stopping by the former compared to the latter. Luckily, they tend to be in close vicinity to popular tourist attractions!

When you hear your stomach growling, you’re going to have less of a say in the matter. In cases like these, chain restaurants are the recommended option because people expect to find free WiFi there, putting pressure on the business owners to cater to that need. Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Subway are going to be your bread and butter in this regard. Even something as small as a drink will get you their WiFi login details printed on the receipt.

Other local restaurants are much more of a hit-and-miss. The good news is that those that do offer it will usually stick a “free WiFi” sign right at the front door, so you’ll have an easier time deciding whether you want to go there.

Buying something as small as a drink can get you access to free complimentary WiFi in France.

Source: Pexels

How about hotels and AirBNBs?

Let’s put it this way: it would be a severe competitive disadvantage for hotels, and AirBNB hosts do not offer free complimentary WiFi, simple as that. Therefore, this can be a reliable way to get access to WiFi in France. For obvious reasons, you can’t take that with you, so you’ll need to find another alternative unless you’re planning to spend your entire holiday in your room.

It’s a good practice to charge your devices and update your apps while you sleep so as to conserve data. To provide the necessary navigation essentials for your journey, did you know that Google Maps, along with its several alternatives, provide fully functional offline capacity provided that you download the maps for your local area in advance? Take advantage of your room’s WiFi to do that. Getting lost without access to the internet is the last thing you want to happen to you.

A warning about free WiFi security

Too many unwary travellers blindly enter their sensitive personal data whilst connected to one of these free WiFi networks, which effectively puts them at risk of being intercepted or stolen. By far and large, free WiFi is known as a cyber security risk. The reason is that getting access to it is not that hard, and anyone who is in the vicinity can do it, potentially stealing your passwords, reading your chats, and putting their nose in your business in other ways.

If at all possible, you should do your online shopping, banking, and chatting about personal matters on a data connection such as the one an eSIM or a local SIM can provide. Alternatively, using a VPN is also a good option since it effectively establishes an encrypted funnel between you and the server you’re connecting to. Although, if reading news or browsing the map is all you will be using the free WiFi for, there’s nothing to worry about, provided that you stay logged out of your accounts and refrain from exchanging any kind of sensitive personal information.

Free WiFi, convenient as it may be, is also a cybersecurity risk.

Source: Pexels

Conclusion

Free WiFi in France is an option, albeit not a reliable one. Coffee shops, restaurant chains, hotel rooms, airports, and train stations will be your best bet. However, being location-dependent in regard to being able to access the internet is far from ideal, so for your peace of mind, it’s better to avail yourself of one of the alternatives we’ve discussed today.

About the author:

Samantha Waites is passionate about discovering new things and shares her knowledge on a wide range of topics with her readers. Writing is her most important skill, and she feels lucky to be working with a team of talented and dedicated writers who share her passion every day.

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