Getting Internet

One of the pleasant surprises about living in France is that having Internet, TV, and a fixed line is relatively cheap. For 29.90€ you have all three. However, like all things, there is a process.

Normally, most people have a place with a fixed telephone line already working. If this is the case, you can easily obtain its number by dialing 0123456789. Of course, picking up the line in my apartment yielded silence. The nothingness tells you there is no attached line. This, being outside the normal procedure is, as they say, difficult.

There is something called the Freebox from a company called Free that everyone seems to love. Love so much in fact that when I asked about any other company, it was with shock and horror that anyone could conceive of going someplace else. I contact them first.

The sign-up is online. First, France Telecom will come and install the line, next you get the box, and then you get internet.

Step one was a bit rough.

Allegedly, your provider calls France Telecom and then France Telecom comes to your place to install a line. France Telecom should call you, make an appointment, and show up. Free allegedly starts this process.

Only Free did not start the process. So, I e-mail them. They respond, “be patient.” I am patient. After two weeks I e-mail them again, “we don’t have information on your file.”

New lesson: in France, patience is not a virtue.

If someone should give you something, you should harass them until they give it to you. There is a culture in certain companies to “just make the customer go away”. Going away with the good or service you provide is one way of achieving this. However, there are other means to have the customer go away.

No customer, no problem.

So I went away, and tried somewhere else.

SFR is next on my list. They give me the run down of the whole process. Normally, if you have a phone, everything takes two weeks. The phrase “normally, if you have a phone line” worries me. However, they actually do what they say they will do, call France Telecom. Everything from the SFR side works great. If you move here, go to these guys first.

So now I venture into territory occupied by a state owned agency.

The first appointment was made for 10AM one Friday. After waiting for an hour, work became a much better use of my time. At 5PM, the technician calls.

“I didn’t have your front door code.”

Not being fully integrated into French culture, I do not slight the man. Clearly, just because this information was provided to France Telecom, and that everyone in the free world has my front door code, is no reason for this man to have had it.

Game on.

The next appointment is made for 8AM. The workday starts at about 9:30AM at my office. Thus, this gives him enough time to blow me off, and me enough time to legitimately wait before I head to work.

He calls at 10AM.

“Where are you?”

“At work.”

“I’m here.”

“8AM was 2 hours ago.”

“Ok, can we reschedule?”

So we reschedule. You have to have France Telecom, so my thought is to see how many appointments this will take. Two days later, he shows up, even calling me ahead of time to say he is coming. Now this blog comes from the comfort of my own apartment.

Total time from start to internet, 1 month and 3 weeks.