Orange S.A. – France’s Telecommunications Company

Visiting France can be one of the most beautiful and amazing experiences in your life. No matter if you have just a couple of days and you are not able to visit as many places as you want to.

Plan your trip according to your time and budget and make sure to buy the best prepaid SIM card.

Of course, there are many options on the Internet and it can be very difficult to choose the right one. However, since we really care about you, we have prepared this article about Orange, the best mobile network operator in France.

Do you want to know the most important things about this company and its SIM cards, plans and prices? Keep reading and learn more about Orange!

What is Orange?

France has some of the best mobile network operators in Europe. Orange S.A (formerly known as France Telecom S.A) is considered the best telecommunication company in the whole country, not only because of its long and great trajectory but also because of its great options, prices, and customer service.

This company was officially founded in 1879 as Postes Télégraphes et Téléphones but then, in 1991 its name was changed to France Telecom. After that, in 2013, this company became Orange S.A, which is its current official name.

Nowadays, Orange has more than 33.500 million subscribers, which makes this corporation the market leader (more than 90% of the population)

Although Orange France has several big competitors, subscribers still prefer this network operator because of its excellent quality-price ratio and customer support. Not only French customers choose Orange when buying prepaid SIM cards or data-only SIM cards, but also foreign travelers prefer this carrier when visiting France.

Orange is present in some other countries apart from France. Spain also has Orange as one of the main options in telecommunication matters. However, the options and prices of the different Orange SIM card Spain are not the same as Orange SIM card France although they are part of the same company but in different countries.

Orange France has different options talking about SIM cards, but here we chose just two of the most famous for you to select the one that best suits your needs.

Orange SIM Card Offers

Orange France prepaid SIM card is called Orange Mobicarte. This SIM includes voice, text, and data to be used in France and the European Union. You can buy this Orange SIM card in any Orange store for 3.90 EUR ($4,37).

It includes 5 EUR of credit and you will get 5 EUR more when showing your I.D (if you are a foreign tourist you need to show your passport).

Orange has many different SIM card options, but Orange Holiday SIM Card and Orange ZEN are two of the most famous ones. Both of them have a credit valid for 14 days. Here you have the benefits included in each SIM card.

Orange SIM Card Activation

SIM cards are already pre-activated. You just need to insert it into your mobile phone or any other device and Orange will activate your SIM automatically. Please make sure you have an unlocked device to use any of the Orange SIM cards.

If you want to top-up and extend the credit validity of your SIM Card, you have to manually register here again.

Recharge / Top Up Options

You have 2 ways top-up a phone: from Orange website and buying classic vouchers called Les Recharges Classiques.

If you choose the first option (the online top-up), you need to follow these steps:

1. Go to the Orange Top Up homepage, select the country of destination from the drop-down list, and fill in the phone number, then click on “Send top-up”
2. Click on the recharge value and click on “Continue”
3. Now click on the “New User” tab, fill in all the required fields, and indicate carefully your mobile phone number (it is your account), then confirm. A code will be sent by SMS to your mobile phone to validate the creation of your account
4. A payment page will appear so that you can finalize your purchase with your credit card

But, if you choose the second recharge option (the classic recharge vouchers) you just need to buy those vouchers at the airport, train station or any grocery store and follow these steps:

1. Dial #123# on your mobile phone
2. Then, press Recharger
3. After that, you need to enter the 14-digit code of the recharge voucher
4. Wait a few minutes and your credit recharge will be available

Tethering

Orange Holiday SIM card and Orange ZEN SIM card cannot be used for tethering on iPhones. Android devices may allow this option if you used it with a proxy app. It will also depend on the app your trying to use or the webpage you are trying to visit.

However, Orange also offers a mobile hotspot for those travel groups that want to save money and they all decide to use the same network. Read more about Orange Mobile Hotspot in the next section.

Mobile Hotspot

As it was mentioned before, Orange has its own pocket WiFi or Mobile Hotspot called Coffret prêt a surfer. It is a Huawei E5573 device (also called Airbox) that will allow you and other people to connect your mobile phone and other devices at the same time. You can buy this portable WiFi for 59.90 EUR ($67,12) and you will get 3 GB of 4G mobile data valid for 30 days.

APN Settings

In case your Orange SIM card is not working, please go to your mobile phone APN settings and use the following information

• For Mobicarte (voice, text and data SIM): orange
• For Pochette prêt a surfer (data-only SIM):
  • APN: orange.fr
  • Username and Password: orange

EU Roaming

In 2017 new roaming regulations came into force and were applied in the EU countries. These regulations included in the Roam Like At Home, allow people to go from one EU country to a different EU country paying the same rates as if they were in their home country.

Roam Like At Home regulations include making and receiving phone calls, text and mobile data. However, there is a reasonable time to roam like at home. If a person exceeds that time, roaming charges will be applied depending on the time, usage and country. Read more about EU Roaming regulations here.

Many European network operators do not include Switzerland and Andorra, but Orange France includes them in their Roam Like At Home service.

Do you want to learn more about Orange and all its offers? Visit Orange France’s official webpage and see what they have for you!

If this article was useful for you, it can be useful for your friends and family, too! Share all this information with them and let us know if you would like to know about any other mobile network operator!