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Need help in English with your French telecoms? Free Selectra advice line for English speakers. We compare Orange, Sosh and other French operators for your address and finalise the subscription with you.
Need help in English with your French telecoms? Free Selectra advice line for English speakers. We compare Orange, Sosh and other French operators for your address and finalise the subscription with you.
Our English guides to Orange and French telecoms
Five practical guides, designed for English-speaking residents of France, written and updated by the Livebox-news editorial team:
Orange France: offers, contact and subscription guide
Who Orange is in 2026, every internet and mobile offer, Mobicarte prepaid, customer service and the subscription checklist for foreign residents.
Orange Internet: Livebox fibre, ADSL and Sosh plans
The three Livebox tiers, ADSL fallback options, the Sosh low-cost brand, commitment, cancellation fees and how to test fibre eligibility at your address.
Orange Mobicarte: 4 prepaid SIM bundles in 2026
The four 2026 Mobicarte bundles (Mini, 150 Go, 200 Go, 300 Go), where to buy your SIM, how to activate it and how to keep your French number when you switch later.
Orange customer service in English: all contact methods
The dedicated English helpline 09 69 36 39 00, every Orange phone number, the Espace Client portal, the Orange et Moi app and the postal addresses for formal complaints.
How to open a French phone line with Orange
The three scenarios (existing active line, dormant line, brand-new build), how to find the NDI of an existing line, what a new copper line costs (around 119 €) and how long it takes to get connected.
Why Orange is the default choice for English speakers
Orange is the historical incumbent operator in France, the rebranded version of France Télécom. It still owns the underlying copper and fibre network and is the largest provider of home internet and mobile in the country. For English-speaking residents, three practical advantages stand out:
- An English-speaking customer service line on 09 69 36 39 00, unique among the four major French operators.
- The widest network coverage on both fibre and 4G/5G mobile, especially valuable outside the largest cities.
- The ability to bundle internet, landline, TV and mobile under a single provider, with a discount when you take more than one service.
If you are after the cheapest option on the same network, look at Sosh, Orange's online-only low-cost brand. For a French phone number on arrival, the Mobicarte prepaid SIM is the simplest entry point and the only Orange product that does not require a French bank account.
Just arrived in France? The quick-start checklist
If you have just moved to France, here is the most efficient order to get fully connected:
- Day 1, French phone number: buy a Mobicarte prepaid SIM at any Orange store or licensed retailer. No bank account required; ID document needed.
- First weeks, open a French bank account: necessary for any postpaid French telecoms plan and for the Livebox direct debit.
- Same period, test fibre eligibility at your home address on the Orange website. Fibre has no line-creation fee and is the technology Orange is investing in.
- Subscribe to a Livebox or Sosh internet plan once the bank account is open, ideally with help from Orange's English helpline or Selectra's English-speaking team.
- Port your Mobicarte number to a postpaid SIM after a few months if your usage grows; you keep the same French number.
Get a step-by-step French telecoms plan in English A Selectra advisor walks you through the right order of subscriptions for your situation, free of charge.
Get a step-by-step French telecoms plan in English A Selectra advisor walks you through the right order of subscriptions for your situation, free of charge.
The other French operators, briefly
Orange shares the French market with three other major operators. None of them has an English-speaking customer service, but their offers can still be a good fit on specific use cases:
- Sosh: the online-only low-cost brand of Orange. Same network, lower prices, no commitment, French-only support.
- Free: the cheapest fibre offer on the market (Freebox), aggressive mobile plans. Self-service approach, with limited human customer support.
- Bouygues Telecom: similar pricing to Orange, frequent promotional deals, decent fibre footprint in cities.
- SFR: historical second player, with cable fibre and 5G plans. Generally not the safest choice for an English-speaking new arrival.
If you want to compare Orange with these competitors before committing, the easiest way is to call Selectra's English-speaking team. The service is free, independent, and covers every major French operator.
Who we are and how we update these guides
Livebox-news is the Selectra editorial team specialised in Orange and Sosh offers. We update the English guides above whenever Orange changes its line-up, prices or customer service organisation; the dates of last review are displayed at the top of each article. The advice on this hub reflects what we would tell a friend who has just moved to France: start with a Mobicarte for the first weeks, test fibre eligibility at your address, then subscribe to a Livebox or Sosh plan once you have a French bank account. Everything else, from the choice of TV decoder to the exact mobile data allowance, is a matter of personal usage.
Talk to an English-speaking advisor about French telecoms
A Selectra advisor compares Orange, Sosh and other French operators for your address and finalises the subscription with you in one call.
Talk to an English-speaking advisor about French telecoms
A Selectra advisor compares Orange, Sosh and other French operators for your address and finalises the subscription with you in one call.