New government investment could make slow internet access a thing of the past in France, which is good news for homeowners, as Bob Elliott explains
It seems that broadband has never been more important whether you’re moving to or within France, so it pays to find out what service you can get before you commit to a property purchase.
With the steady move towards shopping and banking online, and keeping in touch with those close to you through Skype and social media, many people feel totally cut off without what is a relatively new means of communication.
Making sure you are house-hunting in areas where there is a broadband service that will meet your minimum needs is quite easy, but first you need to decide if you want to limit yourself to web browsing and emails, or if you want to watch videos and TV programmes. The slowest speed that you will see is 0.5Mbps, which is poor and unreliable at peak times of internet use as all domestic services are ‘contended’, meaning that you share access with others locally. For those with basic requirements, a minimum speed of 1Mbps is all that is needed. However we have seen a dramatic increase in the demand for ever faster broadband, and if a home does not have this it will impact on its value.
WATCH YOUR SPEED
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