Because many consider it to be essential, now I have had broadband installed, my property has undoubtedly increased in value.”
It wasn’t until this was said to me by a client a few months ago, a chartered surveyor who I had first met some 30 years previously, that I appreciated just how important broadband access had become.
When my client and I first met, my mobile was a handset attached to a briefcase full of electronics that was then connected to my car’s battery. When travelling home from France on the Townsend Thoresen overnight ferry, my wife would regularly force me to drink yet another (very) large scotch, just to ensure we did not exceed our allowances to avoid a large customs bill.
These were challenging times for telecommunications, but, in reality, we didn’t complain. It was an adventure. Fast forward a generation and it seems change now occurs in months, not decades.
Until only a few years ago, installing broadband in France required a phone line, one engineer for your home and another from France Telecom for everything up to your outside wall. Only then could you connect to broadband, the speed of which still depended upon what was available and how many properties were trying to connect.
Then came Plan France Très Haut Débit, the massive state-led investment in French broadband. Today, fast broadband is quickly becoming more available in France than in the UK. Phones are all becoming VoIP (voice over internet protocol) and ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) is being replaced by fibre.
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av French Property News.
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Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av French Property News.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Bond With France
With a licence to thrill James Bond fans, Chloe Govan goes househunting in the film locations immortalised by the spy who loved France
Sarlat stardust
Just 20 minutes from Sarlat-la-Caneda, this tastefully restored home reflects the glory of the Périgord Noir capital, says Ruth Wood
The money column
The ‘B’ word is back! Laura Parsons explains how to protect your money as we near the end of Brexit transition
Nature's harmony
A renovated farmhouse in Lot-et-Garonne could be perfect for those hearing the call of the wild, discovers Brigitte Nicolas
Main event
Buying a holiday home near a popular annual event could guarantee you a beautiful setting and some extra cash, finds Hannah Evans
Hauss style
Joanna Leggett learns all about Georges-Eugène Haussmann – the man who designed the Paris that we know and love
Architect's diary
It’s all in a week’s work for France-based Neil Vesma
Write on the edge
When it comes to life in west Brittany, author Wendy Mewes has been there, done that, written the guidebook
A year like no other
So much for spring cleaning — property manager Mary Hall explains how 2020 has thrown a spanner in the works for second home owners
A law unto themselves
Why is French law so different to the law in England and Wales? It all goes back to William, Henry and Napoleon, explains Alan Field