Gordon Ellis, at Crosschannel TV explains in two parts the various set-ups for television and computing in France. Part 2.
COMPUTERS
Equipment
Your PC brought from the UK will work fine in France. Clearly the plug sockets may need changing or running a UK 3-pin extension for your equipment. With the propensity of power cuts and surges that are not uncommon in France, the use of a surge protector (parafoudre) at least is recommended. Keeping all of the original install CDs and any back-up or Restore CDs and bringing them with you would also be worthwhile if you should have any problems. Dial-up modems will work satisfactorily as will most Broadband/ADSL modem routers (whether wired or WiFi) if you already have one.
One of the biggest issues with purchasing a PC in France is that of : a) The Operating System being in French – all depends on how comfortable you are with it. b) Keyboards! If you are used to the QWERTY style keyboard then the French style AZERTY one can make typing a whole new experience. You can get a UK keyboard and adjust the settings but one would be easier and cheaper to get hold of in the UK. Computer components and peripherals are now slowly coming more in line with UK prices – especially from some on-line French retailers.
Getting On-line
There are a couple of options depending on where about you are in France. There are two fundamental differences in France – ‘Degroupe‘ and ‘Non-Degroupe’ – basically France Telecom regulated and deregulated areas. The more remote you are the less likely to be de-regulated from
FT, but this doesn’t mean you will unable to get ADSL or broadband as we know it. De-regulated areas do get much cheaper ADSL however, and you can drop FT for your phone landline too (depending on what companies are available in your area). There are couple of websites that allow you to put your French phone number in to see what area you are in and what services are available to you.
Very remote hamlets or anywhere that has a large distance involved to the local ‘exchange’ as such can be left with only Dial-up capability via the phone line. The chosen supplier may need to activate your line for ADSL before you can get on-line which can typically take 5~10 working days from the request being made.
There are satellite based DSL suppliers offering reasonable monthly rates, but these are typically download speed improvers – not upload – which still require you to have an Internet Service Provider and hence a phone line. You still pay for Dial-up at a monthly subscription or Pay-As-You-Go if ADSL (broadband) is not available to you.
There are true two-way satellite systems that send and receive everything via satellite, and the prices are coming down but expect to pay more for equipment/set-up and monthly/yearly running costs for an equivalent land based speed of connection.
Another way is via a plug-in card or USB adapter to connect to a mobile network. These are not always the cheapest option, although you can subscribe to a package of monthly ‘time/download volume’. For a reliable connection you would need a healthy signal where you are based 
(mobile coverage is dependant on the provider and where you are – and generally not as prolific as the UK coverage).If you have a French mobile and have good signal where you live then it should work reasonably well – thick French stone walls are not always the friendliest to signal (either for mobiles or WiFi in fact!). Any of the main providers in France will give details of the packages on their websites as well as the hardware needed. French networks can also have Network Busy issues, as can any in the UK at certain times.
Staying In Touch
Once you’re on-line with a reasonably healthy ADSL speed then this opens-up many possibilities to communicating at home and overseas. Typically these are the likes of Messenger services, Video sharing, VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) etc.
Really, if you are paying a monthly subscription to get the ADSL service it’s worth using to the maximum effect. Some suppliers will offer included telephone deals with their ADSL service, and there are many third party providers that can work out at very reasonable cost as well – it’s all a case of seeing what works for you, what form of staying in touch you prefer and where your contacts are based. You can also set-up a UK number that should allow people in the UK to call your PC and they only pay a local rate call, which can be about a tenth of the international rate. A ‘true’ local number would need to be set-up in the UK before coming to France however, as an overseas IP Address would normally mean an 0845 type number if done after moving to France.