mmm.

It will keep switching back to Swiss networks, though manually (config/connections/)you wil be able to choose the French network from many places, just for 2 minutes...

Where will be the work?

mmm? Is that the name of the provider?

I figured I would have to manually choose the correct french network, so it doesn't automatically switch back to the default roaming partner in Switzerland and I pay lots of money for roaming.

But what do you mean by "just for 2 minutes"?

Work will be at the UN, but I'm looking for a solution that may work in all over Geneva and surroundings, i.e. the french signal should range as far.

have a look at www.transatel.fr

Seems great, but in http://www.transatel-mobile.com/en/subscription-international/easyborder.html

it says "Tariffs with a 24 months plan"

There is an option for a 12 months plan, but that's still too long for my total stay of just 5 months.

"mmm" means: "What you are trying to achieve is impossible",

but I am still giving you useful information (at least some information). The French nearest network to UN is Orange France, but still no good.

-Yes, it will swith back automatically into roaming

You are welcome.

You can go with the Swiss Lebara prepaid, which is quite cheap, when you fill up a large amount at once - or Yallo or one of the other prepaid. The difference in cost is hardly worth losing sleep over, considering the the hassle/cost of getting out of a subscription.

Thanks to both of you, that was quite helpful.

I will also look out for VoIP-Solutions for my mobile phone in case Wifi is available.

Hi there,

Have been researching same for myself just recently and it does seem that pre-paid is the best option so if you have an old handset or can use your current handset if it is not locked.

Most of them will roam automatically anyway.

"Most of them will roam automatically anyway." - That's actually something I want to avoid at all costs, so that costs don't start to explode. As far as I know mobile phones, they just search for and take the strongest signal if they are not configured to take only one specific provider. If one does configure them in that way, one should be safe from accidental roaming.

As for the prepaid card, I'm still not sure whereas to take a french or a swiss one. I guess I'll see what the Wifi situation in Geneva is like. I probably won't spend much time there anyways, apart from work (trains back to my place don't go very late, so after work I have just about 2 hours of time left before I need to take the last train). If there are sufficient Wifi's available, I'm thinking about just using VoIP during that time to make my calls to swiss or any other numbers.

Alternatively I could just get two prepaid cards, one for France and one for Switzerland. Although that would sometimes mean carrying around two mobile phones.

Wifi in geneva

http://www.ville-geneve.ch/themes/environnement-urbain-espaces-verts/acces/

Most phones have an option to manually select the network.

I have to keep mine locked onto Swisscom or else it will roam onto French networks.  It's not just a Geneva problem...  It happens all over the Lac Léman region.

"I have to keep mine locked onto Swisscom or else it will roam onto French networks.  It's not just a Geneva problem...  It happens all over the Lac Léman region."

That's in fact exactly what I am looking for, i.e. a French network that I can use within Geneva and surroundings as well, so that I need only buy a prepaid card from that network and use it at home (in France) or at work (in Geneva).

Which network is that?

"Which network is that?" - Better said, since you talked about French networkS, which is the one with the strongest reception in Geneva?

If you have access to a friend's phone with selectable networks, perhaps try (at your place of work) switching the phone to the various French networks and checking signal strength.  I would imagine that it's going to be hit-or-miss all over Gva with the various networks.  Given the number of French cross-border commuters in Gva combined with the lack of nearby towers, I would guess that there will be some reception and capacity issues; even if you do get a usable signal you might find that the only reliable service is sms.

Thanks for the info, I will do that, but with my own cell. This'll be roaming, but should work just as fine, connecting to all available French networks in Geneva and checking their signal strenghts.

Based on the results I can then decide which French prepaid card I need.

I use the French SFR network in Geneva, but the coverage in the region is only partial (it depends on the area and buildings). Champel and airport is fine, but the center of town is more delicate)

The end of the sentence disappeared in the network:

"the coverage is only partial in the region (in Champel and at the airport it's fine, but in the center of town it's more difficult with the buildings)"

Another option depending on where you live in France is to get a swiss network that works across the border.  For example I live 15-20 km from the border at the base of the Jura in Echenevex and I have used Yallo/Sunrise without issue since I have lived here.  I get perfect reception through most of the region as long as I keep it manually locked on the Sunrise network.

hey, i use simplicime (simlicime.com). i have a "forfait sans engagement", which means i have a certain amount of hours included but i'm not bound to a contract for a long period of time. for this you need a french bank account though.

However, simplicime also offer prepaid. I live in France but I work in Switzerland and I have reception almost everywhere without switching to the Swiss net. There is a roaming option for simplicime so you don't have to worry all the time.

It works pretty well.

"but i'm not bound to a contract for a long period of time" - how long is that period? Can you please also tell me the name of that contract, so I can look it up?

it means that i can cancel the contract any time. it goes from month to month so if i don't want to have it anymore in march, i have to cancel it in february.

it is called "forfait sans engagement" as mentioned in the last post.

Not sure if this is an option for you, but as Joshua S said earlier, why not stick to a Swiss operator? - provided that they have coverage where you will live. The Pays de Gex has pretty good coverage with both Swisscom and Sunrise, and I can get a Swisscom signal on top of the Jura.

You can get the French networks down to Jonction/Carrouge and coming from the Airport as far as the old TSR buildings/Stadium at Charmanche. You can also pick up a signal at Cornavin. This is just my experience. If you get an antenna booster you can probably get a signal all over town. UN may be a bit over the hill to get a signal.

Lausanne is also ok for French mobile operators.

This forum is great! I have the same exact question...but this was posted a couple years ago so I'm wondering if there are any upates to this info. What prepaid cards are people using now? I'm moving to Ferney Voltaire but will work at UNAIDS.  Thanks for your help!

French networks are very expensive and have crap customer service. I live in France and have a dual sim phone. I used to have numbers with Orange FR and Bouygues, left both. 

No I have one simcard which is a swisscom locked in to the network, second sim card is worldsim (worldsim.com) which allows affordable roaming no matter where I go. 

In Ferney Voltaire you sould be fine with Sunrise alone.  They have a contract with CERN to have service available around the LHC so the network works in much of th area.  

If you must get a French network I would recomend SFR, specifically look at their Red plans where you don't have a contract and you will spend between 5€-26€/month depending on how much data you need:

http://www.sfr.fr/telephonie-mobile/red-de-sfr.html

Have just checked my mobile for networks available in Champel and only SXwisscom and Orange CH have come up.  I do most of my phoning for free from the internet

Also realizing that you said prepaid you could look at Yallo which is cheap, airtime doesn't expire and it uses Sunrise networks so it will work around Ferney Voltaire.

https://www.yallo.ch/kp/dyn/web/pub/content.do;jsessionid=CBB85454CFE5413F20D72C976D321496.worker1?cont=offers

My solution (I am living in France and working in the Un area) for the last years has been a French (Orange) phone. I have disabled dataroaming, I mainly receive calls in Geneva and only occasionally phone out, so it is not a financlia burden. Interestingly, Orange signal has become stronger, so I quite often manage to have the Orange F, sometimes even the E or 3G in Geneva.