Alexis Goldberg of the FranceBuyingGuide.com helps readers with their questions about buying and living in France.

If you need a question answering, email france@overseasguidescompany.com

“I have a house in France, in Deux Sevres, where I spend about 15-20 weeks a year, typically in 3 to 4 week blocks. I would like phone and Internet access but cannot decide the best way financially to achieve this. Previously the house has been connected to a landline and Internet, but not currently. Can you make any suggestions?”

Thank you very much for your email regarding internet and telephone providers in France. There are now several providers across the country and although some smaller villages still await broadband connection, the vast majority are set up for this so you should not have a problem obtaining a decent package.

Some of the more major providers, all of whom do an internet/telephone and/or TV package are as follows:

“Alice” used to be Tiscali and they are quite a large company with several options, usually involving a contract.

SFR is one which has no minimum contract and again is a large company. Many French towns have an SFR shop.

Orange is the largest company in France and the one which we have chosen. We have what is called a “livebox” and pay approximately €35 per month but this includes full internet service and an hour’s worth of telephone calls to international numbers free so we feel is a pretty good deal! Again you will find Orange shops in most French towns.

There is now a UK provider also for French expats. I have not tested their service but you may want to enquire initially by telephone. They are called UK Telecom and their phone number is 0805 631 632. This may in fact be the most financially beneficial option for you as you are not living there the whole time but do enquire about the best rate from the other companies also.

I do hope this helps but please feel free to come back to me should you require any further information.

For details of properties for sale in France visit the French listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in France, or moving there, is to use a currency exchange specialist when transferring your pounds into euros. For more information on this, visit the Currency Zone or contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in France, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘France Property Buying Guide’