what we think of the operator’s mobile and Fibre/ADSL offers

Bouygues Telecom is one of the main telecom operators in France, offering a full range of mobile, landline and internet services, all with a solid infrastructure. Let’s see if its mobile and internet offerings are worth considering in 2023.

Who is Bouygues Telecom?

Bouygues Telecom is a French telecommunications operator established in 1994. Since then, the company has experienced rapid growth through the rapid installation of its antenna network to become one of the main market players in France, even to the point to reach second place behind France Télécom (which later became Orange) for a few years. The brand was the first to launch an unlimited package in 1996, which was so successful that it shook up the market more than 10 years before Free. The operator was also one of the first operators in France to launch its own 4G lines. Meanwhile, in 2012, Bouygues Telecom was almost taken over by SFR. However, the project was eventually abandoned due to opposition from competition authorities.

Bouygues Telecom was the first operator to launch a mobile television service in France, called “Bbox TV mobile” in 2006. Ten years later, Bouygues Telecom launched a low-cost mobile phone offer called “B&You”. In order to compete with package offers low-cost from RED and especially from Free, which had already shaken up the market in 2012.

At the same time, after buying a part of Club-Internet’s ADSL network from Neuf Cegetel, Bouygues launched its own Internet offers in 2008, including a television service, although with a significant delay compared to the competition. . It was with the Bbox Sensation in 2012 that the operator tried to innovate, this one offering advanced features such as 3D and the recording of 250 hours of programmes. Since then, the operator has always relied on innovation with the Bbox Ultym recently integrating support for Wi-Fi 6E and a TV decoder supporting more advanced HDR standards.

Bouygues Telecom’s mobile, fiber and ADSL offers

Mobile offer

Recently, Bouygues has chosen to bet heavily on its 5G network, which is why classic 4G packages are not highlighted and above all have much smaller data envelopes. In reality, the operator’s strategy aims for long-term commitment by ensuring that its customers already benefit from a 5G plan to prevent them from changing operator at the same time as their smartphone.

Problem: even today, Bouygues is the only one of the three major operators to still bet on packages with commitment, a choice all the more dubious, because the incumbent operators such as Orange or SFR have already abandoned the commitment on their packages. , even excluding low-cost offers. The only real advantage is the addition of a complete security solution exclusive to Bouygues Telecom, all managed by Norton. It is neither more nor less than a subscription to Norton 360: Mobile Security including:

Note, however, that the B&You offers are unrelated to the classic Bouygues packages and are the only operator packages to offer non-binding. A curious strategy that goes against what SFR is doing with RED or Orange with Sosh – which are brands in their own right – which can mislead the consumer. This observation is all the more disturbing when we know that the B&You brand was previously detached from Bouygues Télécom.

As things stand, we have little reason to recommend Bouygues Télécom’s regular packages, the fault of the higher rates and above all the commitment policy. The B&You plans are to be widely preferred, even for 5G.

Internet offer

Like the other incumbent operators, Bouygues has smoothed out its offer to now only offer three Fiber or ADSL subscriptions:

• Box Fit
• Box Must
• Box Ultym

First of all, the Bbox Fit which is now one of the cheapest packages on the market. Admittedly, fiber speeds do not break the ceilings of (400 Mb / s for downloading and sending), but it is more than enough to play or stream video. For this price, however, you have to remove the TV box and settle for Wi-Fi 5.

The Bbox Must offer is a little more solid and has recently had its router updated so that it finally goes to Wi-Fi 6. However, you have to make do with a Bbox 4K aging TV box side. The speed this time increases to 1 Gb/s for downloading and 700 Mb/s for uploading, which is similar to what is found with SFR Fiber Power which is still a little more expensive.

Finally, the star of the show is none other than the Bbox Ultym offer with a router equipped with a Wi-Fi 6E compatible chip, just like the Livebox 6. Speeds are capped this time at 2 Gb/s in download and 800 Mb/s upload, all with the addition of the latest TV box: the Bbox TV 4K HDR, undoubtedly the best operator box on the market today.

Regarding the average speeds provided by the operator, Bouygues Télécom ranks third, behind Free and Orange.

Check your eligibility

Before placing an order, it is strongly recommended to test your eligibility to find out if your home can receive a Fiber or ADSL connection from Bouygues Télécom. To do this, the dedicated Bouygues platform simply asks you to enter your address or your current landline number.

Please note, however, that as with all Internet Service Providers, the quality of service may vary depending on geographic location and the quality of the local infrastructure. The operator offers an eligibility test on its site for more guidance.

Le réseau Mobile 4G et 5G de Bouygues Télécom

La qualité du réseau mobile de Bouygues est souvent mise en avant par les observateurs. Celle-ci est assurée par un parc de 24 000 antennes à l’échelle nationale et couvre toutes les fréquences réseau. Celui-ci couvre plus de 99 % du territoire et 95 % de la population en réseau 3G/4G et 5G selon l’ARCEP.

Selon le dernier baromètre NPerf datant de 2022, le réseau 4G/5G de Bouygues Télécom est classé troisième, quasiment au même niveau que celui de SFR.

Sur le terrain de la 5G, Bouygues Télécom est plutôt bien loti. Certes, l’opérateur n’atteint pas les chiffres d’Orange concernant les performances en téléchargement, mais il arrive tout de même à se hisser en 3 ᵉ place, juste derrière SFR et loin devant Free. D’après les dernières données d’Ariase Sur le parc 5G 3,5 GHz, Bouygues dispose d’environ 4200 antennes sur son réseau, approximativement au niveau que SFR, mais encore bien en dessous d’Orange (plus de 5000).

Le Service Client de Bouygues Télécom

Depuis la création de ses offres mobile, Bouygues Télécom n’a eu de cesse de mettre en avant son service client. Notons toutefois que l’expérience client est tributaire de nombreux facteurs, tels que la localisation géographique, le type de service, le niveau de service clientèle, les attentes et les besoins individuels. Il est plus que compliqué d’établir un véritable diagnostic de la qualité du service client d’un opérateur, même en 2023.

Nous pouvons tout de même nous baser sur des données plus précises et notamment celles de l’ARCEP qui donnent un aperçu global dans la dernière édition (celle de 2022) de son observatoire dédié au sujet. Ce dernier est établi à partir d’un échantillon représentatif d’utilisateurs.

D’après ces données (Mobile et Internet compris), Bouygues se place en troisième position derrière Orange et Free. L’observatoire conclut tout de même que ces données ont tendance à se lisser avec le temps, réduisant l’impact de ce point sur le choix de l’opérateur.

Les meilleurs forfaits du moment

Si Bouygues Télécom ne vous a pas convaincu par ses offres mobiles, vous pouvez consulter les meilleurs forfaits mobiles du moment grâce à notre comparateur.

You can also consult our comparison of Fiber and ADSL offers.

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