Since the launch of the Freebox in the early 2000s, internet boxes provided by operators have been the norm in France. However, it is not a technical obligation to access the Internet. This specificity is, for once, French. In most other countries, customers can freely choose and use their own modem, without necessarily using the hardware of a Free, Orange, Bouygues or SFR. Well, the Belgians are freeing themselves from it!
Advantages of alternative boxes
In Belgium, new regulations, relayed by RTBF and spotted by our friends from MacGnow allows users to replace their operator’s box with a more efficient modem router, offering a better Wi-Fi connection and more customizable features. If you wanted Wi-Fi 7 for example, it’s very easy, unlike in France where the already committed customer is not a priority to have a latest generation box. Better still, it allows you to access sites blocked by ISPs.
Let’s not talk about the costs, the box is often rented for a few euros by the operator to the consumer.
When in France?
In several European countries, including Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, consumers already have this freedom to choose their equipment. In France, some operators are more flexible than others: Bouygues Telecom allows you to disconnect your Bbox by configuring a VLAN parameter for an alternative modem. At Orange and SFR, this option is more complex. As for Free, switching the Freebox to bridge mode is recommended, although the process remains quite technical.
France is therefore behind its European neighbors in opening up to alternative boxes, but it is also the one which offers the cheapest packages.
After the alternative TV player which is starting to become more popular (an Apple TV does the job very well, as does a connected TV), here is the beginning of the end of ISP boxes. Who is for it?
