SFR - France

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SFR
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SFR (France) uses 2 GSM bands, 2 UMTS bands, 5 LTE bands, and 2 5G NR bands. Find out if your unlocked phone or mobile device will work with SFR (France). See the tables below for details.

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Carrier website: http://www.sfr.fr/

Last updated: 2024/08/04 - See latest updates

SFR France is a major telecommunications company in France, offering a wide range of services including mobile phone plans, internet, TV, and fixed-line telephone services. Here are some key points about SFR France's mobile network:

Overview

  • Founded: 1987
  • Full Company Name: Société Française du Radiotéléphone (SFR)
  • Number of Subscribers: Over 27 million customers (as of Q4 2022)
  • Coverage: Nationwide coverage in France
  • Awards: "Best Mobile Network in France" by nPerf, "Best Fixed Network Quality" by ARCEP, and "Best Customer Service" by Capital.

Coverage and Speed

  • Coverage: SFR provides extensive network coverage, with a score of 8.7 points from Opensignal, ranking second after Orange. It offers uninterrupted mobile calls in 92% of large urban areas and 78% of rural areas. Data loading speeds are also high, with 94% of web pages loading within 10 seconds in urban areas and 77% in rural areas.
  • Speed: SFR’s 5G upload speed is statistically tied with Bouygues at around 19.6-19.9 Mbps, ranking third among network providers in France.

eSIM and SIM Cards

  • eSIM Availability: Yes, SFR offers eSIM technology for flexible connectivity options. This allows users to easily switch between mobile operators or plans without physically inserting or removing SIM cards. eSIMs can be purchased directly from SFR or through eSIM resellers.
  • SIM Cards: SFR offers various prepaid SIM card plans tailored for tourists, providing unlimited calls, texts, and data with different validity periods and data limits.

Customer Support

  • Customer Support: SFR offers customer support through multiple channels, including on-call assistance. Users can also contact customer service by dialling 1023 from an SFR phone.

Plans and Pricing

  • Prepaid Plans: SFR offers several prepaid plans with varying prices, data limits, and call/SMS allowances. These plans cater to different needs and budgets, with options starting from €20 and going up to €80.

Network Performance

  • Overall Performance: While Orange provides the best 3G and 4G speeds, SFR delivers the best overall network performance when considering speed, latency, jitter, and packet loss.

Additional Information

  • Ownership: SFR is wholly owned by Vivendi and was acquired by Altice in 2014 to form the Numericable-SFR group. The company operates under the SFR Group since 2016.
  • Market Share: As of 2017, SFR was the second-largest French operator in terms of market share, with 14.378 million mobile customers and 5.943 million internet subscribers.

Overall, SFR France offers a robust and reliable mobile network with extensive coverage and competitive pricing, making it a popular choice for both personal and business use.

Frequency Bands

GSM

Name Interface Description
900 MHz (E-GSM) GSM

SFR France uses the GSM 900 MHz (E-GSM) frequency band. The deployment date of this frequency band is not specified.
1800 MHz (DCS) GSM

SFR France uses the GSM 1800 MHz (DCS) frequency band. This band operates within the 1.8 GHz frequency range and was introduced in 1991 as an extension of the GSM standard. The frequency ranges for GSM 1800 are:

  • Uplink: 1710–1785 MHz
  • Downlink: 1805–1880 MHz

This band offers reduced signal interference and greater channel availability compared to the more crowded 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands used by GSM. It provides services such as voice communication, text messaging (SMS), and basic data communications, similar to GSM.

Supported GSM Protocols

Name Generation
GPRS 2.5G
EDGE 2.5G

UMTS

Name Interface Description
B1 (2100 MHz) UMTS

SFR France uses the UMTS frequency band B1 (2100 MHz). This band is deployed for UMTS technology.
B8 (900 MHz GSM) UMTS

SFR France uses the UMTS B8 (900 MHz GSM) frequency band. This band is utilized for both GSM and UMTS services, allowing for the coexistence of GSM voice and data with UMTS data services. The deployment of this band supports the coverage of rural areas where the signal can travel farther compared to the 2.1 GHz frequency band.

Supported UMTS Protocols

Name Generation
UMTS 3G
HSPA+ 3.5G (4G speed)

LTE

Name Interface Description
B7 (2600 MHz) LTE

SFR France uses LTE band B7 (2600 MHz) for its LTE network deployments. This band is deployed due to its wide availability and short range, which allows for dense coverage and maximum capacity. The 2.6 GHz frequency band is suitable for outdoor usage in various environments and indoor usage in dense urban settings. It is also commonly used as an ancillary band in carrier aggregation deployments to enhance network performance.
B20 (800 MHz DD) LTE

SFR France uses the LTE B20 (800 MHz DD) frequency band for its LTE network deployments. This band is particularly known for its wide area coverage and deep penetration, making it suitable for regional and rural environments, as well as in-building coverage. It is also popular for IoT applications like eMTC (LTE Cat M1) and NB-IoT (LTE Cat NB1) due to its wide coverage characteristics. The 800 MHz band does not easily support Massive MIMO and beamforming technologies due to its large wavelength. It can be used as a single band or as part of a multi-band network, and it supports carrier aggregation with other bands to enhance bandwidth and performance.
B3 (1800 MHz +) LTE

SFR France uses LTE Band 3 (1800 MHz +) for its LTE services. This frequency band is part of SFR's LTE deployment, supporting both FDD and TDD configurations. It is widely used globally, particularly in Europe, APAC, MEA, and selected countries in South America, facilitating international roaming for mobile broadband services. The band is utilized by over 46% of all LTE or LTE-Advanced network operators worldwide.
B28 (700 MHz APT) LTE

SFR France uses LTE Band 28, also known as the 700 MHz APT band, for its LTE network deployments. This band operates between 703 MHz and 803 MHz, supporting channel bandwidths of 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz. It is widely used by public mobile operators for its excellent propagation characteristics, allowing signals to penetrate buildings and cover larger geographic areas with less infrastructure.
B1 (2100 MHz) LTE

SFR France uses LTE band B1 (2100 MHz). This frequency band was deployed on August 4, 2024.

Supported LTE Protocols

Name Generation
LTE 4G
LTE-A 4G

5G NR

Name Interface Description
N1 (2100 MHz) 5G NR

SFR France uses the 5G NR frequency band N1 (2100 MHz) for its 5G services. This band operates on the uplink frequency range of 1920 to 1980 MHz and the downlink frequency range of 2110 to 2170 MHz. The duplex spacing for this band is 190 MHz, and it supports channel bandwidths of 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz.
N78 (3500 MHz) 5G NR

SFR France uses the 5G NR frequency band N78 (3500 MHz). This band covers the range of 3300 to 3800 MHz. The most popular channel width for fully deployed N78 5G networks is the maximum 100 MHz.

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