Aurélien Fleurot 8:13 a.m., January 28, 2022

According to the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir, a third of users living in the countryside have a poor mobile data rate.

Problem: these users pay their mobile plan the same price as users in the city, while the latter have a speed 60 times higher.

What could be more annoying than a web page that does not display?

If you live in the countryside, you have surely learned to deal with it.

Far from cities, quality 4G remains a rare commodity.

In 2017, Emmanuel Macron however promised an Internet network accessible throughout the territory before the end of the five-year term.

A broken promise.

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The UFC-Que Choisir association, with supporting figures, reveals that in rural areas, a third of users are deprived of 4G broadband.

The figures collected make the big difference compared to those given by the operators.

This is an average, there are always disparities.

But the consumer association points to extremely strong territorial inequalities.

A speed 60 less than that of the city 

The feedback from the QuelDébit application in the field is clear, explains Antoine Autier, head of studies at UFC-Que Choisir: "When a consumer buys between 20 and 30 euros per month his mobile plan, he is entitled to expect a decent quality of service. Today, this is not the case in rural areas. It is the lottery, with speeds that are 60 times higher in urban areas, knowing that prices paid subscriptions are the same, regardless of your zone".

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Orange and Free are good students, according to UFC-Que Choisir, which asks the public authorities to impose a minimum quality of service on operators.

When questioned, Arcep, the Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority, recognizes the quality of the data collected, which partly overlaps their annual report, and recalls that operators have obligations to respect, starting with a first deadline at the end of the year.