Sfr (and Red): Packages, Frequencies, Coverage All You Need to Know About the Operator

Want to know everything about SFR (and RED), one of the main mobile operators in France? Packages, networks, subscription management, answers the most Frequently Asked Questions about the red square.

File updated 10 October

An operator you love to hate

Historically, SFR is the first alternative operator to the historical player Orange. Since the launch of SFR in 1987, many events have taken place, including takeovers and mergers that have animated the life of the company. In particular, SFR became a subsidiary of Patrick Drahi’s Altice group in 2014. After this acquisition, the brand with the red square was often pinpointed for customer relationship problems, to the point of becoming the operator we like to hate, winning the prize for the worst customer service by UFC-Que-Choisir and 60 Million Consumers This acquisition also had a very clear impact on working conditions for SFR’s after-sales service employees, as well as on the number of employees, which increased from 1,500 to 40 in the space of 12 months.

Despite this, the operator remains one of the main players in the French market with 14.4 million Mobile customers and 8 million fixed broadband or very high-speed broadband subscribers in May 2018.

From 5,000… to 40 people. This is what we were gradually learning about the evolution of SFR’s Customer Service following the latest voluntary departure plan (VSP) launched by the operator in the red square. The company, arguing a difficult economic situation has…

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mobile rate plans

Like the two other incumbent mobile operators, SFR offers its packages under two different brands. The packages with commitments, and with the possibility of staggering the payment of a smartphone, are sold by SFR, while the packages without commitments (and without smartphones) are marketed by Red by SFR

RED by SFR packages

The RED brand offers a fairly complete catalogue of packages ranging from 5 to 20 euros. SFR is accustomed to offering promotions throughout the year with these packages, in particular on the ’10 per month package. Note that these offers are often valid “for life” and not limited to the first 12 months of membership, as is often the case.

SFR packages

SFR’s catalogue is a little more complex. The operator offers its packages with three different rates depending on whether it is subscribed without commitment, with a 12-month commitment, or with a 24-month commitment and purchase of a telephone. In addition, there is a discount if the customer already subscribes to the operator’s box (-5 euros per month), and a possible promotion during the first 12 months.

The network

Which frequencies does SFR use?

As one of the incumbent operators in France, SFR holds both 2G and 3G licenses (900 MHz and 2.1 GHz), as well as 4G LTE licenses. The operator in the red square has licences on all the frequency bands used for 4G LTE in France: 700, 800, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz. However, SFR has not activated any relays for the 700 MHz band.

Here is the distribution of the relays in service:

• 700 MHz (B28) : 0
• 800 MHz (B20) : 15 739
• 1 800 MHz (B3) :  10 046
• 2 100 MHz (B1) : 2 076
• 2 600 MHz (B7) :  5 504

What is the coverage rate of SFR’s network?

SFR’s 2G and 3G network covers more than 99% of the population in mainland France covering 93% to 95% of the territory.

SFR covers 97% of the population of metropolitan France in 4G (according to ARCEP as of June 1, 2018) with 16,102 equipped sites. As of April 1, 2018, SFR covered 78% of the territory with its 4G network.

Throughputs offered by the SFR network

Depending on access to its network, SFR promises its customers speeds of up to 42 Mbps in 3G, and up to 187.5 Mbps in 4G+ thanks to the combination of the 800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequency bands.

In fact, the ARCEP observatory obtained an average flow rate of 24 Mb/s over the whole territory, with a rise to 35 Mb/s in dense areas and a fall to 14 Mb/s in rural areas.

Applications of SFR

SFR offers some twenty applications for its subscribers. They provide access to the operator’s various services, such as Internet TV or cloud storage.

The most important ones are SFR & Moi and RED & Moi, which allows you to manage your subscription and monitor your package consumption.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

How do I activate an SFR rate plan?

Activation of a new SFR rate plan is automatically performed by the operator on a date specified at the time of subscription. It is possible to change this date or to activate the SIM card as soon as possible by going to the order tracking interface on the operator’s site. In the case of a RED package, the activation is done on the dedicated site with the 10-digit order number and the customer’s date of birth.

How to contact SFR’s after-sales service department?

For SFR’s RED customers, customer service will be available free of charge via chat, social networks (Twitter and Facebook) and the RED & Moi mobile application To take advantage of customer service by telephone, you must subscribe to the “Priority Customer Service” option for 3 euros per month.

In the event of a dispute, you may contact the telecom mediator, or send a letter to the customer service department at “Red by SFR Service Consommateurs TSA 20102 69947 Lyon Cedex 20”.

For SFR customers, the service can be reached by phone at 10 23. It is also possible to send messages from the client area or on the social networks Twitter and Facebook. Again, in the event of a dispute, it is possible to send a letter to “Service Consommateurs SFR TSA 20102 69947 Lyon Cedex 20”.

How do I change my phone number?

SFR does not offer an easy way to change its call number with an online procedure. To change your phone number contact the operator’s customer service department.

How to cancel your SFR subscription?

The easiest way to cancel is to subscribe to a mobile package with another operator by requesting portability of your phone number In doing so, the new operator takes care of all the steps on behalf of the customer. However, please note the cancellation fee if you were committed: this is the sum of the remaining monthly payments up to the 12th month of commitment, and a quarter of the additional monthly payments for a 24-month commitment.

Without portability, it is possible to cancel your subscription by contacting customer service on 10 23. For an SFR RED package, cancellation is done by contacting customer service by chat.