Published on : 01 July 20204 min reading time

Whether you’re driving to work or on the way to your holiday, use your smartphone as a GPS or keep your children busy to shorten the trip.

Internet in the car, anywhere, anytime? To guide you with your smartphone, find a petrol station or occupy the children in the back seat during a long journey… mobile internet is there to save you! While driving on the road, in 4G or WiFi, take advantage of a web connection!

Internet in the car? It’s so easy to stay connected!

To have internet in your car, you will have to use a 3G or 4G mobile network. Certainly some on-board GPS systems already communicate with satellites to show you the way. But for more complete use, you need a real mobile internet connection.
To get internet in a car nowadays, there are still the problems of reception of the mobile network. Between tunnels, obstacles, isolated areas where you won’t have a network and the speed of travel, it is difficult to enjoy a correct web access permanently in a vehicle. Moreover, in a car, with its metal body, this implies a Faraday cage effect. The reception with smartphone is therefore less good …

If there are specific pay systems on some cars to get internet, the simplest way is to take advantage of the 3G or 4G network from your smartphone. Provided, of course, that you don’t manipulate it while driving!
Access is then free, as long as you always have mobile internet on your bundle. Beyond your included data, depending on the bundle, there may be additional costs. It’s time to crack for a package with 20Gb, 50Gb or unlimited internet…

How do I access the Internet in my car?

To have Internet in your car, several solutions are possible. First of all, there are systems embedded by the manufacturer. The best known is via the on-board computer, with GPS, but also various connected assistance and diagnostic services (OnStar at Opel…). The system is generally based on a SIM card integrated into the vehicle supplied by a traditional telecom operator.

The other most obvious solution for accessing the Internet in a car is a smartphone, via the mobile network of the car’s operator. You will then surf the internet in 3G/4G as you would when you are on the street or on the move. Obviously, if you don’t have a network anymore, you lose your access to the Web. You can then share in WiFi your internet connection with the other passengers…

The latest solution comes from small 4G portable Wi-Fi hotspots connected to the Internet. They carry an Orange, SFR, Bouygues or Free SIM card, with only one mobile internet use. They also use a shared WiFi internet connection. Visit my-webspot.com for more about pocket Wi-Fi in Europe.

Internet accessible by car anywhere in France? Not yet…

Enjoy internet on the road, it is possible and potentially cheap. But it all depends on your operator’s 3G/4G coverage. Major efforts are being made by Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile to try to ensure good network coverage, at least on major roads and motorways. However, there are still many white zones without any mobile network.

If you want to use the Internet in your car, you’ve understood that, unless you stay in urban areas, it’s better to avoid Free!

Connected to the Internet also in buses and coaches

In buses, coaches and trams, some of them also offer free internet access. This depends on the investments made by local authorities or private operators. For example, long-distance bus and coach companies often offer WiFi access to the Web, usually free of charge.
They most often use a 4G modem-router that connects to the mobile networks of national operators to share the connection on the bus. So with the same network connection problems, except that they are equipped with external antennas and signal amplifiers, so with a better reception quality in theory .