In the space of a week, the internet box market has been shaken up by the arrival of two new offers. In addition to the Livebox 7 V2, Free has offered a new, inexpensive plan, the Freebox Pop S.
This proposal is part of a very specific context: that of the explosion of Fiber internet offers without a TV decoder, which offer fiber, but only fiber, and without having to pay more for services that you will not use.
For this comparison, we have therefore selected from the four major operators (and their discount versions) the four offers combining these two characteristics: the cheapest possible and ignoring the TV decoder to save a few more euros per month.
€24.99
€23.99
€23.99
€19.99
instead of €25.99
On pure speed, B&You is unbeatable
Let's start by looking at the heart of the experience, the internet box itself. It's clear that there are two teams in this area: Free and B&You both offer a modern box supporting a recent generation of WiFi. We have Wi-Fi 6E on the Bouygues side and Wi-Fi 7, but in dual band on Free. The two other operators, Sosh and RED, are satisfied with Wi-Fi 5.
| B&You | Free | Sosh | RED by SFR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offer name | Pure Fiber | Pop S | The Sosh Fiber internet box | RED box Fiber |
| WiFi | WiFi 6E | WiFi 7 (dual-band) | WiFi 5 | WiFi 5 |
| Download speed | 8 Gb/s | 5 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s |
| Upstream speed | 1 Gb/s | 900 Mb/s | 800 Mb/s | 1 Gb/s |
| Price per month (in €) | 23.99 | 24.99 | 19.99 for 12 months then 25.99 euros | 23.99 |
In terms of flow rates, we take the same and we start again: Orange and RED both stall at 1 Gb/s for downloading, the other two do much better. Bouygues went further by going up to 8 Gb/s, compared to 5 Gb/s for Free. Still, regardless of the internet service provider (ISP), you will not be able to benefit from this very high speed without being eligible. Check that this is the case before subscribing to an offer.
With a repeater, Free takes back the advantage
Let's now move on to the options, starting with the presence of a WiFi repeater or not, very practical for extending your Wi-Fi coverage in large homes. On this, you have three possibilities. Sosh does not include it, B&You and RED make it a paid option and Free offers it for free on order.
| B&You | Free | Sosh | RED by SFR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offer name | Pure Fiber | Pop S | Sosh box Fiber | RED box Fiber |
| Repeater | Optional (4€/month) | Free on order | Absent | Optional (€3 per month) |
| Duration of commitment | Without | Without | Without | Without |
| Cancellation Fee Refund | Up to €50 | For new subscribers only | Up to €100 | Up to €100 |
| Support | Free for the first 2 months | Included | Included (via chat) | Included |
| Calls | Not included | Unlimited calls to landlines in France and the French overseas departments | Unlimited calls to landlines in mainland France, the French overseas departments and more than 100 destinations | Unlimited calls to landlines in France, Switzerland, Morocco, Belgium and Tunisia. |
| Price per month (in €) | 23.99 | 24.99 | 19.99 for 12 months then 25.99 euros | 23.99 |
Support is included for most offers, but with B&You, it's only for two months. It's worth noting that Bouygues' offer doesn't include unlimited calls to landlines, while its competitors do.
Verdict
At the end of the day, we have two offers that stand out: B&YOU Pure Fibre and Freebox Pop S. The latter seems more comprehensive to us, with the addition of a free repeater and a very decent speed, even if it's not as good as B&You's. Bouygues' MVNO, for its part, will suit users interested in fibre, nothing but fibre and with the best speed. On this point, the pure fiber offer is quite unbeatable and as long as you are not interested in a landline phone (who would throw stones at you?) and you do not need a repeater, it will be perfectly suitable.
Be careful, however, of termination fees which can increase the cost (see table). The new ISP can in most cases reimburse the fees, if you have just moved or if you change supplier.
€24.99
€23.99
€23.99
€19.99
instead of €25.99
The two big losers of the day are RED and Sosh, which currently offer outdated Wi-Fi 5 boxes with much lower speeds, all for a price similar to their competitors. RED, however, is ahead of Sosh, since the SFR sub-brand includes at least one optional repeater in its offering, while Sosh doesn't.
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