Bouygues Telecom will stop offering prepaid plans in June 2025, forcing users of these formulas to change operators. And why at Free Mobile, which could launch itself on this market…

Bouygues Telecom will stop offering prepaid plans in June 2025, forcing users of these formulas to change operators. And why at Free Mobile, which could launch itself on this market…

Today, most users with a smartphone subscribe to a traditional mobile offer, which gives access to a certain number of data and hours of communication each month for a monthly payment. However, there are still a few diehard resisters who prefer the prepaid offer solution to this method. Instead of subscribing to a monthly plan, you simply buy credit for a given volume of calls, SMS/MMS and Internet data. Depending on the plan chosen, you then have several days, or even several months, to take advantage of this volume. Once the credit is used up or the duration has expired, you can then top up the card in order to continue using the line. In short, it is perfect for more occasional and limited use.

Bouygues Telecom is a major player in this segment of communications. Or rather, was. Because as reported Alloforfaitthe operator has announced that it will end the service of all its prepaid offers as of June 30, 2025, with the exception of its My European Sim offer intended for foreign tourists. And it is Free that could well take over…

End of Bouygues prepaid packages: a two-step process

Two steps will be implemented before the total end of the offers. Thus, it will be possible to make the purchase of top-ups until December 30, 2024. Beyond this date, users will no longer be able to buy credit and will therefore have to manage their remaining credits until the service is definitively stopped. In addition, if they decide to keep their number, they will have to port it before June 30, 2025. After this deadline, the SIM cards will simply become inoperable.

Customers will then have two options: migrate to a Bouygues or B&You flat-rate offer, or choose another operator. In the first case, simply choose your new offer from your customer area and the phone number is automatically kept. In the second case, however, it is necessary to request your RIO code (the Operator Identity Statement, a code associated with a line with an operator) via 3179 in order to port the number. An SMS will then be sent to the user to transmit it to them. This code will need to be communicated to the new operator, who will be responsible for canceling their offer with Bouygues Telecom.

Free prepaid packages: aggressive rates in preparation

With this decision, Bouygues Telecom is therefore definitively withdrawing from the prepaid card market. A significant market all the same, since there were still around 6.9 million prepaid cards in circulation in France in 2023. Other players include SFR and Orange, as well as virtual mobile network operators Lycamobile and Lebara. However, the void left by Bouygues Telecom could quickly be filled by Free, if we are to believe the latest rumors.

Free Mobile is not completely unfamiliar with the prepaid concept. The operator already offers a 300 GB package with a validity of one month on its automatic terminals. However, it does not yet have a real range of prepaid offers like some of its competitors. However, user @Tiino_X83, known for his investigations in the telecoms field, revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that he had discovered a website under construction, which would be dedicated to Free’s prepaid offers.

According to the analysis of the JavaScript code of the Free Pro offers with ChatGPT, a national Pass and an international Pass would be part of the game with top-ups for amounts of €5, €10, €30 and €100. A €5 SIM pack, with a SIM card and a top-up, would also be in preparation. We are therefore impatiently waiting for Free, known for its aggressive prices, to reveal more details!