Prepaid vs contract
What do I need to open a contract account? Can I just pick one up anywhere or is there a specific place that is recommended here.

I will be living in Spain permanently and I do think it is better to get a contract. Any specific advice on how contracts in Spain might be different than contracts in the US? I normally keep the phone for a few years, so am comfortable with signing a contract, because I get a subsidized phone.

Company
I have seen that Jer and others seem to recommend Vodafone and the 60X1 for the prepaid (especially for use with calling cards). What about for contracts, is Vodafone better as well?


Specific contract:
Here is my current use:
I use phones for about 75-100 minutes a month (in the office most of the time)
I use text messages (about 200-300 a month) and they will mainly be going international back home
I use GPRS for mobile internet (about 50 MB a month should do the trick)

I would appreciate any insight on the best plan that might suit my needs with the various companies.

Thanks!

hey c_i_m.

getting a contract can often times depend on the day you go and the employee you get. members of this forum have gotten contracts with just their passports.

one thing you will have to get used to is the fact that cell use in spain is a LOT more expensive than in the u.s.a.

there are not pay X per month and get X minutes or anything like that here. here you pay a per minute rate depending on the contract you choose, time of day you call, type of phone you call, etc...

vodafone is my personal preference but international calling with any of the companies on contract is very steep so you will need to get a calling card for that (unless money is no object). the eurodirect + voda pay as you go system does not work on contract. the best you will do to call back to the u.s.a./canada is get a vodafone contract on their "contrato 1" which i believe is available now at either official voda shops or resellers like the phone house. the contrato 1 will allow you to use the eurodirect cards and you will pay 1 cent per minute to connect to the eurodirect access number (+ the 15 cent per call connection fee). then the 6 euro eurodirect card takes care of the airtime back home and gives you 800 minutes!!! see www.europhonecards.org for the eurodirect card.

as for your situation...

quote:

I use phones for about 75-100 minutes a month (in the office most of the time)

- cost will depend on the company and contract you end up going with. go to shops and check out curent offers.

quote:

I use text messages (about 200-300 a month) and they will mainly be going international back home

- YIKERS!!! this is where you will REALLY feel the difference between here and the u.s.a. while the major companies here do have certain special texting plans like pay 6 euros a month and get 1,000 texts or something like that, they DO NOT INCLUDE international texting. sending a text abroad will cost you 60 eurocents so @ 200-300 texts, you do the math also, even when you send an international text, the cell companies do not guarantee it will be delivered. this is mostly due to the fact that the cell cos here do not have their own networks in north america so the text can get "lost" traveling across countries and across networks. the only thing you are guaranteed is that they will charge you for it whether it is delivered or not you will have to find and alternative to international texting unless you have that kind of money to waste.

quote:

I use GPRS for mobile internet (about 50 MB a month should do the trick)

- you will need a data line as well then. look into the "navega y habla" offers from vodafone. that may be right up your alley. just go into a shop and ask.

saludos,
jer...

For texting I use skype 20 euro cents a message worldwide and no need to use the phone keypad.

I would suggust going with a prepaid one at first (Jer has some great deals on them) and switch to a contract once you've been here for a bit and can shop around. I did that and can keep the same number.

Jer,

Where is your store, and where can I come to pick up a pre-paid sim?

Thanks!

Another option is to get a phone with wifi and then you can use wifi networks (for free) or sign up for "navega y habla" and use a skype like service for international calls and the internet for international sms/emails... I use the Nokia E65. My SO has an HTC touch. With vodafone, I've gotten better deals by calling and online than in the stores (though you have to wait for them to send you the phone).

Are WIFI networks widespread?

I plan on using Skype so that should be fine. I guess I will use it for SMS as well.

I appreciate your insight on the website. I guess the tough thing is that I don't speak Spanish and much of what is on the site doesn't make sense. Which is making it tough to compare movistar and vodafone to find out which would have a plan that would be better for mine.

I guess going for a prepaid account initially seems to make sense.

There are wifi networks all over...most are closed, but it's not that hard to patch together a mental list of strategic spots with open wifi. You can always connect using 3G (and pay a daily rate or a flat monthly rate)--this is available everywhere in Madrid. I connect mostly to my home wifi and one at school (and a few others that I know about in various places) and when I leave Madrid, I pay to use 3G. These phones can also be used as modems for a laptop.

The phone companies don't tend to advertise which phones have wifi and which don't, but I know that Vodafone doesn't block your ability to make wifi calls.

Phone house used to have a good "compare plans" page online... I'm not sure if they still do. The deals that you will get switching from a prepaid card to a contract are different (and better, I think) than what you would get just getting the contract.

quote:

Originally posted by c_i_m:
Jer,

Where is your store, and where can I come to pick up a pre-paid sim?

Thanks!

http://www.spainsim.com/home.htm

Hi,

I normally use The Phone House (www.thephonehouse.es). They have a magazine which compares the prepaid and contract rates for all of the operators they work with (I think all except Telefónica).

If you plan to get ADSL internet, then all of the operators have a flat fee including national calls. Skype is definately the cheapest I've found for intl. calls (1.7 cent/min to the Us, free if its to a Skype user).

If you need to make calls overseas from a mobile phone, the cheapest is Happy Movil (sold and run by The Phone House - especially targeting inmigrants) and only 4 cents/min to the US (its cheaper to call overseas than domestically). The infrastructure used is that of Vodafone.

There is a new operator, we just got a prepaid card for my son with this one (from The Phone House)! Its the absolute cheapest for domestic calls - 8 cents/min if you sign up for automatic recharging from a bank account and 12 cents/min if you want a prepaid contract (flat fee 24 hours to both fixed and cell phones). All details are in its web (www.masmovil.es), which is in Spanish only I believe. It is a new company (uses Orange's infrastructure and was set up by ex-MacKinseys).

If you sign up saying it was recommended to you (this option is available directly through the website), both you and your referral contact get 5 Euros in credit to your accounts (if you choose masmovil and want my son's number to do this - send me a private message).

If you are going to be traveling around Spain with your cell phone, you will need to look into coverage. For example, my husband's little village only gets coverage from Telefónica (the most expensive option normally - but most reliable for ADSL service at least) and Orange (so, my personal phone is Orange).

Anyway, good luck and give us some feedback once you make your decision!

Val

quote:

If you plan to get ADSL internet, then all of the operators have a flat fee including national calls. Skype is definately the cheapest I've found for intl. calls (1.7 cent/min to the Us, free if its to a Skype user).

There are a lot cheaper and better options than Skype for internet to land calls.
Take a look at VOIPDiscount or FreeCall.
With VOIPDiscount you pay a flat fee of 10€ every 4 months and call internationally for 5 hours a week (you pay 1 cent€ when you run out of your "free time"). Not all countries but a lot, you can find the list here:
http://www.voipdiscount.com/en/free.html
Also, the sms rates are very low, you pay 5 cent€ to mobiles in Spain and 6 cent€ to US. This way you can use up your 10€ credit. As far as call quality goes, I find VOIPdiscount better than Skype, but of course sometimes one can get a bad connection, like with any type of call.

Thank you all for the info.

I went with Yoigo. It was very cheap in terms of minutes: 11 cents. (and 14 to land lines) I made a 3 minute international call and it was only 1 €.

Also, texts (both domestic and International) are only 14 cents.

Finally, I can access the net using my phone on it. There is a 1 cent per KB charge, but the maximum daily limit is 1 €. That is a very good deal.

The only difference with Yoigo is that there is a minimum 7 € monthly usage. So even, if you only use it for 3€, they will still deduct 7€

So for me, this worked out to be the best. I guess it would all depend on the person and what they need to use the phone for.

I walked into a Phonehouse, (one near the US embassy) and there was someone working there who spoke enough English for both of us to understand each other. She recommended Yoigo because it had the cheapest data rates. PM me if you need the settings for access the data.

Just as Val recommended, they have a sheet that compares all the prices. Its pretty self explanatory. You can also access that sheet here: http://www.phonehouse.es/document/tarifas.pdf

Good luck.

Very interesting discussion, indeed. I still call the States for 1 céntimo al minuto. I have Contrato Uno and all landlines and Vodafone phone after 6pm and on weekends are just 1 céntimo al minuto. Cut my phone bill way down and since I work during the day, I don't have time to call anyone and the majority of my friends have Vodafone to begin with.

Life is very good,

Shawn

Shawn,

Is that a prepaid offer or a contract?

Can I just go down to a phone house and set this up?

This is a contract with Vodafone and I suggest that you call them to see if they still offer Contrato Uno because I changed to this contract back in 2005. I think that they may still offer it, but with different restrictions.

Look into it and please report back.

Suerte,

Shawn