Buying Telephones in Spain by Geoff Cummings
Moving to Spain
When you want to get a phone connected then you can of course contact the phone company. Sometimes, if you see a phone engineer near to your villa he carries a list of new numbers around with him. He will connect you, get you to sign a contract and he will notify the phone company. We paid no fee with the land phone, though others have paid an installation fee of 150 Euros or even 250 Euros for nonresidents. Telefónica is the equivalent of our British Telecom. As with any big organization their service isn`t always up to what we would expect.
There has recently started up a lot of competition in the phone industry so shop around, but as usual, it will be advisable to get recommends first. A mobile is useful, with several companies to choose from. When you get a landline a phone is provided at the same time, but a BT phone will work over there. If you want to go on broadband, the main phone providers all do this, but it tends to be dearer than in the UK. and not as easy to get sorted out if a fault occurs. There are eight numbers making up a landline and they start with the number nine. Mobiles are also eight numbered and start with a six. As with water and electric, pay by direct debit, as they do not notify you if they want to cut you off. There are different tariffs available, but you will find that your bills are similar to the UK.
Mobile Phones
Companies are battling to get business, so don`t go for the first deal for a mobile phone you see. If you have a phone from the UK then you will need to have it unlocked, but that`s likely to cost much less than buying a new phone in Spain. Fortunately the UK and Spanish systems are compatable. Shopping around pays. You`ll find different deals just like in the UK.
As with the UK, if you don`t use the mobile phone much, then opting for a pay-as-you go is your best bet. That way you only pay for what you use.
You can recharge (recargar in Spanish) your pay-as-you-go phone with more credit (saldo) at lots of places, including grocery stores, phone stores, newsagents, bank machines and with online banking.
Moviestar, Telitec, Europa, Viva, Vodaphone, Orange are just a few of the companies you can use. Of those probably Moviestar – the oldest- gives the best coverage.
What puts many Brits off phoning around for the best deals is the language barrier. To overcome that some mobile phone companies say they have customer service personnel who can speak multiple languages.
Viva, for example, have this on their website-
“The Viva mobile team is made up of people from your country, who are familiar with the problems involved in using mobile communications services in Spain.
When choosing Viva mobile, simply tell us the language you require for our services, which our representatives will use with you at all times:”
Internet
The Spanish Industry Ministry have promised Broadband Internet as a right to everyone in Spain by 2011. A guaranteed connection to 1 mega in any part of the country has been promised. This ‘universal service’, currently supplied by Telefónica, will cover telephone connection, telephone directories, phone boxes, and a basic Internet connection, and as it will be opened up to other operators in 2011 it ought to result in competitive rates.
About the Author
More on life in Spain at http://www.expatsinspain.co.uk
angry ANGRY BT customer! Very Funny!
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