# What cell phone provider in Spain?



## sloanrobe (Apr 30, 2019)

I would like some input on what cell phone service provider you use in Spain. We will be moving to Barcelona in August. We have unlimited data plans in the US, but I am not sure if something like that is available in Barcelona.


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola 

I recently was offered and accepted an unlimited deal - unlimited calls, unlimited texts and unlimited data. Cost is 50€ a month with Vodafone 

Davexf


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

Unlimited data isn't the norm in Spain. But as mentioned, Vodafone has recently added an unlimited data plan. Also, texts are usually not included (nor even mentioned) because virtually nobody in Spain sends texts any more. What's used is whatsapp. 

Here are a few comparison sites where you can get an idea of what is offered. 

https://www.rastreator.com/telefonia/articulos-destacados/tarifas-de-datos-ilimitadas.aspx

https://www.comparaiso.es/ofertas/movil/tarifas/datos-ilimitados

FYI, if you are planning on getting internet at home, a cell phone package is usually included.


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

Lobster do some good sim deals especially including phoning abroad. I think you can sign up online. Worth a look.


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## tarot650 (Sep 30, 2007)

Roy C said:


> Lobster do some good sim deals especially including phoning abroad. I think you can sign up online. Worth a look.


https://www.lobster.es


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## ClaireRuss (Jun 19, 2019)

This is so helpful, what a shame its all in Spanish, I am still at early learning stages as I have not been here for long.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Roy C said:


> Lobster do some good sim deals especially including phoning abroad. I think you can sign up online. Worth a look.


I think you will find that Lebara offers cheaper pay-as-you-go packages. I have been with Lebara for years and when I saw the ads for Lobster I checked them out. Needless to say I am still with Lebara!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

ClaireRuss said:


> This is so helpful, what a shame its all in Spanish, I am still at early learning stages as I have not been here for long.


Fear not, technology will solve all your problems! You can get a built-in translator for your browser. For example if you use Chrome, install this and then you can just right-click on the page and it will translate it all into English.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-translate/aapbdbdomjkkjkaonfhkkikfgjllcleb?hl=en

Internet Explorer has something similar, you just need to install the Bing toolbar if it's not there already.

https://help.bing.microsoft.com/#apex/18/en-US/40019/1

Or you can just cut and paste all the Spanish text into Google Translate.

https://translate.google.com/


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

thinking of buying sim free and getting pre-paid sim, as hardly do any voice calls these days and just odd text when I get lost out and about lol


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

The Skipper said:


> I think you will find that Lebara offers cheaper pay-as-you-go packages. I have been with Lebara for years and when I saw the ads for Lobster I checked them out. Needless to say I am still with Lebara!


I think it might be worth looking again, as Lobster does unlimited international calls to many countries and unlimited in Spain as well. Look at the Lobster link above.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

sloanrobe said:


> I would like some input on what cell phone service provider you use in Spain. We will be moving to Barcelona in August. We have unlimited data plans in the US, but I am not sure if something like that is available in Barcelona.


I had a text advert from Vodafone this morning offering unlimited data and unlimited calls for €40 a month.

Not of interest to me (I'm happy with my 2 Gb and 100 minutes from Yoigo, €11 a month), but it might be the sort of thing you are after.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Alcalaina said:


> I had a text advert from Vodafone this morning offering unlimited data and unlimited calls for €40 a month.
> 
> Not of interest to me (I'm happy with my 2 Gb and 100 minutes from Yoigo, €11 a month), but it might be the sort of thing you are after.


SUOP do a tariff of 4gig, 150 minutes for just 4,95€ a month. They are on the Orange network


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

do they do credit checks on contracts. as I have only been in spain 2 weeks I won't have a credit history here (or is it worldwide?). Do have a NIE though...


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

snikpoh said:


> SUOP do a tariff of 4gig, 150 minutes for just 4,95€ a month. They are on the Orange network


sounds great. I couldnt read the t&c as its PDF in spanish? any catches, such as price trebling after a year?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

andyviola said:


> sounds great. I couldnt read the t&c as its PDF in spanish? any catches, such as price trebling after a year?


Not that I know of. It's also "sin permanencia" - you can leave when you want with no penalty.


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

andyviola said:


> do they do credit checks on contracts. as I have only been in spain 2 weeks I won't have a credit history here (or is it worldwide?). Do have a NIE though...


No credit checks. But you will need a Spanish bank account for direct debit.


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

We just switched our phones to Republica Movil. It's fully owned by Orange so it uses the Orange network. 3Gb of data and 150 minutes in calls for 6€. No "permanencia" so if we don't like it we can leave. It gets great reviews for its app and also for its customer service, which is what the deciding factor was for us. Hopefully we'll never need the customer service but it's nice to know that if we need to use it we'll be able to talk to a real person who is efficient and effective at getting things sorted.


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## vincent1888 (Jul 1, 2019)

Orange have some very good deals at the moment that include internet packages.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

snikpoh said:


> SUOP do a tariff of 4gig, 150 minutes for just 4,95€ a month. They are on the Orange network


Looks good, though the Orange network isn't as reliable as the Movistar one where I live (lots of mountains). But very good value and I like the fact that it's collaborative, i.e. run by its users. Inspired by Giffgaff in the UK it seems.

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suop_Mobile


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## tarot650 (Sep 30, 2007)

Update on Lobster.Had the card for a month now no restrictions on phone calls or texts.Make as many calls or texts as you want.Even phone calls to the USA are free so for 12€ IVA included a month,well pleased plus if you don't like it you can cancel at any time.Looked at cheaper alternatives and they can't compare with Lobster.I mean,free phone calls to the USA which I have done a few of as still in touch with record dealers over there and it's for a full month not 4weeks like some.Well chuffed with it.


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> I had a text advert from Vodafone this morning offering unlimited data and unlimited calls for €40 a month.
> 
> Not of interest to me (I'm happy with my 2 Gb and 100 minutes from Yoigo, €11 a month), but it might be the sort of thing you are after.


Hola 

Having now seen the Vodafone book - they do three unlimited packages but only the highest priced one is at "full speed". The others throttle the speed of the unlimited data - the second highest (45.99€) is at 10Mbps and the lowest (40.99€) is 2Mbps 

Davexf


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## mat.roberts93 (Jun 26, 2019)

I'm looking to be moving over to Spain in September and my current contract comes for renewal this month. Part of me is tempted to just renew my current contract with Vodafone UK and take that to Spain with me. Give you get completely free roaming these days through most of Europe (at least with Vodafone) I'm not sure why it wouldn't be worth it (especially give you also get free calls back to the UK too).

Anyone got any ideas of why this isnt a good idea (apart from billing address)...


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

mat.roberts93 said:


> I'm looking to be moving over to Spain in September and my current contract comes for renewal this month. Part of me is tempted to just renew my current contract with Vodafone UK and take that to Spain with me. Give you get completely free roaming these days through most of Europe (at least with Vodafone) I'm not sure why it wouldn't be worth it (especially give you also get free calls back to the UK too).
> 
> Anyone got any ideas of why this isnt a good idea (apart from billing address)...


Free roaming within the EU might not survive a no-deal Brexit.


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## mat.roberts93 (Jun 26, 2019)

Alcalaina said:


> Free roaming within the EU might not survive a no-deal Brexit.


From what I last heard the major network providers were intending on carrying it on regardless of what transition we have out. Things may have changed since I last read about it but Vodafone, EE and O2 were all intending on carrying on the free roaming.


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

mat.roberts93 said:


> From what I last heard the major network providers were intending on carrying it on regardless of what transition we have out. Things may have changed since I last read about it but Vodafone, EE and O2 were all intending on carrying on the free roaming.


I have my mobile with Virgin and get bad service in spain (not connecting, having to reset the phone etc)
And when I spoke to them a couple of weeks ago they said that "they may continue to provide free roaming in Europe, but it would depend on multiple factors."

I won't be holding my breath.....


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## mat.roberts93 (Jun 26, 2019)

Barriej said:


> I have my mobile with Virgin and get bad service in spain (not connecting, having to reset the phone etc)
> And when I spoke to them a couple of weeks ago they said that "they may continue to provide free roaming in Europe, but it would depend on multiple factors."
> 
> I won't be holding my breath.....


Hmm, good to know. No reason they can't do it, it would just be the greed getting the better of them.


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

mat.roberts93 said:


> Hmm, good to know. No reason they can't do it, it would just be the greed getting the better of them.


Im going to play devils advocate here. The ruling of roaming was an EU regulation which was not adopted into British law. So Im guessing that all the operators here in the Uk will very quickly drop the free roaming as soon as the B word is completed.

And here is the info from the Uk gov website.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mobile-roaming-after-eu-exit


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

have gone for orange. clearest webite, lots of choices a d get 30+ Mbits/sec on 4G


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## anh12 (Apr 17, 2019)

*anh12*

My experience: I need Movistar coverage as that's the only one that works in the two areas of Spain I hang out in, both with hills that get in the way. After speaking to people, in Spanish, in three different Movistar shops when I tried to get a prepaid sim card, I finally got some clarity. They don't do prepaid anymore but will do a minimum of three months plans with a Spanish bank account to debit from. That was a week before I opened a bank account. I believe this is something fairly new, which is why so many of their own people had trouble explaining it. 

In the meantime, I used an Orange prepaid sim which worked great when I could get a signal, and offered 15+10 GB of data per month for 20 euros, which came in handy as I use a lot of data. The problem as that I often got no signal or a very weak one.

Then a neighbor told me she uses Digi, which does prepaid with 4G and uses the Movistar network. I found a little shop selling the Digi sim cards and it's great. I called their customer service when I had a problem getting data to work (an issue with my dual sim phone, not them) and they were able to send a fix over the phone. They also have customer service in English. I got unlimited calls and 20 GB for 20 euros. They also have 3 GB for 10 euros, 6GB for 15 euros, all with unlimited calls. Works great and I didn't need to commit, which is perfect as I spend more time out of Spain than in (unfortunately).


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## chrisnation (Mar 2, 2009)

mat.roberts93 said:


> I'm looking to be moving over to Spain in September and my current contract comes for renewal this month. Part of me is tempted to just renew my current contract with Vodafone UK and take that to Spain with me. Give you get completely free roaming these days through most of Europe (at least with Vodafone) I'm not sure why it wouldn't be worth it (especially give you also get free calls back to the UK too).
> 
> Anyone got any ideas of why this isnt a good idea (apart from billing address)...


If you are still in UK, check out iD Mobile. iD invariably comes 1st in 'MoneySaverExpert' SIM-only deals. I was lucky enough to get their intro offer - 300 mins/3Gb/1m texts [? - never use them] for £5 p.m. - and unused mins and Gbs roll over to the following month. £5 pm gets you less now. £8 pm gets you more.

Once the d.d. with a UK bank is in place, you're set. I maintain my UK bank a/c. They have my Spanish address but iD mobile doesn't. I don't want to risk upset by mentioning ... As long as the d.d keeps rolling in every month and I have the service, everyone's happy. Calls all over EU are as per the UK.

I don't use the landline service bundled with my b/band. I don't use the PAYG deal I have with Orange. It's very expensive and I have found Orange c/s to be the absolute pits. They denied running fibre b/band to my street in central Valencia. When my gestora mentioned that there is an Orange fibre terminal box on the wall next to my front door, the sales-cretin put the phone down.

The only prob I have is that some institutions and most on-line forms require a Spanish phone number. I make sure they understand that my Sp number is for admin purposes only and that it is entirely useless for comms. This has worked for the past 4 years.


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

well I have no choice. Dire Internet where I live - no fibre and ADSL speed the movistar man quoted as 1 Mbit/s 

so going for vodafone mobile unlimited at 50 euros a month and will need to stream uk tv etc by using my mobile as a hotspot...

(my orange 4g router ideas didnt work as I consume far more than 1.5 gig a day....bit of a nightmare if I'm honest)


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

chrisnation said:


> When my gestora mentioned that there is an Orange fibre terminal box on the wall next to my front door, the sales-cretin put the phone down.


I dont wanna be a whinging pom after 1 month, but hanging up is someything I (well my gestor) has experienced a lot with tracking an order for example. I dont remember ever being "hung up" in uk, so I guess there is just a different mentality here or less sensitive conscience ....very upsetting though.


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## chrisnation (Mar 2, 2009)

andyviola said:


> well I have no choice. Dire Internet where I live - no fibre and ADSL speed the movistar man quoted as 1 Mbit/s
> 
> so going for vodafone mobile unlimited at 50 euros a month and will need to stream uk tv etc by using my mobile as a hotspot...
> 
> (my orange 4g router ideas didnt work as I consume far more than 1.5 gig a day....bit of a nightmare if I'm honest)


Can't you get UK TV with a sat dish? From the sound of it you are out in the campo and have room for the 125cm dish that the UK sat broadcasts now require.


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

chrisnation said:


> Can't you get UK TV with a sat dish? From the sound of it you are out in the campo and have room for the 125cm dish that the UK sat broadcasts now require.


Thanks. i looked at all reports from catalunya (cant remember website name) and nobody reported successfully picking up uk channels. Mind you no idea if they tried really huge dish.

Satman seemed to indicate not much hope for catalonia though and uk sat.

really sad about it


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

oh report is here and I am in Calafell in Tarragona, so "western part of catalunya"

https://www.satandpcguy.com/uk-tv-in-spain/uk-satellite-tv-in-barcelona-and-catalonia/


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## chrisnation (Mar 2, 2009)

andyviola said:


> oh report is here and I am in Calafell in Tarragona, so "western part of catalunya"
> 
> https://www.satandpcguy.com/uk-tv-in-spain/uk-satellite-tv-in-barcelona-and-catalonia/


He mentions a 1.8m dish for your area-ish. They go up to 2.5m and more. Size matters! With a good STB like a Humax, this sort of rig is a one-off expense and the prob is solved. The UK broadcasters only recently switched to a new satellite, so it's not something they are going to do again anytime soon. 

The comments I have seen lately about the funding of the BBC mentioned going to a subs service like PBS in the US. The sooner they do this - at a reasonable cost - and flood the planet with the signal, the better for all.

I can imagine using any form of computer access to UK TV to be disappointing. I have been from pillar to post with VPNs. A few weeks of access and then the BBC rumbles it and jams it. I think I'm still paying subs to at least a couple of VPNs which have been jammed after a month or three of access.

The method of having a modem dedicated to your TV, connected to the i/net of your home net, seems great until you come up against this business of the broadcasters constantly searching for and jamming the VPN servers in, in our case, UK.


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

chrisnation said:


> He mentions a 1.8m dish for your area-ish. They go up to 2.5m and more. Size matters! With a good STB like a Humax, this sort of rig is a one-off expense and the prob is solved. The UK broadcasters only recently switched to a new satellite, so it's not something they are going to do again anytime soon.
> 
> The comments I have seen lately about the funding of the BBC mentioned going to a subs service like PBS in the US. The sooner they do this - at a reasonable cost - and flood the planet with the signal, the better for all.
> 
> ...


ah thanks so much. I agree entirely but tvmucho.com is very very good as it connects to the satellites for you. no vpn needed and only 70 euro a year for HD

I am annoyed at myself for not finding someone to at least try the 1.8m dish....

not coping too well with this stuff at the moment if I am to be frank....

my vodafone I was advised I could activate the sim tonight. do you know if I dont activate it then then expensive contract is not activated? I fear not, as I signed something...


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## chrisnation (Mar 2, 2009)

andyviola said:


> ah thanks so much. I agree entirely but tvmucho.com is very very good as it connects to the satellites for you. no vpn needed and only 70 euro a year for HD
> 
> I am annoyed at myself for not finding someone to at least try the 1.8m dish....
> 
> ...


I very much like the look of options from pepephone, which uses the Vodaphone network. 

And now that I have bought a 1.35m dish and paid sparks to run twin co-axe cables from the roof to my audio-viz wall sockets, I'm committed to that. Two years' sub to TVMucho pays for it all.


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

chrisnation said:


> I very much like the look of options from pepephone, which uses the Vodaphone network.
> 
> And now that I have bought a 1.35m dish and paid sparks to run twin co-axe cables from the roof to my audio-viz wall sockets, I'm committed to that. Two years' sub to TVMucho pays for it all.


of course when 5G really takes off the world of internet changes for good....no more "installations" to worry about.

but I very much regret I was overly pessimistic about large dishes....


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

by the way chris who aligned the dish?

dont say yourself or I get very scared indeed as I wouldnt have a clue :help::help::help::help:


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## chrisnation (Mar 2, 2009)

andyviola said:


> by the way chris who aligned the dish?
> 
> dont say yourself or I get very scared indeed as I wouldnt have a clue :help::help::help::help:



Errr ... it will be me. I have downloaded the satellite parameters - azimuth, altitude etc - and have bought a sat finder. There are the usual YT vids showing how to do it.

But first I have to get the dish out of my flat and up onto the terraza/roof. It won't go into the lift so will have to be carted up 5 flights. I need help with this, installing the very substantial bracket - the windage on a 1.35m dish will be considerable - and manhandling it into the ready position. 

In this heat, it can wait.

If all else fails I will call satman


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

Oh dear..I have two left hands. I will check if anyone can do. Doubt satman does Barcelona area


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