Communication in Spain... & More

Mobile Phones in Spain

Ask your mobile phone network provider for advice about validating your mobile for international calls and for international call discount rates. Remember that calls are routed via the UK so if you phone a local Spanish number you will need to dial 0034 before the local number. When calling back to the UK you need to dial 0044, and omit the first zero from the UK number you are dialing from Spain.

For example our UK number 0208 645 6655 called from Spain becomes 0044 208 645 6655. Our number in Spain 605 116 589 is pre fixed with 0034 when dialing from the UK i.e. 0034 605 116 589.

Calls that you accept on your mobile from the UK will be charged to you as well as the sender.

If you are planning to buy a Spanish mobile ask some local people which network provides the best service in the area that you plan to be. This is by far the best thing to do if you are planning to be in Spain permanently or frequently.

Telephones in Spain

The main landline service in Spain is provided by Telefónica which is part government owned and there can sometimes be delays with installation, so a good idea is to get on to them well in advance of when you actually want your phone installed. The installation cost varies from around €150 - €260 or free of charge if you just want to change the bill payers name on an existing line.

Many people moving to Spain now use a re-seller service - Tele2 for example offers very cheap calls to Europe and around €.03 per minute within Spain.

Internet Services in Spain

ADSL:

Terra and Orange appear to be quite reliable providers of 24hr internet services and it’s possible to receive phone calls while connected. Rates work out to about €40 monthly. You choose between a modem with USB connection (free) or a DSL router. We’ve seen a massive improvement in service since 2004 even in the countryside!