[waffffffle]

My sister is about to leave on Tuesday for a semester abroad in Spain. She is bringing an unlocked V66 phone (tri-band) with her and will buy prepaid service once she gets there. She's a bit concerned about this, mostly because she doesn't speak spanish all that well (she is going to an american school) so it might be hard for her to buy service and not get taken for a ride as an american.

Does anyone have experience buying phone service in Spain, ideally in the Seville area? Is it possible to buy her service online now before she leaves? T-Mobile tells us they don't offer prepaid global service (only contract service). We're trying to make sure she has a working phone as soon as possible.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[Goldfinger]

Pre paid cards are sold in boxes in europe, you get them of the shelves. It's a box with a SIM, phonenumber and a PIN.

[history1me]

Originally posted by Goldfinger:
Pre paid cards are sold in boxes in europe, you get them of the shelves. It's a box with a SIM, phonenumber and a PIN.

I liked their (Europe) system, when I lived in Paris, I only paid as much as I used to. You get used to texing people, since that is the cheapest mode to communicate. The cool thing, and I think it's the same in Spain, when people call your cell, you don't loose $$. Only when you call.

Don't worry about her Spanish not being so good. She's going to a University, there a ton of foreigners and others that speak English. Also, administrators deal with student issues all the time, i.e phones.

[Trygve]

I have used my mobile with local SIM cards are over the world (Republic of Georgia, Czech Rep., UAE, Australia, New Zealand). It has never been a problem to buy a SIM card. The scratch off cards to add credit are sold everywhere.

The American system of charging you to receive phone calls is just stupid. In the rest of the world, you only pay to place calls.

Trygve

[vinster]

Originally posted by Trygve:
The American system of charging you to receive phone calls is just stupid. In the rest of the world, you only pay to place calls.

Trygve

Tell me about it, the situation over here's pathetic...

This is an area that really pisses me off. I had a hard time getting used to my "cell phone" when I moved here from the UK last summer.

It's more than the fact you use up minutes or pay for incoming calls that's stupid. There are at least three different wireless technologies in use here in America, none of which are compatible with each other. Plus, the Sprint, Verizon, Nextel and other non-GSM phones are lame in so many ways compared to the phones in Europe (the tri-bands do make it over here but Europe always gets them about six months ahead of the US). Another lame thing is that the GSM carriers LOCK their phones to the network, charge outrageous prices for a decent phone and make you sign a 2-or-more year contract.

...And nobody seems to care about straightening out the situation.

I sure hope 3G/UMTS will change things over here (but not counting on it...)

...END RANT...

[waffffffle]

Thanks for the info. I didn't know that it was so simple. Here, buying a cell phone is not such a simple process (at least if you don't want to over pay). What kind of stores sell the cards? And how much do they typically cost?

If I call her from the US it will be free for her to receive calls? That's pretty cool (and lame in the US). Will her phone number ever change? So i take it they sell 2 kinds of cards - one with a SIM card (giving you a phone number) and the "scratch off" mentioned above, that let you add on more minutes. Is this correct?

[angelmb]

As any other country there is a crazy thingy about cell phones here in Spain, your sister must have no problem in getting pre-paid cell service here, she could even get a new phone at ridiculous prices. Don't worry about that.

About the spanish thingy, she is going to a region where the people have a "peculiar" accent, not the best one to someone trying to get used to spanish

[Goldfinger]

Originally posted by waffffffle:
Thanks for the info. I didn't know that it was so simple. Here, buying a cell phone is not such a simple process (at least if you don't want to over pay). What kind of stores sell the cards? And how much do they typically cost?

If I call her from the US it will be free for her to receive calls? That's pretty cool (and lame in the US). Will her phone number ever change? So i take it they sell 2 kinds of cards - one with a SIM card (giving you a phone number) and the "scratch off" mentioned above, that let you add on more minutes. Is this correct?

Receiving calls in Europe NEVER costs money (unless your roaming in another country), it doesn't matter who calls you. No the phonenumber will never change, don't see how this can happen.
You are correct about the SIM card + minute-cards. In some countries you can even reload from an ATM, stick your card in, type in your phone number and select the amount you want to put on the SIM.

I think (not sure, since I have a contract and not a pre paid card) that a SIM costs about €25 and that the extra minute-cards range from €5 to €30 or something like that.

They sell these cards everwhere, from telco-shops to groceries and supermarkets.

[voodoo]

Originally posted by angelmb:
About the spanish thingy, she is going to a region where the people have a "peculiar" accent, not the best one to someone trying to get used to spanish

Could be worse. Could be Catalunya ;

[angelmb]

Originally posted by voodoo:
Could be worse. Could be Catalunya ;

hahaha nothing like master english then