Broadband in Spain

[gatvol]

I am off to France, Portugal and Spain shortly. Has anyone found a good way of getting mobile broadband in Portugal and Spain please that avoids enormous roaming charges.

My Europa Sim, purchased from Motorhome Wifi last year seems to have given up the ghost. I can use a Three pay dongle in France, but I have not found a way of getting a service in Spain and Portugal

Many thanks

 

[teeboy]

Has your phone contract not got the option for discounted roaming.

I recently did a tour around northen Europe and just used my UK vodaphone SIM. If you subscribe to EuroTraveller (which is a free option) then you just pay £3 per day for the days you use the phone. (It was £2 when I used it, but it has just gone up :-( )

You are basically paying £3 per day to use your UK allowance abroad.

This will be expensive for long stays abroad, but for 1 or 2 week holidays I think it is reasonable and simple. You can control which days you get billed by turning off data - you get billed for each day you use data or make a call - receiving texts and calls does not incur any cost.

I think the other big phone networks do something different. EE appears to be only for calls and texts, but O2 appears to be similar to Vodafone for £1.99 per day.

T

 

[estresao]

Hi,

At Spain broandband is not as cheap as here. I recommend you to get a prepaid (pay as yo go) SIM card. I'm using Movistar (O2 at UK) and I'm paying around 7 euros a week. It's not unlimited, but good enought if you don't need to upload/donwload lots of pictures/videos.

Movistar is the biggest Spanish operator (they are the owners of O2), but there are also Vodafone and Orange.

There is a company called Pepephone that are really good and will start using Movistar network, but I'm not sure whether they have prepaid option

 

[KernowLad]

We're on EE and used a package where you "trigger" a data allowance of 100MB if you switch on 3G but pay no more. It's not a lot but it was enough to check basic info and emails.

We've had our bill (two phones) and its higher than usual but not silly.

 

[estresao]

According to Spanish Movistar web page (http://www.movistar.es/particulares/movil/tarifas-tarjeta/tarifas-movistar/) you've got:

- Tarifa Internet 3: 3 EUR a week (3,63 VAT included) that offers you up to 100Mb a week at maximum speed

- Tarifa Diaria Internet: 1.90 EUR a day (2.29 VAT included) that offers you 250Mb a day at maximum speed.

If you have no already a Movistar SIM, you have to get one that costs 10 EUR (which can be used)

I have not checked others operators, but for sure there are more similar options.

When you arrive to Spain you can approach any shopping center (Carrefor of example) where you can find similar ones to Carphone Warehouse, where you can find different options. These shopping center usually close at 10:00PM.

 

[Martin]

Great info Estresao, thank you for posting.

 

[estresao]

no problem

 

[gatvol]

Very helpful, thank you.

 

[KernowLad]

I forgot to say, it was £2.50 a day (for 100MB) and triggered when you used 3G. I thought that seemed fairly good.
What IS annoying though is when you've left roaming on and switch the phone on the next day; triggering another £2.50, sometimes when you don't need to use it!

 

[gatvol]

I have been stung by this "turn your phone on charge" before. Safest to use two phones if possible, as it is very easy to leave the wrong settings in place when you turn a sole phone off.

 

[estresao]

I work at European level and usually when I arrive to a different country always get a local SIM. My phone, a Samsung Galaxy S2 is unlocked.

It could be funny see me at the airport lounges changing SIM cards and currency :laugh2

At this moment I have 3 or 4 SIM cards in my wallet.

Usually I don´t call when abroad but use data based applications (Whatapps, Hungout, Skipe, Viver, etc...), and of course, despite I have in my smartphone Sygic installed and updated maps to be able to use then off'-line, some times I have to access Internet to get further information about places, restaurants, etc...

Using local SIMs is my cheapest approach.

 

[Larkrise]

Any thoughts on a data only SIM for Spain, for our router? ( in case our EuropaSIM plays up)?

 

[estresao]

Probably there are someone, but I don't know. There are several phone companies and each one offers a lot of combinations.

As far as I've seen looks like yo could get a pay as you go SIM card providing more advantages for data than for voice.

SIM cards are standard, so I guess any one should work on your router.

 

[Larkrise]

Thank you, Chris

 

[gatvol]

Suggest you try using your Europa sim in the uk now. I think ours died as we did not touch it for 11 months, there is something on the web about this.

I would think that routers may need to be unblocked too, but I defer to those who know about such things.

Mobile telephony remains a rip off, riddled with anticompetitive practices and effective penalties that ought to be regulated out of existence.