GSM cell phones in Spain

I am planning on purchasing a GSM cell phone to use next semester in spain. I have done a search on this topic and found great info, but I still have one question. On the webpages it says that for spain, I need a GSM phone that functions at a 900/1800 frequency. This may be a silly question (but I know NOTHING about all this technical stuff ).... does that mean the cell phone has to function at both 900/1800 frequency, or just one of the two???

You know, I have no idea, BUT... I bought a cell phone in Spain that I use when I'm there. Its no good in the US, and I keep it charged with a transformer and adaptor plug I bought in the Corte Ingles ( I had bought a previous phone that died on me because I didn't keep it charged!) So, I'd say, go buy a phone over there, what you pay for the phone is pretty cheap, since it already comes with a pre-paid card that has a good deal of $$ on it, however, I would suggest against you calling home on it, since it'll eat up your money quickly! Also, if you buy a phone, when you leave spain, if you're not a frequent visitor like I am, you could always sell it or give it to a friend

Another alternative, I forget which company... but the commercial with caterina zeta jones, they're advertising a world-wide phone... check it out and their rates.

I have a friend who is half italian and because he travels to and from so much, he also had a phone that is good world-wide... I think his contract is with Verizon. Of course, it all depends on if you want a pre-paid phone or contract...

Kelar your phone should work at 900 MHz and/or at 1800 MHz, though I'm not sure if the phones working only at 900 MHz are still usable.

It is very important that the phone you buy is a GSM (any mobile phone that you may buy here is GSM), because USA has a radically different standard for phones (CDMA2000 I think is called) which doesn't work in european GSM networks.

Regards.

Fernando

My daughter is in Madrid right now and she spent several weeks and lots of $$ on a GSM phone here in the states that would work in Europe. Now that she has been there a couple months,though, she said it would be wiser to wait and pick a phone up in Madrid. The phones are cheaper and Telefonica has some reasonable plans.

OK, I actually sold them for a time. So, here goes.

WAIT until you get to Madrid.
You can buy a phone here in the states that will work for you in Spain, but if you're not planning on using it here, it's worthless to you.

They are so much cheaper there and you can just buy a phone with time on a card that's ready to go.

Thanks so much for the advice...maybe I will just wait until I am in Granada to buy the phone. So if I buy the phone while in spain, it will work in a similar way to if I bought the same phone here in the states? With the prepaid SIM card and free incoming calls? Any ideas on about how much it will cost, or where I could buy one in Granada? Thanks again!!

Dual band cell phones are able to work at either 900 MHz or 1800 MHz.

Current GSM networks in Europe (including Spain) are working at 1800 MHz. It may happen that Movistar or Vodafone still have some areas covered with the old 900 MHz band. Anyway, all cell phones you can buy in Spain now are dual ones (as far as I know), so you won't have to worry about that.

Fernando is right. There in the US they use a different system. However, I heard that some operators have deployed GSM networks for compatibility reasons with Europeans traveling there. Unfortunately, these networks work at 1900 MHz and therefore a dual band phone won't work.

There it comes the tri-band phones able to work at 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz. Few phones are tri-band. I think Motorola is one of the manufacturers which have them. My suggestion is that you should try to buy one of the tri-band phones (as long as they are not much more expensive than a dual one). Then, you may find that you can use it in the US.

Note that it's very likely that the phone you buy in Spain is locked to work only with one operator. Make sure you have it unlocked before you return to the US. (At Paseo de Santa María de la Cabeza, 177 they do it for just 6 euros ).

After all the explanation above, you have to bear in mind that in a few years the new UMTS technology should be available. Perphaps it's not worth to spend a lot of money on a GSM phone if you don't plan to use it much in Europe.

By the way, the "U" in UMTS stands for "universal". Let's hope it's really universal and you can use your phone world wide. And hope these telecommunications guys manage to make it work (are you reading this Fernando? :p ). (UMTS was supposed to be working in Spain by August 2001)

Just to echo what most people have said Kelar, wait until you get here to buy your phone. Antonio is correct, you can buy a triband GSM in the States, but they run, if I am not mistaken, upwards of $300 for the phone without a plan. I don´t think you want to lock yourself into an American plan if most of the calls you make in Spain will be local calls. For international calls back home, a phone card is still your best bet. Mobile phone calls, particularly prepaid, are extremely expensive.

Don´t buy a GSM triband in the States with the expectation that UMTS will come through. As Antonio mentioned they are already a year and a half behind schedule in Europe, and the last time I checked, it wasn´t given much more consideration in the States. By the time UMTS is here, the phone that you bought will be antiquated!

Antonio, I have a Motorola Timeport triband. Is it really true that I can get it unlocked for only 6€?? Every place that I have been wants to charge me at least 10 times that amount since the phone itself is expensive. I suppose their theory is that if you can afford such a phone, you can afford to pay more to unlock it.

Chica, the reason why they charge so much to unlock expensive phones is that the risk to lock it or even damage it in a way that they have to replace it with a new one. Furthermore, unlocking them can be more difficult than with a cheaper phone.

I unlocked a cheap Siemens C-25 for 10 euros in a shop at Gaztambide, 52. The 6 euros offer is advertised at Metro Directo newspaper. However, I guess this is just the typical catchy ad "...FROM 6 euros". I don't think someone will unlock and expensive and complicated phone for that.

Bummer....you had me all hopeful for a moment!!!

I was thinking of buying an unlocked phone from www.telestial.com. I searched far and wide for an unlocked phone in Spain this summer and had no luck. I was told if I did find one it would cost at least 300 Euros plus the sim card.... Do the telelstial deals look good to anyone? I did call them, they seem really nice, professional, and they are based just a few miles from my home. Any thoughts on this?

If I do buy one in the united states before leaving for the semester... I was looking at www.telestial.com or www.welectronics.com

VoiceStream uses GSM but not the same band as found in Europe, so the phone from Spain won't work here. For the price of the tri-band phone that will work in the US and Europe (minimum $200) you can buy a phone and lots of prepaid minutes in Spain! There are also people that rent phones for short stays--which could be more reasonable if you are only there a few weeks.

Remember one thing: The mobile standards found in USA and Europe are not the same.

GSM is the standard developed in Europe, CDMA2000 is the one developed in USA. Both have different phones, use different frequencies and are incompatible.

In the third generation of mobile phones Europe would have UMTS, and USA would have CDMA2000xEv1, which again would be incompatible.

The best bargain you can do is to buy the phone here (which is subject to best offers by local operators) and use it while you are here (if you move around Europe or you intend to make lots of calls you should try to unlock the mobile and use prepaid card wherever you find them). Do not try to make roaming, it is by far much more expensive than buying a new prepaid limit in the host country.

The reason for these standards is that GSM was developed with much success (much more than CDMA2000), and USA wanted to beat Europe technologically and comercially with CDMA2000xEv1. The response is UMTS, but I would count for it for some years.

Fernando

I will be there for a semester (6 months), so renting a phone probably would not be an option. If I buy the phone there, can I use the prepaid card without having the phone unlocked? Otherwise, would I have to pay a monthly bill based on the minutes I have used, as I would in the USA? Thanks so much everybody!!

Here is how it works (pretty easy):

You may go to any big store, mobile phone specialised shop, or any other place which sells mobile phones (you will be surprised how many places sell them, even on gas stations...). Ask for "móviles con tarjetas prepago" (mobile phones with prepaid plans). They will show you different models, and also different plans of different operators (MoviStar, Vodafone or Amena).

Choose you preferred model, plan and operator and buy the phone. At this moment you have a slave terminal. This just means that you are linked with the operator you have chosen (which is reasonable). As long as you continue to buy minutes from the same operator you can use the phone.

Ask the seller to prepare the phone for use (they do it in two minutes, otherwise you will have to go through manuals).

Congratulations, you can use your new mobile phone in Spain! :p From this point you will have a phone number and could use your mobile phone to call any other number in Spain (or abroad). Be very careful with time since it is quite expensive (depending on what kind of destination you are calling). When your prepaid limit is over, just go to a big store, press shop, cafetería, supermarket, ATM, banks, etc... and ask for prepaid cards. Follow instructions in the card (very easy, just phone a given number, and press some numbers, you don't need to talk at all) and you have your phone "recargado" with more minutes to talk.

It couldn't be easiest There are kids (even 5 years-old) using it, so don't be afraid.

Any questions? I can explain whatever you want a little further.

Fernando

Fernando, you are a gem! Your info has been extremely helpful, though if you don't mind, I have a couple of questions.

With my cell here in the US, I pay in minutes whether I make the call or recieve the call.

Also, I have more minutes on the weekend, then I do between 8 and 9 Mon to Fri. It is a giant pain waiting to call folks until after 9pm!

Finally,I cannot recieve an international call on my cell, nor can I make one. I can call my friends in Spain on their cells if I use a land line.

Are the Spanish cells similar?
Do you pay minutes for incoming calls as well as outgoing calls?
Are there these minute plans that give you more time at certain times of the day?
Can you recieve calls from overseas? Does this cost you more?
Also, I remembered that if you called a cell phone from a landline in Spain it was very expensive, is this still the case?

Thanks again, your advice is worth like a dozen prepaid phone cards!
Candy

Thanks Candela! I'm very glad the post was of some use

To explain how it works it is better to take an example. Let's take for instance the Tarjeta Ocio prepaid plan from Amena.

In Spain you don't pay in minutes. You "fill" your plan with, for example, 20€ (as if it was gasoline). When you make a call to whichever spanish phone (no matter if it is a mobile phone or fixed one, and no matter where it is in Spain) a certain rate is applied. This rate (in euro cents/minute) depends basicly on the hour of the day and the kind of phone you are calling to.

Let's go back to the example. The Tarjeta Ocio has this rates:

0.72 €/min from 8:00h to 16:00h (from monday to friday)
0.12 €/min from 16:00h to 24:00h (from monday to friday, and the whole weekend from 8:00h to 16:00h)
0.06 €/min from 24:00h to 8:00h (the whole week)

See the above link's graphic.

In the conditions of this plan it is explained that the rates are the same for any phone you call (mobile phones or fixed phones), that establishing the call costs another 0.12 € and that from the first minute the minutes are charged in half minute intervals.

For example, if you call a mobile phone of a friend on tuesday at 8 in the evening you are charged first the 0.12 € for establishing the call, and then the minutes you talk at a rate of 0.12 €/min.

Since you had in your prepaid card 20 € all this is dicounted from it, until you reach 0 € in it. You would have to buy another card to "refill your phone".

This is just a little bit more complicated. You can make international calls, and also receive them.

If you make an international call (not worth of it, better to use either a land line, locutory, international card phone or any other way to do it but the mobile phone, in which is very expensive) you will pay for the whole international call (providing you are calling a fixed phone).

If someone calls you from abroad to your mobile phone, he/she pays for the international phone, but you have to pay for a fixed phone to mobile phone call (I think this is the way it runs, though I'm not 100% sure).

As long as the call goes from the caller to the reciever in spanish territory the caller will pay for the whole call.

It costs aprox. 24 eurocents per minute to call from a landline to a cell phone.

At this moment the exchange rate euro/dolar is 1 to 1, so you may make an instant conversion to know how much it cost.

I think I have answered all your questions, if not just say it, I am eager to answer them!

Fernando

Since Fernando wasn't sure, let me help.
In Spain, you don't pay for the calls you receive. It doesn't matter if someone calls you from a landline (telefono fijo) or whatever. When you, from your cell phone, calls a telf. fijo, or landline, then yes, the call is a little bit more expensive. The cell phones in Spain, you're paying for the calls you MAKE Which is the way it should be. Depending on the type of plan you choose (yes, even the prepaid phones give you the option of different plans) although you aren't using minutes like you would in the US, you use up the money on your card. Choose the plan according to the time of day you'll use your phone the most, and your money will last longer. For ex: my plan gives me .25pts per call from 4 in the afternoon until 4 in the morning- which is when I use the cell phone the most when I'm out and about, because during the day people are working so if I want to make a call during the day, it will be more expensive, which makes sense

Also, with amena, movistar or whatever you may have, if you call someone using the same phone company, the calls are cheaper than if you call someone using a different company, but its not THAT much, so don't get paranoid about calling someone who has a different carrier. (Usually, they wave the conversation connection fee when its the same carrier.)

International calls:
You should be able to make and receive them. I've done both, so if its not working on your phone, then get it looked at, its not working properly. Like Fernando said, MAKING an international call is not worth it, use a phone card or landline...
As for the person CALLING YOU internationally, well, it used to post on the phone bill at the same tarrif a normal international call did, but the good times are over, and due to the amount of cell phones, well, they now charge you extra when you make a cell phone call from the states to overseas

Yes, the phones are very similiar in terms of how to use/program etc. to american phones. When you get the swing of it, you'll be sending written messages too, as you'll see lots of people do that, as no matter what time of day (so it doesn't matter what kind of plan you have) or which carrier you're sending to, its very inexpensive!

I hope that helps clarify things a bit.

Either way, no contract to worry about when returning back to the US, and for the deals that you get buying the phones it comes out pretty inexpensive on extended stays ANd like I said, you can always pass it on to another student (in Kelar's case) or sell it when you're done with it!

Does anyone know where to buy a sim-unlocked phone in Madrid, so I can take the phone to Italy or elsewhere in Europe, buy a new card for the new country and continue on my way?

In the same places where you can buy a locked one (big stores, specialized shops,...). It is just somewhat more expensive.

Fernando

Perhaps it's cheaper to buy a locked one and then have it unlocked. Check how much is the difference between the same model of phone and how much it costs to unlock it.

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Actually, it is a bit different from that. Providing that you are in Spain, you never pay for the incoming calls.

If you happen to be, let's say, in Portugal with your Spanish phone, then you do pay for incoming calls because your cell phone is using the foreign network. Thus, your caller pays a normal call to a cell phone and you (the receiver) pay for the difference with the international call (I don't know exactly how much it is that).

By the way, receiving text messages abroad with a Spanish cell phone is also free.

Right you are Antonio! I should have clarified, I meant that you don't pay for the calls you receive while in Spain with your Spanish phone! :p
Thanks for clarifying that!

Wow, my head is spinning...but in a good way! Thank you so much everyone! This is all very very helpful! I will be so glad to say goodbye to my american cell phone and its super expensive fees! And if anyone will be selling their phone come January, please let me know!

To add another twist... If for (let's say) business reasons, you want your mobile phone to have a U.S. number but it must work in Spain, AT&T seems to be the route to go. It's pricey, though, for both the service and the tri-band phone. And it'll only work in the U.S. where GSM has been deployed... which is in less than half the states, and not all the served states are widely covered.