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?