Bev writes:
... a phone to use in Spain locally and which will not cost her a fortune to call us in the States. Our phone is GSM but I don't believe it is unlocked so I doubt she can change the SIM card from US Sim. DOes anyone know how this works or who is the best company to get a short term contract with?
Your U.S. GSM Phone would have to be a quad-band (850, 900, 1800 & 1900mhz) 'worldphone' for it to work with a Spain Mobile Service provider. I have one of those, but I haven't yet had an opportunity to change the SIM and use it in Spain. For 6-months it's probably worthwhile for your daughter to buy a prepaid phone in Spain for local use. Check the link Jamongris posted.
Calling a
telefono movil in Spain is quite expensive. It cost me as much to call a cousin's cellphone within Spain as it does to call Philadelphia or New York using a Telefonica phone card. That might call for a two-tierd approach: Use a Telefonica phone card (the kind with the I/C chip on the card) for direct dialed calls bach home, and a mobile phone for local use.
I am definitely of the pre-mobile generation although all my family members now use them. So, in Spain, I just use Phone cards.