I am traveling to spain and would like to rent a GSM phone. Any ideas?

If you currently have GSM service here in America, ask your service provider about it. In fact most companies have some sort of rental program for traveling abroad. (I've worked in the cell phone business for 3 years)
Maybe some of the users here that live in Spain can offer more tips on phone use. I do know that they do have phones for sale with pre-paid airtime loaded on them that you can buy in Spain. During my time in Spain, I found the cheapest rate to be with a callign card bought there in Spain.
Maybe you can find more information on the net or from someone here.

I'm not sure about this but I think the European GSM system is not the same as the American one so that they are not compatible.

Next year there will be a new cell phone company in Spain and it will start operating start-of-the-art UMTS phones. In fact, if they start using this technology in August 2001 (as they claim) Spain could be the first country in the world that use this system.

Regards,

Antonio

PS: The new UMTS system is supposed to be a world standard.

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Antonio, You're right about the systems. They are not the same. The American GSM is a different frequency than the European. Europe is far ahead of the United States with their cellular technology.
Many of the phone rental companies here will charge quite a bit to get a phone to use in Europe. And many times, it is far cheaper to buy what you need in Spain.

I'm not sure about frecuencies but most cell phones on sale in Spain are "dual band" phones operating at 900 and 1800 bands. There are also a few "tri-band" phones operating at the American frecuency, I think.

Hi marci. Well, it depends on the amount of time you will be here for. If it is under 6 weeks, it would be better to rent a phone but for longer stays, just buy one.

I seem to be just about the only one who rents cellphones in Spain as far as I can tell. I did EXTENSIVE research before investing in a load of phones and if you go do a www.google.com search with "cellphone rentals spain" (or any combo thereof) as the search terms you will see my service come up first (don't ask me how I got that high up).

If you look at what is offered out there, you will see that renting a cellphone in the U.S.A. prior to departure is NUTS! The calling rates will have you sleeping in the streets and eating...well...NOTHING during your entire trip!!! Most U.S. companies are way out of control on this topic.

You can learn more at www.onspanishtime.com/web/cellphones.htm

Saludos,
jer...