[jj101010]

In a few weeks I'll be leaving the United States and living in Barcelona, Spain for 4 months. I couldn't find any clear resources online, but I have two options that I think will be the most economical regarding phone plans. (I just dropped my US cell phone plan). I was hoping I could get some insight into which option will be the most economical/ will work the best


While in Spain, I want to be able to use my phone if I travel to Italy/ Belgium etc, I don't care that much about making calls, but I definitely want to be able to text (mostly concerned about texting inside Spain).

For both options, I will be using an unlocked BlackBerry (one of the newer models). I have not gotten the phone yet, so any suggestions on which model is best for this would be great

Being able to receive email/ check stocks would also be great, I assume I need wifi or 3G to do this

Option 1: I take the unlocked BlackBerry, and open a new wireless plan on AT&T. They have a global plan in Barcelona that should allow for ~50 texts per month for $30 and a few MB's of data for around $30. The extra $60 per month seems pretty reasonable, and with this option I know that I will have reliable GSM service.

Option 2: I take the unlocked BlackBerry to Spain and purchase a pre-paid SIM card once I'm there. This might be more economical, but do they offer pre-paid cards with SMS texting allowances?? (I have only seen SIM cards online that offer calling minutes, which I am less interested in). The other concern is that I wouldn't be able to use the phone when traveling outside of Spain.

So any suggestions as to which option would work the best for my needs? Thanks a lot, I know this is a pretty in-depth question

[JBenn911]

O2 | Mobile Phones, Broadband and SIMs From The UK's Leading Provider

I usually buy a card from them when I travel to Germany...great coverage everywhere I go...And I'm sure our European friends will chime in, but I have had cards with SMS allowances

[jj101010]

O2 | Mobile Phones, Broadband and SIMs From The UK's Leading Provider

I usually buy a card from them when I travel to Germany...great coverage everywhere I go...And I'm sure our European friends will chime in, but I have had cards with SMS allowances

Yeah I'm leaning in that direction thanks. I want to get the SIM card before I leave.. anyone have suggestions on the best websites to buy a SIM card for Spain?

Also, do blackberries need special SIM cards? One site said that they do

[_StephenBB81]

While in Spain you'll be living there for 4 months, see if you can actually get a month to month plan for the 4 months vs a prepaid option,
Rates should be good, and roaming in the EU while on an EU provider seems to be pretty affordable for texting and data

[_StephenBB81]

O2 | Mobile Phones, Broadband and SIMs From The UK's Leading Provider

I usually buy a card from them when I travel to Germany...great coverage everywhere I go...And I'm sure our European friends will chime in, but I have had cards with SMS allowances

BlackBerry's use regular SIM cards, but need special dataplans

[Powdah]

My daughter was in Madrid for 4 months. We found a company that specialized in student phones while abroad. That said - texting is per text and voice per min.

When visiting her, I got a global plan from Verizon. $25 for 100 meg of data, 0.25 per text, do not remember voice.

Have fun and travel alot. Loved Spain almost as much as I like Italy and Germany

[DangerMouseUK]

Yoigo is the network you'll want to use.

Cheap SMS (not sure about international)

BIS is included free with an 8� a month Bono 8 (500mb data package)

The minimum spend on their pay as you go sims is 6� a month but by buying the Bono above you will be spending that anyway.

Even though their coverage isn't that great, they roam on to Movistar who are the biggest network in Spain.

www.yoigo.com

Yoigo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You can buy the SIM online (delivery in Spain only) or in any Yoigo shop or The Phone House shop in Spain.

Make sure you take your passport along with you as you will need this to take out any PAYG sim card in Spain.

You normally pay 20� for the SIM which then gives you 20� of credit, effectively making the sim free.

Hope that helps.

[jj101010]

Yoigo is the network you'll want to use.

Cheap SMS (not sure about international)

BIS is included free with an 8� a month Bono 8 (500mb data package)

So you get 20 in credits, and then the cost of texts is deducted from that? Also, any unlocked blackberry will work? Thanks a lot everyone

[raino]

Yes. Any unlocked BlackBerry should work.

Great post, DangerMouseUK. Very helpful.

[engert]

Yoigo is the network you'll want to use.

Make sure you take your passport along with you as you will need this to take out any PAYG sim card in Spain.

There is also a major advantage in Europe that you don't get in U.S. when it comes to cell phones. Privacy.
If you don't like giving out info, you can pick a sim card at any kiosk in Europe, (which comes with a number and is activated without asking your Social Security Number) and you can "fill" your phone number with minutes by buying other prepaid phone cards.
All of this with international calling, sms and the works.
This is what i do when i travel from country to country in Europe. I change Sims.

Have fun in Spain.

[raino]

You can buy prepaid SIMs in the US as well (for example, at Walmart), and I'm pretty sure you don't need to give out your SSN to do so.

[engert]

Yes, but in US they need a home address. In Europe they don't.
I was exaggerating a bit with SSN. Just wanted to show that it's very easy and quick (under 2 minutes) to get a phone number in Europe. In US you will need at least 10 minutes to setup your prepaid sim.

[david9962000]

I use Orange, it works well and they have data on pre-paid too.

[DangerMouseUK]

So you get 20 in credits, and then the cost of texts is deducted from that? Also, any unlocked blackberry will work? Thanks a lot everyone

Yes 20 Euros for the sim and you get 20 euros in credit

You will be paying 8 Euros each month for the Bono 8 which is the only way to get the BIS service as they are tied together but it also comes with 500mb of high speed (HSPA data) which is nice.

I suggest to keep costs down you also install WhatsApp and use that instead of texting as and when possible.

The 8 Euros a month is deducted from your airtime balance, if you don't have enough balance every month the Bono won't activate and you will lose your BIS service.

Yoigo also have a funny way of doing the BIS service, if you go into a Yoigo shop or Phone House shop they will do it for you, but if they don't once the sim is activated you need to sign up to the Mi Yoigo (My Yoigo) section of the website and then go to the activate blackberry services, you will then need to enter the PIN of your device into there and hit activate (with the Bono 8 already activated) after a few moments they will turn on BIS and you will get a BlackBerry registration message on your handset. As stated if you're a bit new to all this it's best you get the people to do this in the shop for you, its easier for them and also get them to set the language to English so their communication with you will be easier and your account on the web will also appear sporadically in English

La del Ocho de Tarjeta de Yoigo: 8 c/min con quien quieras, cuando quieras. Solo 6 E de cons m�nimo.

That is the tariff you want to be put on, with international texts and national texts both coming in at 8cents (100 cents in a Euro)

Just ask in the shop for the tarif "La Del Ocho" with "Bono 8"

The first month of the Bono at the moment is free as I took this out when I was in Ibiza last month, however they're quite crafty as I took the sim out on the 30th and the Bono reactivates every 1st of the month, not when you take the sim out, so watch out for that, if you take the sim on the 1st or 2nd of the month you'll have a whole month free saving 8 euros.

Unfortunately in Spain and in quite a lot of European countries passports or national identity cards are now mandatory everywhere for taking out PAYG sim cards. The UK is one of the last places in Europe that doesn't enforce this, yet.

Buscador de Tiendas Yoigo.- Yoigo

That is the search page for local Yoigo shops, just put in the province and city (in this case both will be Barcelona) and then the postcode of your hotel (if you have it) and hit buscar - that'll list all the Yoigo shops in Barcelona in the postcode area of your hotel - hit ver mapa next to each one to see where they are located.

Hope this rounded out the edges for you.

[blackberry-unlocking710]

Since it's Europe, and your Blackberry is one of the newer models - the frequency bands are supported with almost any carrier..
You will be able to use a sim card from a GSM carrier with your unlocked Blackberry.
You will need a BIS / prepaid Blackberry data to use data services.
When you switch SIM card and carrier remember to activate your data plan by going to the "host routing table" option and clicking "register now".

[jj101010]

Ok so now I have an unlocked BlackBerry, but I am still confused on SIM cards

Can I purchase a SIM card in the states and use it in Barcelona? Or do I need to purchase one in Barcelona? It would be a lot easier to add my contacts and have a working phone before I leave the states

If I add my contacts on the BlackBerry now, and put a SIM card in later, will it save all of my contacts?

Also, I saw that someone suggested Yoigo. Would this be the best plan if I only need the phone to send texts/ what'sapp messages and to read email? (I don't really need to make calls or use bbm)

[raino]

Can I purchase a SIM card in the states and use it in Barcelona? Or do I need to purchase one in Barcelona? It would be a lot easier to add my contacts and have a working phone before I leave the states

I doubt you'll be able to buy and physically pick up a Spanish company's SIM in the US. But if you can, and it's legit, go for it.

If I add my contacts on the BlackBerry now, and put a SIM card in later, will it save all of my contacts?

If your contacts are in your phone (and not on your current SIM card), they'll still be there when you switch SIMs.

Also, I saw that someone suggested Yoigo. Would this be the best plan if I only need the phone to send texts/ what'sapp messages and to read email? (I don't really need to make calls or use bbm)

You'll need a BIS plan if you want to get push email. This BIS plan will also get you BBM; whether you want to use it or not is your choice. As for which network to go with, you're welcome to research that further.

You could choose to keep your American SIM in, turn off roaming data and mobile network, and go all WiFi. See this post for details.

[jj101010]

The problem with only using Wifi is that if I leave my house, I wont be able to receive texts until I find another Wifi spot. So I need a prepaid card for texts and data

[raino]

So go for a plan with the fewest minutes that comes with a text package and a BIS plan. Whatsapp requires a BIS plan, as does push email. You can't do either without a BIS plan put on your account.

[smrdroid]

In Madrid, where would I be able to purchase SIMs that will allow BIS access? And will that require a longer term commitment or can it be done on a pre-paid basis?
Thanks much for the advice!