Best Spanish (and European) mobile internet ?

[ean_p]

In the south of Spain for a few more weeks and have a local Orange data sim card but it's damned expensive and the service is not very good to say the least! So what is considered to be the best payg mobile data sim in Spain please? Also I recall a web site that listed and scored both phone and data services/ providers in Europe and world wide which was very very good ! Sadly I can no longer find it via Google or on here via the thread that first mentioned and linked to it some time ago! Anyone recall it please?

 

[RobbieW]

This one ... http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Prepaid_SIM_with_data ?

Over the last few years I've not found Spain to offer anything like the PAYG data deals available in Greece or Italy. I suspect thats to do with the high number of short term holiday makers.

 

[Steve Clayton]

Take a look at 'Hits' mobile for Spain. Piggies onto Vodafone N/work. Easy to see the options via one of their providers - Telitec. Google will find it.
Top up is easy on-line.
Not saying it's the best; just something that meets your needs

Internet packages:
https://www.hitsmobile.es/en/bonos-prepago/bonos-internet

 

[colind3782]

I've used Movistar for the last few years but it's not cheap. I have just got a 3 sim card which I'll take on the next trip to see how it goes.

 

[Jeannius]

If you are still in the UK then buy a 3 payg sim for a quid then buy the £25 unlimited add on that lasts 30 days. Gets you unlimited internet with the one restriction that you can't 'tether' a laptop. Free phone calls to UK numbers and 3.9p / minute to Spanish numbers.

I've done this several time and it has worked well.

 

[[3889]]

If you are still in the UK then buy a 3 payg sim for a quid then buy the £25 unlimited add on that lasts 30 days. Gets you unlimited internet....

Up to a maximum of 12Gb in Feel at Home destinations. There are also other restrictions to prevent permanent use outside UK, though I know somone who has used a Three sim continuously outside UK on Feel at Home since July last year and it is still working fine. Others have been less fortunate so there is an element of randomness about it.

 

[Trident]

The Three thing works for 2 months and works well using Movistar for roaming

If not get a Tuenti SIM from any Movistar shop - data only (or VOIP) 1Gb for 7E, 7 Gb for 21 E - lasts a month at a time and you can add more data as needed at any time. Its the cheapest for data in Spain and very reliable (I've been using it for 2 years now). Make sure you take a passport to the shop to buy the sim card. www.tuenti.com

 

[De.windhoos]

Don't forget that starting this summer roaming cost are dropping to almost 0 in zone 1 countries which is most of Europe. Although not sure if this will apply to the U.K., with Brexit

 

[[3889]]

Don't forget that starting this summer roaming cost are dropping to almost 0 in zone 1 countries which is most of Europe. Although not sure if this will apply to the U.K., with Brexit

Reading various media and telco comments specific to free EU roaming and the Brexit issue, I would be surprised if it was implemented for UK networks this year.

 

[ean_p]

Many thanks for all the great replies........we switched the Orange SIM for a Masmovil one which gave us twice the data but still not as good as Trident's suggestion which we'll look into next as it sounds like the best around !
Any leads to the phone and data providers blog site as mentioned in the OP ?

 

[RobbieW]

Many thanks for all the great replies........we switched the Orange SIM for a Masmovil one which gave us twice the data but still not as good as Trident's suggestion which we'll look into next as it sounds like the best around !
Any leads to the phone and data providers blog site as mentioned in the OP ?

If you're referring to Trident's tuenti suggestion (which now appears to be 7Gb over 2 months rather than 1 according to the site I referenced in #2) , be a bit careful about data use. I had 2 or 3 different Spanish data SIMs in 2015, one of them - it may have been tuenti - was more difficult to manage than the others in that top ups couldnt be bought until the current allowance was exhausted so you inevitably spent some money on the per MB rate. That, of course, assumes you use more data than the allowance in each period.

 

[bendyone]

Reading various media and telco comments specific to free EU roaming and the Brexit issue, I would be surprised if it was implemented for UK networks this year.

It will in June this year, it's EU law and we are still in the EU.

 

[Contest1]

I,v been using Lebara Spain. Now free sim and 6gb for 19euro when you buy credit in store. Only 5gb if you top up on line. They also offer various bundles. I don't use the bundles and just pay for calls I cannot make on messenger.

 

[GrahamM376]

It will in June this year, it's EU law and we are still in the EU.

Have the capped charges been published yet? We have Portuguese 4G Voda contract with locked hotspot which at the moment we don't use when foreign roaming and was about to buy an unlocked one for Spanish SIMs which it seems may no longer be necessary. By the way, which unlocked mobile hotspot to buy or avoid, if I do go down that route?

 

[Garry & June 'Friendship']

We are in Portugal at the moment where the local networks (NOS & MEO) data sims are brilliant...basically a euro a day for unlimited internet....however we are moving to Southern Spain next year and were worried above the poor Spanish data deals....when back in the UK we went in to our local EE shop as the wife has a contract with them which runs out soon...anyway as a customer we were offered an EE data sim giving 64gb pm in the UK but crucially 20gb pm in Europe with no limitation on how long it is used when abroad all for £26 per month..... I got the salesman to go and phone his head office to clarify I would not have a time restriction on using it abroad and it was confirmed there was no restriction...something that unfortunately you do get with the 3 network and there anywhere in Europe service ...

 

[damsis44]

If you're referring to Trident's tuenti suggestion (which now appears to be 7Gb over 2 months rather than 1 according to the site I referenced in #2) , be a bit careful about data use. I had 2 or 3 different Spanish data SIMs in 2015, one of them - it may have been tuenti - was more difficult to manage than the others in that top ups couldnt be bought until the current allowance was exhausted so you inevitably spent some money on the per MB rate. That, of course, assumes you use more data than the allowance in each period.

I used this Tuenti deal in Spain when sailing there, it is manageable online and top ups can be bought ahead of running out, so no issue with being charged per mb. Using MEO in Portugal now, 30gb for €15 lasts 15 days, so as previous poster said, pretty much unlimited for €1/day. Bargain!

 

[ean_p]

I'm not understanding the "charge per mb" comments. Is the Tuenti card a contractual card (rolling or otherwise ) or is it just a simple payg which stops as soon as you have used your allowance? How can you get into the charge per mb situation if its the latter?

 

[RobbieW]

I'm not understanding the "charge per mb" comments. Is the Tuenti card a contractual card (rolling or otherwise ) or is it just a simple payg which stops as soon as you have used your allowance? How can you get into the charge per mb situation if its the latter?

Some of the providers websites allow you to create an account to enable you to top up the PAYG card online ie. without needing to find a shop. You can then add money to the account which you convert to allowance, IIRC there is sometimes a mismatch between the amounts you can add and the cost of a top up. Something like being able to add funds in multiples of €5 when the cost of the top up you want is €7 - hence you end up with unused funds in your account. This is generally stuff you dont find out until you have the SIM and try to juggle the allowance with your usage. During 2015 I used SIMs from Tuenti, Jazztel and Lycamobile - from memory Jazztel was the easiest to use and had the best summer offers that year.