What is service contract?

What cell phone carrier offers the best non-contract service in Spain?

• I'm going to Spain for an exchange program for 6 months and I'd like to use my iPhone 4 while I'm over there. I'm thinking about getting a non-contract plan that offers local voice & data. Is this even possible? And if it is, which carrier offers non-contract plans?

• Answer:

  Try prepaid services from Yoigo http://www.yoigo.com or Simyo http://www.simyo.es. Almost all carriers do offer prepaid services, but these are the most interesting in my opinion. They both offer reasonable rates for voice and data. I personally would rather recommend Simyo, but it's a tradeoff. Yoigo offers generally better coverage at slightly higher fees (using Spain's most popular network, Movistar, for coverage), but Simyo has some really cheap tariffs for data while their network is not so reliable in rural areas. Besides, Simyo offers contracts without any minimum stay or termination fees, and you may be interested in those. I'm on 'La del 5' contract and I get calls at 5 cents and 300 Mb free data each month, on a minimum spend of € 6.99, no minimum stay, no termination fees. Other carriers including the top three (Movistar, Vodafone, Orange) theoretically do offer contracts without the minimum stay requirement, but this is really difficult to get for real. Retailers get a commission on people signing contracts with stay, so it's usually quite a task to get one. On the other hand, while registering for a prepaid SIM card only requires you to show a passport or other valid ID and can be done at a shop, be aware that Simyo is a mostly online retailer, and that they only ship to addresses in Spain. And if you go for a contract, they're going to want your Spanish bank account number, for contract payments in Spain are usually made on direct billing. If you're interested in a more complete list of operators and tariffs, get to the Bandaancha wiki at http://wiki.bandaancha.st/Comparativa_de_telefon%C3%ADa_m%C3%B3vil Have fun while in Spain!