Jenny22

I have a Blackberry 9300 3G mobile under contract with Orange in the UK. The phone is unlocked.
I am usually in Spain for one to two months at a time before returning to the UK. Orange have refused to allow me to use roaming in Spain as my contract is less than one year old (I wouldn't have used this option anyway as it is much too expensive), but they have advised me that they have no problem with me taking out my Orange SIM and inserting a Movistar SIM while I'm in Spain as long as I keep my direct debit to Orange going.
The only mobile service which works in our area (and probably 3G too) is Movistar, so I have no choice about that. Also I already have a Movistar Pre pay go SIM in a cheap Motorola phone I bought here a while ago. This phone is not very good - the battery goes after one call or a couple of texts and texting is incredibly slow.

At the moment with mobile networks turned off and wifi activated on the Blackberry I can still browse the internet, get my emails and go to Facebook. I am also still getting messages on BBM (although I am assuming that emails and BBM are no longer being pushed by BIS). But of course I am unable to make calls or send texts. Being able to use 3G would also be very handy as I don't spend much time indoors here. So as I have the Spanish SIM card with a phone number that people who contact me know, I was thinking of putting it in the Blackberry and asking for a Blackberry bolt on, so I can use it as a proper phone and put aside the almost useless Motorola.

I was told in the UK that this was possible. All I have to do is go into our nearest Movistar shop and ask. But like so many things in Spain I am wondering whether there will be any problems with this?

I know that the Blackberry bolt on for Pay As You Go costs 5 pounds a month in the UK but have no idea how much it will cost here and cant find anything on the Movistar site about this. I am also wondering if I will have to pay a huge one-off fee to get BIS connected and also whether each time I go back to the UK and then return to Spain, I will have to go through the same process all over again. If so it may not be worth the hassle.

So if anyone here has tried this, what has been your experience and is there anything else I haven't thought about?

rachelk

I use a Vodafone prepay for internet use. at 3.50€ per week.

The movistar one is 10€ per month, apparently with no limits, and if that's the only operator that works where you are then it's an easy decision.

http://www.movistar.es/particulares/...ta/smartphone/

Jenny22

Thanks Rachelk.
I'm looking at both options right now as it seems I may also be able to use Vodafone according to their 3G map.
However I have a further query. I thought that BIS would not work in Spain on my UK contract Blackberry, but it does with wifi switched on because my contract with Orange includes a separate 5 pounds for Blackberry services and I take it these are not limited by country?
Browsing the Blackberry forums it seems I would need to unsubscribe from Blackberry services with Orange before I can activate them with Movistar or Vodafone.
I am not very tech minded and need to get it into my head that there are two things I am dealing with here, the phone service provider and Blackberry services themselves. But I was wondering whether the current Blackberry services would still work with the Orange SIM removed and a Movistar or Vodafone SIM with a data plan inserted?
It seems like it wouldn't work this way but if it did that would be great

mrsjdr

I also pay the 3.50 pw plus IVA to vodaphone, this gives me limited internet access, can use facebook, hotmail etc., then when I go to UK I put a UK sim in to get similar access.

Jenny22

Thanks mrsjdr
So I take it then that changing the SIM is all that needs to be done (as long as the SIM is covered by a Blackberry data plan of course)?