fionamw

I know this has been talked about before but I searched and couldn't find what I'm trying to find out. OH has a UK landline (in the UK!). I have a Movistar pay as you go mobile here. We have no landline here. We both have Vodafone contract UK mobiles with some kind of roaming deal but therein lies what seems to be the problem. To save asking about Vodafone and Movistar specifically, does anyone know an operator offering decent prices for mobiles in Spain calling either mobiles or landlines or preferably both, in the UK? Once I get some idea if the possibility exists, I can figure if we even have coverage at the house for such a deal. Movistar yes, Vodafone limited, others not all the time. So .... ??

Domino

have you not considered using a mobile with internet and using skype ??

fionamw

That would mean a huge upgrade on both our phones. We've planned to use skype from home for ages, but my laptop being stolen put paid to that for the immediate future; besides our internet speed isn't always up to skype's requirements.

fionamw

Actually, another truth is that I've never investigated the cost of internet via mobile.... (if we even always have 3G, which I'm not sure of)

Lynn R

We use a Vodafone mobile on the AmiAire tariff (talk for 90 minutes, pay for 1 after 6pm and at weekends) with a Voipcheap account to call the UK. Similar to a Skype account, you register online with Voipcheap and put credit on your account. You then get free calls for a certain period (30 days I think) after which the cost of a call from a Spanish mobile to a UK mobile is 8c per minute, plus the connection fee from Vodafone for the call (around 70c). You call the Voipcheap number and then enter the UK mobile number you want to ring.

We have to put €15 per month on the PAYG mobile to keep the AmiAire tariff live, but don't use up that much in calls.

It works out expensive for local calls, though, because of the connection fee, so we have a separate PAYG mobile for those.

Lynn R

Forgot to add, the cost of calling a UK landline via Voipcheap is 1c per minute plus the connection fee, but with the Amiaire tariff a 90 minute phone call would cost 71c.

Domino

just sent a text via my Skype Europe account to a uk mobile and it was charged at 5.6p, which is half the cost of a Vodafone ES call at 11p
But that was using a desktop.
Despite all my years of communications experience I get happy with a phone and keep it for years - still have an old Nokia for UK and a new Samsung for SP.

so long as I can make/receive a fone call and text I have little use for all the other "go faster" things on there. The Samsung has a camera and radio but cant remember the last time i used them

fionamw

It's not the go faster stripes we need, it's the facility to speak mobile-UK landline or mobile-UK mobile without breaking the bank. As and when I get a new laptop and we've established we both have skype, well the problem gets far less worrisome!

Jenny22

That sounds like a very good idea when you can use Vodafone. I've searched for the same solution fionamw is looking for too, but where we live Vodafone isn't available, which is a shame as they do seem to have the best tariffs for international calls. What I'm looking for is a cheap solution which works with Movistar.
At the moment I'm using my UK mobile for calls and texts to the UK and my Spanish Movistar mobile for local calls as this seems to work out a bit cheaper. But I'm looking at buying a new PAYG mobile with a few "go faster stripes" as my present mobiles are years old. So I'm wondering if Yoigo, for instance would have a PAYG tariff which would work for international calls, as I know they can use the Movistar network.
If I succeed in finding a decent PAYG phone and tariff before I return to the UK, I will definitely be looking onto Voipcheap the next time I'm out here.

bigglesworth

Have you tried a UK Vodafone with Passport? We had no internet where we were in Spain, and no landline either.

Take the minimum contract (I pay £20, but I do travel a fair bit to the UK), and add Vodafone Passport which is free.
Then you can call the UK from Spain (or to and from anywhere in Europe I believe) for 75p for 30 mins. But do not go over 30 minutes per call, do not exceed your monthly allowance, and never use for anything else as it gets expensive if you do.

bobd22

Did a quick search on cheap mobile calls Spain to uk mobile and came up with this no idea if it's any good but maybe worth a look, http://www.dialabroad.co.uk/spain/

There were also a number of others came up

bobd22

I tried vodfone passport one time and it ended up costing me fortune due to signal not being good where I am and it kept dropping every time you re connect 75p connection charge. would be ok for longish calls if you have free minutes and a good signal.

bigglesworth

bobd yes re the dropouts -you have to be very controlled about it.

Dialabroad looks good. There is also Ratebusters I believe

Domino

you mentioning dropouts reminds me of the early days of Freeserve, when they were busy they would let you in for a second then spit you out, so you would dial again and again and ......
large phone bill

Jenny22

Thats definitely worth a look. Thanks.