Barcelona
- Tourist
Information -
Phone Information
The
telephone system is dominated by the formerly state-owned Telefónica
(Spanish Telecom). Public pay telephones accept coins, phone cards
(tarjetas telefónicas) and credit cards. The phones have
clear instructions in English. Telephone cards can be purchased
at post offices, tobacco shops (estancos) that have the sign Tabacos
outside, tourist offices, newsagents and kiosks. You can also find
pay phones in many bars and cafes, although they tend to cost more.
Telefónica
also operates public phone sites (locutorios) where you pay the
attendant at the end of your call.
Calling overseas
from a pay phone is very expensive. You may want to buy a prepaid
long distance/international calling card. This is much less expensive
than using a calling card from abroad, such as an AT&T or MCI card.
As the cards rates are always changing, it is hard to say which
one is the cheapest. The cheap prepaid international phone cards
usually carry a surcharge per minute for using their free phone
number or if you are using it from a mobile, so it often works out
cheaper to buy cards that give you an option to call through a local
phone number.
Calls made between
10pm and 8am of the following day, Saturdays from 2pm and Sundays
all day are subject to a reduced charge (30 to 50% cheaper).
Most regular
Spanish phone numbers contain nine digits: The area code (93 for
Barcelona and Catalonia) must be dialled for all calls, even if
you are calling from within the same city or region. For international
calls, first dial 00, then the country code, then the area code
and number. Call 1008 for numbers within Europe and 1005 for numbers
outside Europe, for an international operator to assist with calls.
Spanish mobile-phone numbers begin with 6, toll-free lines with
900 and special-rate services with 902. For directory assistance
within Spain, dial 1003. For international directory assistance,
dial 025.
Mobile
Phones
Barcelona uses
the GSM 900 network which is compatible with networks in Europe,
Australia and New Zealand. The network is not compatible with the
American or Japanese systems.
In Spain getting
a pay as you go mobile (prepaid cell telephone), is really worth
while, as the calls cost nearly the same as for a landline and you
do not have to pay line rental. If you do not have a phone that
can work in Spain then it will cost more to buy a mobile on a pay
as you go.
Useful
Link
Telefonica
