Spain has a very good telephone system and you will find telephone kiosks operated by Telefonica throughout Spain and in tourist areas there are also
a number of other operating companies.
The public phones in the street accept most euro coins and you can also purchase prepaid phone cards from newsagents.
The prepaid cards represent excellent value and avoid the need to carry large amounts of loose change.
To use the cards you scratch off the grey coating to reveal the unique card number and then dial an exchange number and follow the instructions, keying in the number on your card and the number you wish to phone ( there is an option to hear the all instructions in English ) .
You can use the card as often as you want until the credit expires.
If you decide to have a land-line installed by Telefonica, Spain's equivalent of BT, the installation time can vary enormously. In cities it can be within a few days, but in areas where there has been rapid housing development or in remote areas, you may wait years.
After the line is installed, you will find the service from Telefonica to be generally very good, and they have english speaking staff available.
You will be provided with a phone within the standard rental tarrif and this incorporates an answerphone service, which can be programmed in English.
ADSL Broadband internet connections are also becoming more widely available.
There are now a number of alternative suppliers of telephone services, which is dependant on the area of Spain where you decide to purchase your home.
In areas where lines are unavailable you may be able to obtain a satellite phone link. The initial costs for these links are more expensive than landlines, but the cost of international calls is generallly cheaper.
If you have a UK mobile phone please check the rates with your service provider for making and receiving calls to and from the UK. Using a mobile phone abroad (roaming) is incredibly expensive. Calls can cost £2.00 p/min to make and £1.80 p/min to receive!
You can avoid all mobile roaming charges, by switching your SIM card for a foreign SIM or a global SIM whilst abroad - you can save up to 90%, receive calls for FREE and make outgoing calls at local rates.
SIM4travel offer a SIM card that can be used in over 120 countries with one single number. You can receive calls for FREE in over 80 countries around the world and when you make calls locally and internationally, the rates a very low – as low as 29p per minute from around Europe.
If you are moving to Spain then you will want to buy a Spanish SIM card and there are three main operators; Movistar, Amena, Vodafone who offer contract packagers and pay as you go services. There are specialist mobile phone stores and the large supermarkets like Carrefour also sell phones, so look for the best deal for your planned use.
Millions of people are already using software from to make free phone calls worldwide.
can be downloaded from the web and installed on your computer free of charge. This then allows you to make calls from your computer to other Skype users anywhere in the world free of charge.
To use the software you simply need a microphone, headset or VOIP phone connected to one of the usb ports on your computer.
has also intoduced a number of additional inexpensive options, which increase the flexibility of the service.