Telephone

Nationalised by Franco in 1945, Telefonica de España was the classic Mediterranean monopoly.

The winds of change came in the 1990s, when EU-led plans to liberalise Spain’s telecoms spurred the newly privatised giant into action, sinking huge sums into infrastructure in the run-up to the 1998 deregulation.

A decade on, competitors fill the field, but Telefonica still covers over three-quarters of the Spanish fixed-line market.

The less-than-thriving competition is in part due to the 90s assumption that faster internet would need new fibre-optic networks to challenge the old monopoly.

However, when ADSL came along, Telefonica realised it could just use its own existing network, dissuading any investment in alternatives.

Telefonica’s complacency in the marketplace is reflected in its hefty set-up charges and fees but the mobile market has been challenged by the arrival of big UK firms Orange and Vodafone.

Mobile Service Providers
Movistar (Telefonica) 1485 www.movistar.es
Orange    90 201 22 40 www.orange.es
Vodafone 60 712 30 00 www.vodafone.es
Yoigo 80 062 28 00 www.yoigo.com

Landlines

Installing a phone line can only be done through Telefonica. Call 1004 for Telefonica customer services (English-speakers available).

The fee for call-out, installation of a socket, and provision of number, cabling and telephone itself is around EUR 112. This includes the set-up fee. Look out for occasional promotions waiving or reducing this fee.

If you wish to set up an account (darse de alta) with Telefonica themselves, you will have to pay EUR 112, regardless of whether or not you have a line already installed.

You will still have to pay this even if you wish to switch to Telefonica from a competitor (though there is a reduced rate if you were a Telefonica client less than a year before).

Different landlines packages

You then have to choose a package. Most opt for the Línea Basica, which covers line rental (maintenance and repairs), the phone itself, voicemail and call waiting. Línea Basica costs around EUR 17 a month, excluding of course, the actual calls you make. Tariffs for these calls can be seen on Telefonica’s web site.

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