[petkow]

Originally Posted by a-mac

Hi
1) How much is the actual SIMYO SIM to buy? I know it's done online, but the timing would be crucial within a holiday period.

I posted this once before at: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/euro...html#post27579

Currently they have an offer selling the SIM at 1 euro plus 3.95 postage. The SIM comes with 5 euros credit, and you get a further 5 euros if you buy through someone who recommends you ... such as me You also get another 5 after your first topup of 10 euros. Not a bad deal really. Basically, it comes down to for 14.95 you get 25 euros of credit.

2) How quickly do they deliver? (timing is clearly crucial if I have to sign for it!)

Max 2 working days by express delivery by normal Spanish Post. They will try to deliver twice, and then they will leave a card telling you where to pick up the item.

3) If I can stay at my usual villa and have the SIM delivered during my stay and sign for it myself, would my UK passport be acceptable as ID?

Yes. Any form of photo ID (In my case my driving license was also valid, even though Simyo specifies only Spanish national ID or passport, but it is "Correos" (Spanish post) who checks at the end of the day.

4) Does the SIM become obsolete after several months of non-usage like with other providers?

The crucial difference between Simyo and Yoigo is no minimum monthly spend. Yes the credit does eventuallly expire (9 months from last topup). Just keep your card topped up every time you come. You can topup online which means you can even do it from the UK. You can topup with as little as 5 Euros. It can also be done at any petrol station, kiosk, newsagent, post office or even ATM.

5) Why does the SIMYO SIM have to be tied specifically to me anyway? Surely as a prepaid option, there is no financial risk to the providers so why this Spanish domicile thing, and ID, etc?

This is the same with any Spanish prepaid SIM now. It is not a case of financial risk to the company. It is a governemnet stipulation. Quite a number of countries now require SIM cards to have a registered owner. One of the specific reasons here in Spain is its problems with terrorism. For example the bombs placed on backpacks on the Madrid trains were detonated via mobile phones and prepaid SIM cards. This is why it is generally also not a good idea to buy Spanish SIM cards in your name for other people, as you never know where those SIM cards might end up. A number of people here have asked me to do this in the past, and I do not want to offend anyone, but simply put it is contravening a Spanish anti-terrorism law.

PETKOW, if you could answer the above questions and also list the pricings for unlimited usage with the SIMYO SIM for prepago usage, that would be great.

The basic Internet package is 5 Euros a month which gives you upto 500MB. For normal surfing and emailing that is actually sufficient. For media surfing, you might get to your limit quite quick. You can track your useage online though.

If you need more you have a few options. Either get a few more SIM's, or get a "contract" which costs you 24,99/month for unlimited surfing. It's not really a contract though as it can be setup and cancelled at any time. Minimum term is 1 month. They call it unlimited but there is a 5GB fair use policy. After that the speed gets cut to 128kbps.
For the contract see: https://www.simyo.es/simyo/portal/st...data-priceplan

In my case, I have actually found 500MB/month is OK. I even use mine for SIP telephone calls at about 1MB/min. If you have a SIM dedicated to SIP traffic and use Betamax then 5 Euros a month for 500mins/month of free telephone calls around the world from your mobile is excellent value.

If there's someone out there with more Movistar prepago info, that would be helpful to add as well. I know the basic cost per MB but don't kmow about any minimum usage or if the SIM becomes obsolete after not being used for a while, etc.

The Movistar prepago data package is a contender for the worlds worst value data package. It basically costs you 12 Euros per day for unlimited use, and they even limit your speed to 1MBps. If you use only a little data on that day, you can do it a bit cheaper. Basically they charge you at 3Euros per 30MB until you reach 12 Euros.

Movistar prpeago Internet information on their site (in Spanish)

If you want to go down the Movistar route, get a monthly contract that you can cancel at any time. This is called "Tarifa Plana Internet" but make sure it is "sin permanencia". However, my honest advice is stay clear of Movistar. They are a hassle to deal with, and if you are not a resident and do not have a NIE number you will struggle to setup a contract anyhow. The only good thing with them is that they have an international department at their call centre where they have English, German, French and Arabic speaking staff. Even Spanish friends of mine use the English speaking department in dealing with Movistar. If you call the normal Spanish speaking departments in an average call you will get shunted from department to department at least 10 times and often get cut off on route.