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| Spain has a very good and constantly improving telephone system provided by Telefonica and there are now new companies that offer similar services.
Public telephones
You will usually find a telephone in your hotel but failing this, most bars and restaurants have a public telephone. There are telephone cabins on the streets. |
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| Most of these have a facility for instructions in English by pressing the language button. There are also an ever increasing number of commercial call cabins that offer cut price calls abroad.
The public phones in the street work well and accept most euro coins. You can also purchase phone cards from tobacconists for use in card phones. Telephones in the streets are called cabinas. The ringing tone is long, the engaged tone shorter and rapid. Pick up the receiver, insert a coin then wait for a dial tone. You are then free to insert more coins and dial your number. Remember, with international calls it will cost you over 60 cents just to get through and you will need a plentiful supply of coins. Make your first coin a small 10 cents for example until you know the phone is working. Also remember that it is better to use small coins as when you terminate your call, the phone will only return whole unused coins. International and national calls are cheaper after 10pm on weekdays, 2pm on Saturdays and all day Sunday. |
| Spanish numbers consist of nine digits, the first three being the area code (see below).
Calling from another country to a number in Spain
Dial 00 for an international call, then 34 which is the code for Spain, then the subscriber's number, including the area code. See our table of international codes. |
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Alava |
945
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Albacete |
967
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Alicante |
96
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Almeria |
950
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Asturias
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98
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Avila |
920
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Badajoz |
924
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Baleares |
971
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Barcelona |
93
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Burgos |
947
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Caceres |
927
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Cadiz |
956
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Cantabria |
942
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Castellon |
964
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Ceuta |
956
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Ciudad
Real |
926
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Cordoba |
957
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Cuenca |
969
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Gerona |
972
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Granada |
958
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Guadalajara |
949
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Guipuzcoa |
943
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Huelva |
959
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Huesca |
974
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Jaen |
953
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La Coruna |
981
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La Rioja |
941
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LasPalmas |
928
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Leon |
987
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Lerida |
973
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Lugo |
982
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Madrid |
91
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Malaga |
95
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Melilla |
95
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Murcia |
968
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Navarra |
948
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Orense |
988
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Palencia |
979
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Pontevedra |
986
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Salamanca |
923
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Segovia |
921
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Sevilla |
95
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Soria |
975
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Tarragona |
977
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Tenerife |
922
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Teruel |
978
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Toledo |
925
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Valencia |
96
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Valladolid |
983
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Viscaya |
94
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Zamora |
980
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Zaragoza |
976
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You cannot
make
reverse
charge
calls from
a call
box, nor
receive
calls. In
tourist
areas you
will find
phone
shops
where you
can pay
for your
call when
you
finish.
Bars also
have
telephones
but most
make a
surcharge.
Restrict
your calls
from your
hotel as
the charge
is often
trebled. |
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If you
move to
Spain
and have a
land-line
installed
by
Telefonica,
the
installation
time will
vary. In
cities and
built-up
areas the
service is
good and
can be a
few days,
in remote
areas
where
there are
no
telegraph
poles, you
may wait
years
and if
you do get
a
land-line,
it may
cost a
considerable
amount of
money.
Telefonica
may insist
that
several
residents
in the
area apply
for a line
before
they will
consider
you. In
some
areas,
ADSL
internet
lines are
not
available
yet.
Once you
have a
line
installed,
you will
find
Telefonica's
service to
be
adequate.
They have
an
increasing
amount of
staff that
speak
English
and are
very
helpful.
Dial 1004
from your
phone to
get
assistance.
Your
land-line
comes
complete
with
several
additional
services;
Answerphone
This can
be opted
out of if
you have
your own.
If the
telephone
is not
answered
within a
certain
number of
rings, the
'contestador'
cuts in
and takes
messages.
To hear
your
messages,
simply
pick up
the
receiver
and wait.
You have
several
options
with this
service:
To delete
messages:
Listen to
the
message
then press
'3'
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If you want to
change the
answerphone
into English,
follow these
instructions:
1. Pick up the
receiver and
wait for the
answerphone
menu to start
2. Press '1'
to access the
language
change mode
3. Press '4'
for English
(there are
several other
languages to
choose from)
4. Enter your
personal PIN
code
(initially set
to '0000'
until you
change it
5. Press '3' ,
press '1',
then finally
press '1' to
make the
changes take
effect |
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You can also,
through this
service,
record your
own message.
Access the
answerphone
service then
follow the
menu which
will of course
now be in your
own language. |
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To obtain a
land-line with
Telefonica
you will need
to call at a
shop that
retails phone
contracts and
present your
bank details
along with
your passport
or NIE number.
Installation
costs around
170€ and will
be taken
direct from
your bank
account. Bills
are sent to
you
monthly(ish)
and then two
weeks later
the amount is
deducted from
your bank. You
can however
pay the bill
at the bank
beforehand if
you wish. Take
the bill with
you and pay in
cash. |
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Telefonica |
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Customer
services |
1004
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Directory
services |
1003
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Wake-up
calls |
096
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Technical |
1002
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Speaking
clock |
093
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