Don’t even think about paying your Canadian telecom roaming fees while you are abroad!!! This piece is all about why and how to get a local plan for your cell phone when abroad… with another little AI – ChatGPT illustration thrown in at the end.
“In the Camera’s Eye typically presents fast and furious snippets of things that have grabbed my attention… for whatever reason. I typically attempt to capture the essence of what I am sharing in no more than two paragraphs and 10 or fewer photos with captions. But that is not happening here. This is basically an expanded… hence “Grande” because we are in Spain… version of “In the Camera’s Eye.”
If you are a regular reader, then you know that I frequently expose the value of abandoning your Canadian telecom plan when abroad and getting a SIM put in your phone by a local telecom provider in Europe. I thought it was high time that I showed you the process involved in doing that and how incredibly easy it is.
There are several large telecoms in every country in Europe and most of them will provide you with service that typically covers all the EU countries not just in the one you are visiting, if you decide to go wandering about. So, the first morning we arrive we go and track down a local store in which to get a SIM installed. This also keeps us awake and, on the move, instead of allowing Jet-lag to make us sleepy. 🙂
Finding an outlet is typically easier than you might think because most have multiple stores in every city. A Google Map search will show you where various outlets can be found; you can do this even before you leave home. Two of the biggest in Europe are Orange and Vodafone… But we have used others as well.
After saying all that, I do need to add the caveat that you don’t even need to go in search of a specific telecom store. There are lots of retail outlets that sell “cell phone stuff”, and these places typically sell SIMs from a variety of companies. They will also install them for you and get your phone operational, of course. And in Europe, you can even pick up SIMs in variety stores if you are comfortable installing it yourself… Here’s a photo of one I spotted when we were out walking this week.
There is a good chance that at this point you are thinking…
“Buddy. I have heard that you can get an eSIM for your phone before you leave Canada that will provide you with local telecom service and you don’t have to worry about going into a store when you get there.”
That is true, but anytime I have checked it is always way more expensive to go that route than to pick up a new SIM after you get there. Let me take you through the steps involved in getting a physical SIM installed in Europe.
The Process in 10ish Photos
I think the time involved to get SIMs installed last week when we arrived in Madrid would not have exceeded 10 minutes. We walked into the store and quite literally in about 10 minutes we both walked out with our phones fully operational with a local number and many other additional benefits. I will highlight these as we work our way through the photos. I took several pictures while we were in the store, and I think the only thing I missed out on was the staff member actually putting the SIM into the phones.
I will be using three different carousels in this article, but they look and act a little different than those in previous articles. But the process remains the same. Click on the left image and they will pop in a larger, easier to view and read format.
1. I pointed that out that you can get SIMs in non-telecom retailers because in the first photo below, you will see the store in Marbella in which we picked up our first SIM during our first ever winter getaway in Spain, “Reparación móvil 4G Luis B”. As you can see in the second photo there are also retail outlets for Orange and Vodafone beside the cell phone retailer. I captured this image on Apple Maps earlier this week. In Spain, at least, these cell phone-related retailers are often clustered together near one another, so sometimes you can do a little comparative shopping before you make your decision.
2. You are probably once again thinking…
“OK buddy, cut to the chase, what’s the cost?”
The cost is one of those things that you can begin to explore even before you leave Canada. The second image is a screenshot of the Orange Spain “pay-as-you-go” pricing that I searched for and found at home. The one under the arrow is the plan that we ended up getting once we got here… €20 per month… nice!
3. So, you have arrived, and you have found a retail location close by your hotel or wherever you are staying and are off to get yourself a plan. I took this photo last week just after getting SIMs installed in our phone. Rarely will you find one this convenient. The outlet where we got our SIMs for the last three years is on the main floor of the hotel at which we regularly stay in Madrid.
4. And in we go. The happy customer about to get his phone hooked up.
5. At this particular store you can walk in and get yourself a SIM out of this vending machine without any help from the staff and install it yourself. I always get a staff person to do all the work so that when I walk out of the store, I know that I have an operational phone. This image shows some possible plan choices. The red star is beside an opening where you scan your passport to identify who you are. It is important to remember that you must have your passport with you everywhere in Europe when you are getting a phone SIM.
6. This is the plan that we selected, €20 for 28 days. That is about C$30. Let’s click on “see details” and see what we are getting for our €20 a month
7. Two images here. The first shows you how it comes up on the screen and the second will allow you to read exactly what we got for our money. I have highlighted the important bits in red. For our €20, we are getting 150 GB of data, unlimited phone calls in Spain, 2000 minutes of phone calls to many other countries in the world including Canada, and free roaming anywhere in the European Union. A tad better than our plan at home… Sheesh!
8. After you have decided on what plan you want, you scan your passport… here the clerk is scanning my passport… and then you tap to pay with a credit card. Oh, so easy.
9. After you pay, out pops this little plastic card that holds the SIM itself.
10. The clerk snaps out the Sim and installs it in your phone. Now, I did not take any photos of the clerk installing the SIM, so I recreated the process in our hotel room to show you how easily it is done. *No iPhones were harmed in the making of the SIM installation re-creation.
11. Finally, they tape your Canadian SIM onto the little card, so you do not lose it. They have done this each and every time we have picked up a SIM in Europe over the years.
You need to keep the plastic card handy because it has a pin number on it that occasionally you will have to use to activate the telecom service after you have turned off your phone completely. It also has your cell phone number on it in case you don’t know where to find it on your phone. The red arrows point to both.
I always put the Canadian SIM back in my phone as we are landing in Toronto so that I can get off the plane with an operational phone.
One final photo just for fun. I wanted you to see that just down the block from the Orange store in which we get our SIMs in Madrid, there is now a Vodafone outlet as well. But! What I really wanted you to see was that on this day it was nine degrees in Madrid. If it were that temperature at home, I probably would’ve been out golfing in my shorts. These locals, on the other hand, are looking like they are prepared for an outing to the Arctic! Nine degrees is a cold day in Madrid in January. 🙂
AI-ChatGPT Illustration
Because I am exploring the use of ChatGPT and other AI functions, I think I have a bit of a duty to inform you about my usage and some of my thoughts and findings as I go along.
For this illustration, I asked ChatGPT to write the two paragraphs that I would have used if this was a regular “In the Camera’s Eye” article. You have probably heard that one of the uses/risks of AI is that it can be used to replace the use of authors and journalists to produce professional writing.
Here you can see, the question I posed to ChatGPT and the response it gave me. I always find the results a little unsettling because ChatGPT does do a really good job of doing exactly what you want it to do. However, there is no way I’m going to be using AI to be writing pieces for my website. I need to keep these decaying synapses of mine firing and do the work myself. 🙂
The Ask:
“Please write me a two-paragraph explanation as to why it is a really good idea to get a SIM put in your phone in Spain and use a local number and plan.”
Answer:
“Getting a local SIM card in Spain is an excellent idea for several practical reasons, especially for travellers. By using a Spanish SIM card, you can avoid the high roaming charges that many international providers impose, saving a significant amount of money on calls, texts, and data. Local SIM cards often come with affordable plans tailored to tourists or short-term visitors, offering generous data allowances and free or low-cost local calls. This makes it easier to navigate, book services, and stay connected without worrying about unexpected charges. Additionally, having a local Spanish number allows you to communicate seamlessly with local businesses, such as hotels, restaurants, or tour operators, who may find it easier or cheaper to contact you on a domestic number.
Another key benefit is improved network reliability and accessibility. By using a local SIM, you can tap into Spain’s robust telecommunications infrastructure, ensuring better coverage and faster data speeds compared to relying on roaming from a foreign provider. This is particularly useful for accessing online maps, translation apps, or keeping in touch with friends and family via messaging platforms. Moreover, a local SIM helps you blend in more easily as you engage with locals, as you won’t need to explain or rely on international numbers for communication. Overall, having a local number and plan is a cost-effective, convenient, and practical solution for staying connected while traveling in Spain.”
