Calling

How to use the phone in Spain

Using the phone in Spain works pretty much the same as in any other country. Almost all foreign countries can be direct-dialed.

National calls

All national Spanish calls are billed in the same way. You pay an amount for establishing the call (around 7-8 cents) and are then charged per minute connected. All telecoms charges are subject to IVA.

Call charges vary depending on the destination and time of your call. Nearly all companies have normal and off-peak rates and most offer different calling plans for different levels and types of calling. As everywhere, it is quite complicated to work out what is the best deal, but it can be worth the investment of time. One thing to watch out for is that calls from fixed lines to mobile phones are expensive (around 20 cents/minute at standard rate).

Spain also has premium-rate numbers that start with special prefixes (900, 901, 902, etc.), which are generally used by companies for customer hotlines. This is a non-exhaustive list of these prefixes and what they mean:

800 or 900: Freephone/Toll-free call from any fixed line in Spain
901: costs similar to a local call
902: national rate call; commonly used as customer service numbers and also for cheap international calls, see this service
906/80X: Use at your own risk! Principally used by pornographers and fortune-tellers so carry a predictable range of extortionate charges.

International calls

International calls are expensive in Spain. Even if you use an alternate provider the charges can be heavy, so it is worth investigating the different plans on offer. The cheapest solution is to use a International Prepaid Calling Card with your normal fixed phone and pay your provider just the cost of a local call.

Call redirect

If you want inbound phone calls redirected to another number (desvío de llamadas), you need to phone Telefonica to get them to enable the service. You will pay a small monthly charge and the cost of the forwarded calls.

To activate: