[Gocamino] - Ultreya rental cell phones

[Philippe pip]

the French Orange sim card would probably work in Spain with the Spanish Orange network,  this needs to checked as Tim rightly mentioned,  but I am pretty sure that , under that system,  calls made from Spain into Spain ( or calls received in Spain from within Spain )   would be charged at a higher rate,  since all calls would be routed through France under the original French Orange telephone number .   

 

Philippe
 
> Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 10:30:13 +0200
> From: tim at errecaldia.com
> To: GASpangler at hotmail.com
> CC: gocamino at oakapple.net; saintjames at yahoogroups.com; santiagobis at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [Gocamino] - Ultreya rental cell phones
> 
> Hi Grant,
> I went up the hill today as far as the point where the Route 
> Napoleon leaves the paved road and the service is from Orange.
> I think that, in the main, the best service as far as this area goes is 
> with Orange, but I wouldn't like to say as far as further North from 
> here on the Chemin. The one point worth remembering is that Orange 
> being France Telecom have the largest network in France closely followed 
> by SFR. Orange also provide a fairly comprehensive service in Spain so 
> that, if you bought your SIM card in France you could probably get by 
> with it in Spain but it would be good to hear from some persons further 
> down the Camino for confirmation (using Camino for Spain and Chemin for 
> France) . The EU has forced all the service providers to reduce their 
> 'roaming' fees and so crossing from one network to another is not so 
> horrendously expensive as it was a couple of years ago. One point to 
> remember, if using a phone that has been provided by a service provider 
> on a contract, is that these phones are often locked to that provider. 
> This lock can be removed but it is wise to have that done before making 
> any other arrangements, buying a SIM card for example.
> I think that it would make sense at this point for me to make an 
> observation as to my practice when accepting bookings and the reasons 
> behind it. I now receive the majority of my bookings in one form or 
> another via the phone, and the internet. In the case of Pilgrims they 
> usually reserve rooms about two or three days before their arrival if 
> they are en-route rather than starting from SJPdP. Because there has 
> been an increase of people making reservations and then not arriving I 
> now insist on a mobile phone number. This also allows me to contact 
> them if there is a problem here, my being forced to leave the premises 
> at their expected arrival time for example, or if they are late 
> arriving. I also ask clients to contact me if they think their pre 
> indicated arrival time is no longer possible. Many of these 
> reservations start off as text messages asking for availability which I 
> answer via Skype testing service. This is quick and cheap for both 
> parties. The huge difference in practice between France and Spain is 
> that in France advance reservations are the norm whereas in Spain the 
> hostels do not in the main accept reservations. The phone is therefore, 
> in my opinion, of much greater benefit on the Chemin than on the Camino.
> Regards
> Tim
> 
> Grant Spangler wrote:
> > John,
> >
> > Major department stores and 'hypermarts' are abundant in gateway cities .. Paris, Madrid, and the lot. Hypermarts like E LeClerc, Carrefour, El Corte Inglés, Hipercor, and others have mobile phones, pay-as-you-go SIMs, and the ability to recharge a SIM. Look for a France Telecom retail store if you'll be in France for a while, they have the Orange brand of mobiles. Look for a MoviStar store in Spain, they are the mobile side of Telefonica, the Spanish national phone company. There will also be numerous small storefronts who carry all the local brands. I'd stick with a major carrier like Orange or MoviStar, since their systems are much larger with wider coverage. We walk through a good deal of non-urban areas. This may seem like an obvious statement, but there are more than a few small carriers who provide good coverage in large cities, and next to none out in the country. Tell the clerk you're a pilgrim, need outback coverage, and have been recommended a certain brand. Get his feedback, but remember they are financially driven. 
> >
> > Tim is in St Jean Pied de Port, I'd be interested in his observations and first-hand experience. Tim: what's the perceived coverage like with different carriers over the Route Napoleon? I'd anticipate several carriers will do fine on the road route, but one may prove superior on the Route Napoleon.. 
> >
> >
> > Buen Camino, 
> > 
> > 
> > Grant
> > 
> > http://www.ElCaminoSantiago.com
> > Resources for the Pilgrimage Road to Santiago 
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
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> 
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