Telefonica used to be owned by the state, and were obliged to provide a phone line for any household that required it. This could however take months, and even years to complete in some areas. Nowadays, since it was sold, Telefonica can refuse to install a line if the infrastructure is not in place. At least you know, I suppose! Our first phone line was live within a fortnight of ordering… although our new home is still waiting, and is likely to be so for some time.

To order your services, you can either do it online at www.telefonicaonline.es or by phone from within Spain on 0034 902 118 247. Make your call between the hours of 10am and 6pm Spanish time (remember Fuerteventura is on GMT). Telefonica’s sales department has  English speaking operators now to make life easier… and have the following information to hand:

• Your passport & NIE numbers
• Your bank details
• The full postal address of your property
• An old Telefonica bill if you are simply changing address

We haven’t posted the tariffs here, as these can change dependant upon which package you get, and there are quite often special introductory offers which can save you money too. Please also be aware that you may be charged for 3gb connection, when only 1gb is available. It’s only a couple of euros, but don’t assume that simply because you’re paying for it, that it is available.

There are other service providers also, such as mobile phone operators. So if you would like to look elsewhere, then have a look at the 3G cards available from such providers as Vodaphone and Orange. We’ve recently plumped for Vodaphone, which gives us unlimited usage for just over €40 per month.

Telefonica do not charge you for landline to landline calls within Spain – which is great for saving you money. For mobile calls, or for overseas calls, we recommend using Skype – it has free Skype-to-Skype calls through your computer, and very very cheap call charges to landlines around the world. It is free to set up, and very simple to use.

Good luck!

If like us you are in a situation where a phone line and ADSL to run your business is vital, it’s pretty unlikely you can get a line without having to deal with Telefonica. Either that, or you will need to purchase an internet dongle to accompany your mobile phone.

Things to be aware of:

• Many rural areas, and new developments are not yet registered on the system so, you can not easily get a line – certainly not for the foreseeable future
• There is a limited supply of numbers so in some areas you may join a waiting list
• Although their sales line (for what it’s worth) can cater for English speakers (sometimes, if they got out of the right side of bed), they do not offer ANY technical support in English
• Orders can conveniently  ‘dissapear’ from the system
• They struggle with reliability generally….

We were lucky in the first place we moved into -  we got ADSL in just over two weeks from placing our order, but many don’t – some people wait months, or even years without success. Indeed, in the place we have just bought – we are still waiting after a number of months, and do not expect this to change any time soon. You’ll probably find very few residents on the island who have good stories to tell about Telfonica!

Good luck!