Finally we got our Internet!!
After a long story and many many Movistar shops, we now have a UMTS (3G) or actually a HSDPA (3.5G) Flatrate with a nice small USB-Modem (Huawei E220).
Of course there were no Mac OS X drivers bundled, but I so did not care! After all, I have a macbook with bootcamp, and just wanted to get on the Internet again! (and I thought it can’t be so hard to find someone on the net who’d gotten the only useful 3G USB modem to work on a mac – after all it’s the only uptodate one that is usable on the new macs)
anyway here’s the story (don’t read if you’re not interested, it’s long)
While still in Germany, I’d phoned with the Vodafone and Movistar Hotlines in Spain for a long time, to make sure there’s 3G coverage at all in Tenerife, and to get some infos on the Data Tarifs they have.
So once we arrived in Las Galletas, and went to the beach, I already saw a Vodafone shop, and decided to go inside. (Way to go: first spanish conversation is trying to work out details of the 3G Data flatrate contract for businesses with the brand new Huawei e220 USB-Modem for Macs – with the extra complication that the contract if possible should be for the company in Germany that I work for, over the Internet connection I’m just trying to get)
anyway, we sort of understood each other, and I got the info that there’s only a 1GB “flatrate” and downloading and skype are blocked. But I had seen the 5GB flatrate on their website, so I kept on asking, and in the end found out that the shop can’t do anything for business contracts, only private ones, and the 5GB is only for businesses. But there’s a shop in Las Americas where I could get it.
next day, we go to Playa de Las Americas, mainly to go to the Vodafone shop, but also to check out the place. here I was, expecting the biggest Vodafone shop in Tenerife, where all my problems would be solved, and I’d walk out of there with the modem and a contract in my hand, only to find a tiny shop in the basement of some “sort of shopping center” with 2 restaurants and 2 shops, and said vodafone shop. Luckily I had actually understood the directions I was given, and someone else I had asked (when we stayed in the bus too long, and had to drive back some of the way), had told me that I need to go down some stairs. They didn’t even speak any english, none at all.
anyway, Turns out that for business contracts, you just give them your (business) address, and someone comes by and does everything with you. or you give them your phone number and someone calls you. Living in a Hotel, and not having a phone number to give them, my options looked bad. So the lady calls a friend of hers in another department, who also happens to deal with business contracts, and just hands me her mobile phone to talk with him. He explains to me that only Spanish Businesses, or Businesses that are registered in Spain (and have some office or branch here) can get a contract. So basically Vodafone was no longer an option (I don’t have a Spanish company, nor could I live with 1GB/month with skype blocked…)
So I’m bold enough to ask the vodafone lady for directions to the next movistar shop, which happened to be just up the road.
Anyway, this is where the movistar story begins.
In this shop, whe finally find someone who speaks proper English (though when we asked, he said he only spoke a little). And finally someone who knew his stuff. Turns out this guy (Rafael) owns 11 Movistar shops all around the Island, and is therefore well-informed.
He tells us all the details of the Contract, assures us of decent coverage of las galletas (according to him, 75% of the island has 3G coverage!) but also tells us that there is no way of getting a contract without either a N.I.E. Number (Numero de Identificacion por Extranjeros – or something like that: Identification number for Foreigners) or a Residence permit, or a CIF number (some Identification number for Businesses in Spain). Businesses can only get contracts with a CIF number, which you only get if the company has a branch/office here, or is based in Spain. Plus, the company needs to apply for this, don’t ask me where.
Anyway, all sounds nice and good, he told me I can get the NIE number at the local police station, which is just up the road and around a few corners, or first ask at the “Guarria Civil” which is some kind of Civil Police, which happened to be just on the other side of the road, if they know anything else. They didn’t, but gave us a map of the place, and showed us exactly where the Police Station is.
So we went there, and found out that they only deal with Such things as the NIE number if you come at 9 in the morning, and you need to bring the Form, filled out and photocopied, with your passport and a photocopy, as well as a document stating the reason why you NEED the NIE number. But you can’t get the form either. (whenever you said “N.I.E.” at the police station, they blocked and said come at 9 am.
Luckily I found an Internet Cafe in las Galletas, where I could satisfy my Internet needs, and I found a PDF of the required form, printed it out twice, and tried to find any related info on the Net regarding this form.
It seems you just need to fill it out with your (Foreign) Adress details, the reason why you need your NIE number, and a local “notification address” which is never used, since they never notify you of anything. then you apply for the number with this form, and come back 10-14 days later, and pick up your NIE number (on some sort of certificate).
What you have to find out on your own, is that you have to be there much earlier than 9 in the morning! I was told to go earlier, because the queue is always very long, and they only allow 50 applicants per day. So on the day we were going to leave on our trip round the Island I got up real early to go to the police station, so that I could apply, and when we return only have a few more days without internet, before I could pick up my number and get going with my contract.
I got there at 7:40 (those that know me, know this is EXTREMELY early for me to even be half awake), only to find a 100m queque in front of the police station which only opens at 9. I was going to take a picture, but I was lazy and didn’t want to lose my spot in the queue (which kept on getting longer and longer) and didn’t want to get arrested for taking a picture of a government building or anything like that (who knows what’s allowed and what not in this place). At 9 they police station opens, and a police officer hands out numbers at the front of the line. once you have one, you can go inside into the waiting room and await your turn (your number will be called). Anyway, they have different number sets for the different types of requests you have, the NIE application being one of them, which is limited to 50 per day. just a few meters before it would have been my turn, number 50 was handed out. and I was told to come back tomorrow. GREAT! – we’re leaving for our trip that day.
so the hunt for a Movistar shop which would get us the contract without this stupid NIE number, began. I did know it is possible, because the Movistar hotline verified that it is definitly possible to get a contract with just the Passport, and that the shop can call the hotline, and they’ll tell them how. But every single shop denied this, and did not even want to call the hotline to ask.
I’m sure we visited at least 20 shops, on our way to Santa Cruz, (sophia would probably say 50 or so), and every time we got the same answer.
In Santa Cruz, I hoped to find some sort of central “official” Movistar shop, not just these franchises that were all over the island, but there isn’t one. I got sent from one shop to the next when I asked for another shop that might be able to do it, until I got to the MAYA shopping center. There was a guy who spoke really good English, and was very helpful for a change. He actually explained the situation: The local Distributer on Tenerife forbids the option of making contracts with foreigners without a NIE number, even though it would be possible. But there is one shop in the “Cortez Ingles” another shopping center, who he has heard that they do it anyway.
Lucky for me, Sophia wanted to go to the Carrefour, which just happened to be in the Neighborhood of the Cortez Ingles. So it wasn’t so hard convincing her to go there, even though she was already a little irritated. The ladies at the Cortes Ingles were very nice, and they would have had no problem giving me the contract, if only they’d have any Data contracts or hardware, which sadly they don’t, but they will add those to the program in a month or two!! ARGH!!! The only people on the Island who’d give me my Internet don’t have it!! Very frustrating.
Anyway, we went to the Carrefour, and shopped a little, and found they had a mobile phone section, with a small section of each of the 3 providers here, so while Sophia was buying a Carrefour prepaid card (which we returned the next day, because it didn’t work) – similar to the Aldi-Prepaid cards available in Germany – I just asked at the Movistar section… They didn’t have the Modems, so they can’t sell me one. But there is a proper Movistar shop upstairs. We almost didn’t find it, because the building only has a 3rd floor in one wing (the one we were not in) but luckily we did find it after a while. I told sophia this is the last chance they have, otherwise I’d wait try the NIE application again… so we went in, and met Jennifer! :-) (you might have heard from her in previous posts)
She agreed to help us, and give me the contract, even though her boss told her not to, because she saw it’s possible, even double checked with the hotline, so why shouldn’t she, she said. She instantly became our best friend ;-)
Anyway, of course it wasn’t as simple as it seemed, and we ended up leaving without the contract, but at least we had figured everything out, or so it seemed.
This is what needs to happen, before you can get a Contract using your Passport.
- Open a spanish bank account (we didn’t have one yet)
- Have some sort of address (we didn’t really have one)
- Have 300 Euros deposit ready (they don’t trust foreigners) – just in case you run away with the Hardware and close your account and so on.
- A photocopy of your passport
The photocopy and the filled out contract needs to be faxed to movistar before you can actually get the contract.
Banks are closed in the Afternoons, so we couldn’t get an account that day.
Jennifer told us some nice spots on the Island she’d advise us to go to, so we agreed to come back the next day (in the Afternoon: she only starts working there at 3:30pm) with a Bank account and everything ready.
So we headed to Bajamar, (see other posts) a very very nice place, and stayed the night (we didn’t want to sleep in the expensive and not very nice hotel in Santa Cruz).
In the morning we went to two banks, and opened an account in the Caja Canarias in Bajamar (where we didn’t need anything except our passport/ ID-card. They even used our German address!! very easy and nice. Except we were told to come back on monday to pick up our debit-card. But who cares, we need the internet.
Then we had to get a few more hours by, before we could finally see Jennifer again, and get the contract. Somehow we managed, and in the afternoon drove back to Santa Cruz. Jennifer had good and bad news. She had checked everything again, and found out everything is possible, but we need to actually transfer the 300 Euros to a certain bank account, and fax the receipt of the transfer as well. After faxing, we need to wait 24 hours for the fax to be checked before we can get the contract. Hmm. Banks are closed in the afternoons, so next day we could do the transfer, and then 24 hours later get the contract… (oops, that would be a saturday, probably wouldn’t work, so then on monday) AAAAAH!!!
luckily, I had found out the last day that on thursdays, the banks do open again in the afternoon, but only for a short time (in Bajamar only from 6 to 7 pm)
We called the nearest Bank, and they were open, so I ran there, and did the transfer, and everything worked out! I got the receipt, and ran back, and we had everything ready!! now it would just need to be faxed, and the next day we could get the contract. The last little problem was that Jennifer’s boss was in the office where the fax was, with a friend, and didn’t want to be disturbed… so Jennifer promised to send the fax later, call us when it was sent, and then call the next day, as soon as she had the confirmation.
So we left, once again without internet, but with high hopes of getting it the next day (I don’t know how often I had that hope) We drove to La laguna (and did get a call from Jennifer at some point that she had sent the Fax) and the next day (oh, that’s today) to Puerto de la Cruz, because we decided not to have our trip dictated by this stupid contract, we just kept going (after all, in the worst case we’d have to drive for an hour or two to get back to santa cruz).
So, today, we checked out Puerto de La Cruz, and it was getting later and later, but at 5 or so, we finally got the long awaited call and the message that everything was OK, and I could come to pick up the modem.
So we drove there, and got it! wow! everything worked! Unbelievable. So I switched my mac to windows, installed everything right there in the shop, and tried it. And it worked! (just GPRS though).
We went outside, and got a UMTS connection. it worked, I really had a high-speed mobile Internet connection in Tenerife.
So, to summarize, this is what you need to get a Movistar 3G data contract in Tenerife:
For both options:
- Spanish Bank account
- Some Spanish Address (P.O.Box will do: costs about 50 Euros for a year)
- oh and of course the money to pay for your tarif (58€ per month for 5GB)
- using the NIE number
- A NIE number, for which you need:
- A local address to enter in the application form (in the bottom)
- The Application form found here: www.mir.es – filled out
- A photocopy of this filled out form
- Your original Passport (ID might work)
- A photocopy of your Passport
- A document stating the reason why you need the NIE number
- To get up real early (I’d advise you to be there at 7 or so)
- Patience, because you just need to wait in the line (which does not move at all) until 9, when you’ll be told the number of your turn (for which you’ll then start waiting)
- 2 weeks of time in which you can survive without internet
- nothing else I think (didn’t go down this road)
- Without the NIE number
- Jennifer
- Receipt of a transfer of 300 Euro to a certain movistar account (get it from Jennifer)
- A photocopy of your Passport
- 24 hours of time, if you get everything right straight away
seems easy right?
hope you enjoyed this short version of the story. ;-)
Oliver
PS. don’t let anyone tell you skype or downloading is blocked. it is not. They just say that, so that you don’t use it (from past bad experiences with extremely high bills of people who don’t know how to tame their p2p software or use it in moderation) or because they don’t know anything about skype, and just tell you that you can’t make voice calls using this data tarif. Probably it’s the same for Vodafone. (but I’ve tested it for Movistar. skype works, bittorrent works.)
