Cell Phones        

You will need to have a Whatsapp account in order for staff to contact you and for friends to call you. Whatsapp is the cell application most widely used in Europe, and you can make voice and video calls for free to friends and family in the U.S.

Some students may keep their U.S. phone number and pay the international rate to keep their phone number operating while abroad. Because most communications are over WhatsApp, students who choose this options should be aware of the high amount of data they will use while in Madrid.

Most students use cell phones, and the most practical option for you is to “unlock” your U.S. cell phone by calling your service provider, or bringing an already unlocked phone with you and purchasing a Spanish SIM card and data plan here through a Spanish operator. Warning! Phones typically have to be completely paid-off in order to be unlocked.

You will receive information in a separate email about purchasing a SIM card and a calling/ data package from a provider, You2Call, that has worked with our students for over a decade and can compare these prices to other operators. You can arrange to have your SIM card waiting for you upon your arrival to Madrid.

There are five main phone operators with different data plans:

You2Call: https://www.you2call.com/

Orange: https://en.orange.es/ 

Yoigo: www.yoigo.com

Vodafone: www.vodafone.es/particulares

Movistar: https://www.movistar.es/