Stuck in Captive Portal Hell!


Yesterday, I connected to a WiFi AP at a cafe I was drinking coffee at and decided to update all my apps, download the news paper from the last few days and back up all my photos; basically all the stuff I'd do at home via WiFi and not via my phones data connection. It was only then that I discovered that I wasn't connected to the WiFi AP in the cafe after all (stuck in Captive Portal hell) and I'd just used up all my normal 1G data bundel for my phone SIM in 20 minutes.


So, I went to the nearest mobile phone shop and got a Lebara SIM with a Spanish number.You have to ID yourself (I used my driving license) but that was not a problem and within 5 minutes I had a working Spanish mobile number.

I'm a fan of Lebara's mobile network. They offer SIM cards in most european countries. Before leaving, I'd purchased 7GB of data with roaming for use with my hotspot and once I got the APN settings right it's been flawless.

My phone accepts two SIM cards which is good as I can keep my normal mobile phone number 'online'. I also purchased 7 Gig of data for 10 Euros which is half the price I paid at home. The moral of the story being, buy a Lebara SIM card in the country your visiting and purchase a national tariff instead of roaming. Then, once again the world will be your oyster!

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