Mobile World Congress Barcelona - Get Connected

Here is another article to help you with your Business needs, while you are staying visiting the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Where can you go for connectivity e.g. wifi, hotspots etc. Here is an article covering just that and we will be adding something new every day, so keep coming back.

CONNECTIVITY: SIM CARDS, HOTSPOTS, AND WI-FI
Check your wireless carrier's roaming plan before committing to a local solution. Most European operators, as well as AT&T and Verizon in the U.S., now have reasonably priced smartphone roaming plans including data, and it's always easiest to be able to keep your "regular" phone number to give to contacts at the show.
SIM Cards

The Granvia 2 mall, just across Plaça Europa from the convention center (open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday), has more than a half-dozen mobile phone shops. I went to the Carrefour Mobile desk on the ground floor, which sells all the major Spanish brands.

The simplest tariff for data-hungry business travelers is Vodafone Yu, which comes in three varieties. "Yu 8" (€12 for the SIM plus one month service) gives you 200MB of data, 20 minutes of calling, and 20 local SMS messages. "Yu 12" (€15 for SIM plus service) gives you 600MB, 60 minutes, and 60 SMS. "Yu 16" (€20 for SIM plus service) gives you 1GB, 100 minutes, and unlimited SMS. When you pop the SIM in your phone, have the salesperson type in the activation code to put it on the appropriate plan.

On Sundays, the best place to buy a SIM card is the Movistar kiosk on the ground floor of the Maremagnum mall (Moll d'Espanya 5, Barcelona 08039; Tel. +34 (93) 225-8100; open daily 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.). To get to the mall, take Metro line 3 to Drassanes, then walk down to the end of the Ramblas, across the traffic circle and along the pedestrian bridge.

A basic prepaid Movistar SIM costs €13, including €10 credit. For prepaid data, choose €4/week for 100MB, or €2.39/day for 250MB/day.

In any case, make sure to bring your original passport to buy your SIM card; they'll need to make a copy for ID purposes.

Hotspots
For more intensive, multi-device Internet use, you may want to rent a hotspot. Typically, hotspots support up to five devices and offer you about 300MB/day, up to 7GB/month.

Before you travel, you can rent hotspots from XCom Global, Tep Wireless or Cellular Abroad for your trip.
In Barcelona, the tourist board officially recommends TripNeter (+34 (668) 893-310), which provides 250MB/day of 3G service for €5.99/day. The company will deliver a hotspot to your hotel or let you pick it up at a tourist office downtown.



Local Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is not widespread in Barcelona, although it's available at major hotels. Fortunately, the GSMA is running Wi-Fi at hotspots all over the convention center, so you should be covered during the show itself.
Outside the venue, Wi-Fi is available in the lobby of the Porta Fira and Fira Congress hotels (buy a coffee and ask for the password), as well as in many local restaurants. I'll note which restaurants have Wi-Fi in the "Eating and Drinking" section.

If you don't want to go to a restaurant, head to the Granvia 2 mall across the street, where free Wi-Fi is available anywhere near one of the two Jamaica coffee shops or the Carrefour superstore. The McDonald's on Plaça Europa also has free Wi-Fi.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com by Sascha Segan

If you are visiting Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress, MWC or GSMA in 2014 or just want to make a Tour, Day trip, Attractions or Excursion or are interested in any other tour services, then check out the picture above at the top and if you can't find what you are looking for, call us on +34 647 044 889, because you can be sure we can do it.