Before you start

Passport, for a prepaid SIM
NIE and a Spanish bank account, for a contract
An unlocked or eSIM-capable handset
A Spanish address, for fibre installation

Step-by-step

1
Buy a prepaid SIM on your passport on arrival
Available at the airport, phone shops and supermarkets. Registration against your passport is required by law and takes a few minutes at the counter. A Spanish number in your first hour unlocks bank verification and the appointment portals.
In personWho: YouDay 1
2
Wait for the NIE before taking a contract
Contract tariffs need a NIE and usually a Spanish IBAN for the direct debit. They are considerably better value than prepaid and typically bundle mobile with fibre, but there is no premium you can pay to skip the identity requirement.
In personWho: You
3
Bundle fibre with mobile, which is how Spain prices it
Spanish operators price convergent bundles aggressively and mobile alone is poor value by comparison. Symmetric gigabit connections are ordinary and inexpensive in the city.
OnlineWho: You
4
Check the connection at the specific address before signing
Alicante city has excellent fibre. The coastal urbanizaciones, the older blocks in the centre and the inland villages do not all. Ask which operator is installed at that address, ask the neighbours, and run a speed test at the viewing if you can. This is a lease-signing question, not something to sort out afterwards.
OnlineWho: YouBefore signing a lease
5
Consider the low-cost operators seriously
The virtual operators reselling the main networks are substantially cheaper on the same masts, and are more willing to take a customer on a passport plus NIE without extensive credit checks.
OnlineWho: You
6
Keep your number when you switch
Portability between Spanish operators is a legal right and is handled by the receiving operator within a short statutory period. Never cancel the old service first — you lose the number.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport, for prepaid registration
NIE and Spanish IBAN, for a contract
Proof of address, for fibre installation

Things most newcomers don’t know

The national fibre statistics do not describe the coastal developments.

Spain has among the highest full-fibre coverage in Europe and it is genuinely cheap — but that figure is built on dense urban rollout. Low-density urbanizaciones along the Costa Blanca, particularly older ones built before fibre and those with private internal roads, can be served by copper, fixed wireless or nothing at all, and getting fibre in may need the community's agreement and a wayleave. If your income depends on the connection, treat the address as the unit of analysis, not the city.

Source: Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia

There is no anonymous SIM in Spain, unlike the UK.

Every Spanish SIM must be registered against an identity document at activation. A passport is enough for prepaid, so this is not a barrier — but arriving expecting to buy one off a supermarket shelf and use it immediately, as you can in Britain, means an unexpected counter visit with documents in hand on your first day.

Source: Ministerio para la Transformación Digital

The NIE, not the money, is what gates a good tariff.

Contract plans are far better value than prepaid and almost always bundle fibre, but they require a NIE and usually a Spanish IBAN for the direct debit. Since the NIE depends on the residency process and the IBAN depends on the NIE, the whole chain runs address → padrón → NIE → bank → phone. Budget several weeks of prepaid as part of the move.

Source: community-reported

A Spanish number is what actually unblocks the bureaucracy.

The cita previa portals, the Cl@ve identity system, bank verification and most administrative SMS codes all assume a Spanish mobile. Trying to run the first month on a foreign number is where a surprising amount of first-fortnight frustration comes from, and it is the cheapest problem on this list to solve — a prepaid SIM on your passport, on day one.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Signing a lease in an urbanización without verifying the actual connection at that address.
Expecting to buy an anonymous SIM as in the UK.
Signing a long contract before you have a NIE and being pushed onto a worse tariff.
Buying mobile alone when Spain prices convergent bundles far better.
Cancelling your old service before porting the number.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.