After 4 years with CompuServe I now use AOL. Both have numbers in pretty well every country in the world so you are only making an in-country call when you log on, not a call back to the UK. I don't really like AOL but they do offer an un-limited usage package at Ł15/month for when I am back in the UK and a Ł5/month package giving 3 hours/month for when I am cruising. Unfortunately, CompuServe cannot compete with this and, in any case, CompuServe Classic (my old system) is not XP compatible and will not run correctly on my new laptop.

One2One are by far the cheapest UK provider when Roaming and, provided you have a dual standard phone (900 and 1800MHz) will allow you to log on to the same networks as Cellnet and Vodaphone. For example, logging onto the same Network in France cost me 18p/minute with One2One but 99p/min with Cellnet! Yes - you have read that correctly - the logging on to the same network costs 500% more with Cellnet!

Some people do favour using a local network, but we are happier with One2One. Our average bill is around Ł25/month. However, we keep the phone switched off and never, never take incoming calls. If you want to be able to receive calls then you will need to buy local SIM cards to give youself a Spanish number.

I have posted a longer reply on this subject under Mobile Phones on Scuttlebutt if you are interested.

Good luck,
David