International call
Encyclopedia
International telephone calls are those made between different countries. These telephone call
s are processed by international gateway exchange
s (switches). Charges for these calls were high initially but declined greatly during the 20th century due to advances in technology and liberalization
. Originally they were placed via long-distance operator
s. The calls were transmitted by cable, communications satellite
, radio, and more recently, fiber optics and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). International Direct Dialling was introduced in the 1970s, so calls can be dialed by country code without an operator.
International calls can be paid via telephone card
(aka phone card, calling card). These popular telecommunication
s products allow users to initiate an international call from almost anywhere in the world. These cards typically offer rates lower than most traditional long distance products and services, and can be used via landline
, cellular phone, PBX, and some VoIP services, as well as from some airports and hotels.
In the United Kingdom
, there are various ways to make an international call. For users with access to a landline
:
For mobile phone
users, the choices used to be very limited but it is no longer the case as mobile phone network operators roll out new pricing models and innovation in call routing
developed. There are now numerous ways for a mobile phone user to call internationally:
Telephone call
A telephone call is a connection over a telephone network between the calling party and the called party.-Information transmission:A telephone call may carry ordinary voice transmission using a telephone, data transmission when the calling party and called party are using modems, or facsimile...
s are processed by international gateway exchange
International gateway exchange
In telephony, an international gateway exchange is a telephone switch that forms the gateway between a national telephone network and one or more other international gateway exchanges, thus providing cross-border connectivity....
s (switches). Charges for these calls were high initially but declined greatly during the 20th century due to advances in technology and liberalization
Liberalization
In general, liberalization refers to a relaxation of previous government restrictions, usually in areas of social or economic policy. In some contexts this process or concept is often, but not always, referred to as deregulation...
. Originally they were placed via long-distance operator
Long-distance operator
In telephony, the long-distance operator is a telephone operator available to assist with making long distance telephone calls, answering billing questions, making collect calls and other functions, including emergency assistance....
s. The calls were transmitted by cable, communications satellite
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
, radio, and more recently, fiber optics and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). International Direct Dialling was introduced in the 1970s, so calls can be dialed by country code without an operator.
International calls can be paid via telephone card
Telephone card
A telephone card, calling card or phone card for short, is a small plastic card, sized and shaped like a credit card, used to pay for telephone services. It is not necessary to have the physical card except with a stored-value system; knowledge of the access telephone number to dial and the PIN is...
(aka phone card, calling card). These popular telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s products allow users to initiate an international call from almost anywhere in the world. These cards typically offer rates lower than most traditional long distance products and services, and can be used via landline
Landline
A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
, cellular phone, PBX, and some VoIP services, as well as from some airports and hotels.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, there are various ways to make an international call. For users with access to a landline
Landline
A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
:
- It can be made directly by dialling the country code together with the destination phone number. This is the most expensive way to call internationally, unless a special arrangement is made with the telephone operatorTelephone operatorA telephone operator is either* a person who provides assistance to a telephone caller, usually in the placing of operator assisted telephone calls such as calls from a pay phone, collect calls , calls which are billed to a credit card, station-to-station and person-to-person calls, and certain...
. For example, with BTBT GroupBT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
there is an option to add an international add-on to a standard calling plan.
- It can also be made with the use of a telephone cardTelephone cardA telephone card, calling card or phone card for short, is a small plastic card, sized and shaped like a credit card, used to pay for telephone services. It is not necessary to have the physical card except with a stored-value system; knowledge of the access telephone number to dial and the PIN is...
. This way, international calls are made by first dialling to a local access telephone number and providing the PINPersonal identification numberA personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
before dialling the country code together with the destination phone number.
For mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
users, the choices used to be very limited but it is no longer the case as mobile phone network operators roll out new pricing models and innovation in call routing
Routing in the PSTN
Routing in the PSTN is the process used to route telephone calls across the public switched telephone network. This process is the same whether the call is made between two phones in the same locality, or across two different continents....
developed. There are now numerous ways for a mobile phone user to call internationally:
- It can be made directly by dialling the country code together with the destination phone number. This is the most expensive way to call internationally.
- It can be made by adding an add-on to an existing mobile phone tariff. A number of mobile phone network operators are offering add-ons for making discounted international calls. Some mobile phone network operators describe their add-ons as giving 'unlimited' minutes for making international calls. However, the official Fair Usage PolicyAcceptable use policyAn acceptable use policy is a set of rules applied by the owner/manager of a network, website or large computer system that restrict the ways in which the network site or system may be used...
tends to limit the maximum allowable talk time at 3,000 minutes per month.
- It can be made with the use of a telephone cardTelephone cardA telephone card, calling card or phone card for short, is a small plastic card, sized and shaped like a credit card, used to pay for telephone services. It is not necessary to have the physical card except with a stored-value system; knowledge of the access telephone number to dial and the PIN is...
, as described above.
- It can be made by using a SIMSubscriber Identity ModuleA subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
card provided by mobile virtual network operatorsMobile virtual network operatorA mobile virtual network operator is a company that provides mobile phone services but does not have its own licensed frequency allocation of radio spectrum, nor does it necessarily have all of the infrastructure required to provide mobile telephone service...
, which include Lebara MobileLebara MobileLebara Mobile is a telecommunications company which operates services in many European countries using the mobile virtual network operator business model. The operator has presence in Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.Lebara currently uses the...
and LycaMobileLycaMobileLycamobile is a mobile virtual network operator in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom - it recently launched in Australia. The Lycamobile brand is distinct from the Lycatel brand and operates with different national...
. Users of these networks make international calls by dialling the country code together with the destination phone number.
- It can be made through a call-forwardingCall forwardingCall forwarding , in telephony, is a feature on some telephone networks allowing an incoming call to a called party to be redirected to a third party. For example, the third party may be a mobile telephone, voicemail box or other telephone number where the desired called party is situated. It was...
service that allows mobile phone users to associate an international phone number with a landlineLandlineA landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
number within the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. One such service provider is beier360. Users of beier360 dials a landlineLandlineA landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
number and the call is then forwarded internationally. This allows mobile phone users to take advantage of their free minutes when accessing the service. Since beier360 identifies its users by their Caller ID'sCaller IDCaller ID , also called calling line identification or calling number identification or Calling Line Identification Presentation , is a telephone service, available in analog and digital phone systems and most Voice over Internet Protocol applications, that transmits a caller's number to...
, there is no need to provide a PINPersonal identification numberA personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
when accessing the service.
- It can be made by first dialling a voice short codeVoice short codesVoice short codes enable UK mobile phone users to dial a 5-digit short code as an alternative to a standard geographic or non-geographic long number. The consumer pays anything between 0p and £2/min...
, which tends to be operated by a company other than the mobile phone network operator, before entering the country code together with the destination phone number.
- It can also be made with the use of VoIP applications on smart phones. Such applications include SkypeSkypeSkype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
, Google VoiceGoogle voiceSearch by voice is a branded name for a technology to "search by voice on your [digital device]", such as a mobile phone or PC, i.e. have the device search for data upon entering information on what to search into the device by speaking....
, fring, and others. These applications make use of the Wi-FiWi-FiWi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
or 3G3G3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
connection on the phones to make calls. Alternatively, calls can also be routed by accessing a server through a local or regional phone number.
See also
- List of international call prefixes
- International Direct Dialling
- Telephone cardTelephone cardA telephone card, calling card or phone card for short, is a small plastic card, sized and shaped like a credit card, used to pay for telephone services. It is not necessary to have the physical card except with a stored-value system; knowledge of the access telephone number to dial and the PIN is...
- Routing in the PSTNRouting in the PSTNRouting in the PSTN is the process used to route telephone calls across the public switched telephone network. This process is the same whether the call is made between two phones in the same locality, or across two different continents....
- Call forwardingCall forwardingCall forwarding , in telephony, is a feature on some telephone networks allowing an incoming call to a called party to be redirected to a third party. For example, the third party may be a mobile telephone, voicemail box or other telephone number where the desired called party is situated. It was...
- VoIP