An international call prefix is a telephone

Telephone

The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

 dialing code used to dial out of a country when making an international call

International call

International telephone calls are those made between different countries. These telephone calls are processed by international gateway exchanges . Charges for these calls were high initially but declined greatly during the 20th century due to advances in technology and liberalization. Originally...

. They are also called international access code, International Direct Dialling (IDD) code, exit code, etc.

These codes are different from the unique country calling code every country has which is used to dial in to that country.

When making a call between countries, the caller must first dial the international call prefix, then the destination country calling code, then (usually) an area code, then the local phone number.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) recommends 00 as the general standard for an international call prefix, and this has been implemented by a large number of countries, but not all of them. This page only lists the exceptions, but rapid developments may make this list out of date. See External links for externally maintained lists which may be more up-to-date.

When phone numbers are published for use abroad they typically include the country calling code, but show a plus sign (+) prefix in place of any international call prefix, to signify that the caller should use the prefix code appropriate for their country.

Many phones allow this "+" to be entered in their saved number lists, often by holding down the '0' key (most GSM mobile phones) or with two consecutive presses of the * key. When making a call the system then automatically converts the "+" to the correct international prefix, depending on where the phone is being used, which enables callers to use the same stored number from any country.http://www.howtocallabroad.com/qa/plus-sign.html

Example

1. If a caller in the USA or Canada
   Canada
   Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
   
    wants to call the Mayor
   Mayor
   In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
   
    of Dunedin
   Dunedin
   Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
   
    in New Zealand
   New Zealand
   New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
   
   , they would dial 011 64 3 477 4000. (The generic international call prefix for NANPA
   North American Numbering Plan
   The North American Numbering Plan is an integrated telephone numbering plan administered by Neustar which encompasses 24 countries and territories, including the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 nations of the Caribbean...
   
    countries is 011, then the country code for New Zealand is 64, the area code for Dunedin is 3, and the local number for the Dunedin City Council is 477 4000).
2. If a caller in Japan
   Japan
   Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
   
    wants to call the same number, they would instead dial 010 64 3 477 4000.
3. If a caller in Australia
   Australia
   Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
   
    wants to call the same number, they would instead dial 0011 64 3 477 4000.
4. If a caller in the UK, China
   China
   Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
   
    or any other country using the ITU recommended 00 prefix, to call the same number they would instead dial 00 64 3 477 4000.

Variations

Some Telecommunications service provider

Telecommunications Service Provider

A telecommunications service provider or TSP is a type of communications service provider that has traditionally provided telephone and similar services...

s or Mobile network operator

Mobile network operator

A mobile network operator , also known as mobile phone operator , carrier service provider , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, or cellular company, or mobile network carrier is a telephone company that provides services for mobile phone subscribers.One essential...

s (wireless carriers) have different international call prefix codes which callers or subscribers can use to route calls through specific networks, sometimes with special pricing arrangements.

Many countries also provide alternative dialling arrangements for calls to neighbouring countries.

Some of these variations from the generic codes are shown in the list below (but may be out of date).

Countries by International Prefix

• 00, all countries not listed below and including but not restricted to:
  • All European Union countries (possibly other numbers also)
  • Switzerland
  • Norway
  • India
  • Egypt

• 0
  • Samoa

• 00 ~
  • Hungary
    Hungary
    Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
    
    

• 000
  • Tanzania
  • Uganda

• 00x, where x is the international carrier selection code
  • Kenya
    Kenya
    Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
    
    : 0, 5, 6, 7
  • Colombia
    Colombia
    Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
    
    : 5, 7, 9
  • Cambodia
    Cambodia
    Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
    
    : 1, 7
  • Indonesia
    Indonesia
    Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
    
    : 1, 7, 8, 9
  • Singapore
    Singapore
    Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
    
    : 1, 8
  • South Korea
    South Korea
    The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
    
    : 1, 2, 3xx, 5, 6, 7xx, 8
  • Hong Kong
    Hong Kong
    Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
    
    :
    • 1 – PCCW
      PCCW
      PCCW Limited is the holding company of HKT Group Holdings Limited, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications provider in the Information and Communications Technologies industry. PCCW also holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited...
      
      
    • 60 – PCCW
      PCCW
      PCCW Limited is the holding company of HKT Group Holdings Limited, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications provider in the Information and Communications Technologies industry. PCCW also holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited...
      
       low-cost service
    • 7 – Wharf
      The Wharf (Holdings)
      The Wharf Limited , or Wharf in short, is a company founded in 1886 in Hong Kong. As its name suggests, the company's original business was in running wharfage and dockside warehousing, and it was originally known as The Hongkong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown Company, Limited...
      
      
    • 8 – Hutchison Telecom
    • 9 – New World
  • Taiwan
    Taiwan
    Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
    
    : 2, 5, 6, 7, 9

• 001
  • Guyana
  • Mongolia
  • Thailand

• 0011
  • Australia

• 009
  • Nigeria

• 010
  • Japan

• 01x, where x is the international carrier selection code
  • Israel, where to encourage competition
    Competition
    Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
    
     between international telephone carriers, a system of prefixes beginning with 01x was introduced, in addition to the 00 prefix. For example, if the subscriber dials 018-1-202-555-1212, the call will be routed to North America via Xfone.
    • 012 – 012-Smile
    • 013 – 013-NetVision
    • 014 – Bezeq
      Bezeq
      Bezeq, the Israeli company for communications, is a telecommunications provider in Israel.Until the mid-first decade of the 21st century when it was owned by the Israeli government, Bezeq had a monopoly on landline telephony and Internet access infrastructure...
      
       International
    • 018 – Xfone

• 011 - Any country in the NANPA
  North American Numbering Plan
  The North American Numbering Plan is an integrated telephone numbering plan administered by Neustar which encompasses 24 countries and territories, including the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 nations of the Caribbean...
  
  
  • American Samoa
  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Bermuda
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Canada
  • Cayman Islands
  • Dominica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Grenada
  • Guam
  • Haïti
  • Jamaica
  • Marshall Islands
  • Micronesia
  • Montserrat
  • Northern Mariana Islands
  • Palau
  • Puerto Rico
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Sint Maarten
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
  • United States of America
  • United States Virgin Islands

• 10xx, where xx is the international carrier selection code
  • Georgia
    Georgia (country)
    Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
    
     (00 prefix for default carrier is also admissible instead of 10xx)
    • 07 – Caucasus Online
    • 10 – Telecom Georgia
    • 11 – Egrisi (Akhali Kselebi)
    • 16 – Silknet (former UTG)
    • 18 – Global One
    • 54 – Lagi
    • 60 – Geonet
    • 69 – Service Ltd.

• 1xx0, where xx is the international carrier selection code
  • Chile

• 119
  • Cuba

• 1666
  • Hong Kong – City Telecom
    City Telecom (Hong Kong)
    City Telecom Limited was established in 1992. It is a provider of residential and corporate fixed network and international telecommunications services in Hong Kong, currently the second largest provider of broadband internet in the country...
    
    

• 8~10
  • Belarus
  • Kazakhstan
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uzbekistan

• 8~xx, where xx is the international carrier selection code
  • Russia
    Russia
    Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
    
     (for "carrier hot choice" subscribers)
    • 10 – Rostelecom
      Rostelecom
      Rostelecom network, which as of August 2006, covered Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Volgograd, Stavropol, and planned to cover the whole of Russia by the end of 2006.-Satellite network:...
      
      
    • 26 – Arctel
    • 27 – Synterra
    • 28 – Comstar
    • 56 – GoldenTelecom
    • 57 – Transtelecom
    • 58 – MTT
    • 59 – Orange Business Services

• 99
  • Finland, where to encourage competition
    Competition
    Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
    
     between international telephone carriers, a system of prefixes beginning with 99 was introduced in addition to the 00 prefix. For example, if the subscriber dials 990-1-202-555-1212, the call will be routed to North America via TeliaSonera.
    • 990 – TeliaSonera Finland Oyj
    • 991 – Saunalahti Group Oyj
    • 992 – Globetel Oy
    • 994 – TDC Oy FINLAND
    • 99500 – Cubio Communications Ltd
    • 99511 - Helistamine OU
    • 99532 – Saunalahti Group Oyj
    • 99533 – TDC Oy FINLAND
    • 99541 – DNA Oy
      DNA Oy
      DNA Oy is a Finnish on telecommunications company. It was born in 2007 after a merger. DNA offers cellular phone services, ADSL, cable television and regular telephone service....
      
      
    • 99551 – Cubio Communications Ltd
    • 99555 – DNA Oy
      DNA Oy
      DNA Oy is a Finnish on telecommunications company. It was born in 2007 after a merger. DNA offers cellular phone services, ADSL, cable television and regular telephone service....
      
      
    • 99559 – Elisa Oyj
      Elisa Oyj
      Elisa Oyj is a Finnish telecommunications company founded in 1882 that was known until July 2000 as HPY. Elisa Oyj employs about 3000 people and in 2007 had revenue of about €1.57 billion...
      
      
    • 99577 – TDC Oy FINLAND
    • 99588 – Globetel Oy
    • 99590 – TeliaSonera Finland Oyj
    • 99599 – Scandicom Oy
    • 996 – DNA Oy
      DNA Oy
      DNA Oy is a Finnish on telecommunications company. It was born in 2007 after a merger. DNA offers cellular phone services, ADSL, cable television and regular telephone service....
      
      
    • 9977 – Elisa Oyj
      Elisa Oyj
      Elisa Oyj is a Finnish telecommunications company founded in 1882 that was known until July 2000 as HPY. Elisa Oyj employs about 3000 people and in 2007 had revenue of about €1.57 billion...
      
      
    • 998 – Orange Business Finland Oy
    • 999 – Elisa Oyj
      Elisa Oyj
      Elisa Oyj is a Finnish telecommunications company founded in 1882 that was known until July 2000 as HPY. Elisa Oyj employs about 3000 people and in 2007 had revenue of about €1.57 billion...
      
      

Historic international prefixes

• 0
  • Bahrain (now 00)
  • El Salvador (now 00)
  • Falkland Islands (now 00)
  • Myanmar (now 00)

• 00
  • Cambodia (now 001)
  • Mongolia (now 001)
  • Sint Maarten (now 011)

• 000
  • Rwanda (now 00)

• 001
  • Japan (now 010)

• 002
  • Paraguay (now 00)

• 0030
  • Hong Kong (CTI, which now uses 1666)

• 009
  • Denmark, including Faroe Islands and Greenland (now 00)
  • Sweden (now 00)

• 00357
  • Cyprus

• 010
  • United Kingdom (now 00)

• 05
  • Fiji (now 00)
  • Papua New Guinea (now 00)

• 07
  • Spain (now 00)

• 09
  • Namibia (now 00)
  • Netherlands (now 00)
  • South Africa (now 00)

• 095
  • Norway (now 00)

• 099
  • Guinea-Bissau (now 00)

• 101
  • Malawi (now 00)

• 15
  • Chad (now 00)

• 16
  • Somalia (now 00)
  • Republic of Ireland (now 00)

• 19
  • France (now 00)
  • Central African Republic (now 00)

• 800
  • Estonia (now 00)

• 8~10
  • Estonia (now 00)
  • Azerbaijan (now 00)
  • Armenia (now 00)
  • Georgia (now 00)
  • Kyrgyzstan (now 00)
  • Latvia (now 00)
  • Lithuania (now 00)
  • Moldova (now 00)
  • Ukraine (now 00)

• 90
  • Burundi (now 00)

• 95 for NANPA and 98 for the rest of the world
  • Mexico (now 00)

• 99
  • the former Yugoslavia (successively replaced by successor republics with 00)
  • India (now replaced with 00)

See also

• Access code
  Access Code
  Access code may refer to:In authentication:* Password, a secret word.* Personal identification number , a secret numeric code.In telecommunications:* National access code, used to dial a domestic call....
  
  
• List of country calling codes
• List of mobile phone codes by country

External links

• Standards and recommendations
  • • • • • • Telephone carrier lists
              • • • The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.