Italy By Telephone

Prepaid phone cards are a common and relatively inexpensive means of calling abroad. Each comes with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and a toll-free access number. You call the access number and then follow the directions to enter your PIN. To buy prepaid phone cards, check online for the best rates; www.callingcards.com is a good place to start. Online providers generally send your access number and PIN via email, with no actual “card” involved. You can also call home with prepaid phone cards purchased in Italy (see Calling Within Italy).

Placing International Calls. To call Italy from home or to call home from Italy, dial:
1. The international dialing prefix. To call from Australia, dial 0011; Canada or the US, 011; Ireland, New Zealand, or the UK, 00; Italy, 00.
2. The country code of the country you want to call. To call Australia, dial 61; Canada or the US, 1; Ireland, 353; New Zealand, 64; the UK, 44; Italy, 39.
3. The city/area code. Let’s Go lists the city/area codes for cities and towns in Italy opposite the city or town name, next to a }, as well as in every phone number. If the first digit is a zero (e.g., 020 for London), omit the zero when calling from abroad (e.g., dial 20 from Canada to reach London ).
4. The local number.

Another option is to purchase a calling card, linked to a major national telecommunications service in your home country. Calls are billed collect or to your account. To call home with a calling card, contact the operator for your service provider in Italy by dialing the appropriate toll-free access number (listed below in the third column).

Company	To Obtain A Card:	To Call Abroad:
AT&T (US)	☎800-364-9292 or www.att.com	☎800 17 24 44
Canada Direct	☎800-561-8868 orwww.infocanadadirect.com	☎800 17 22 13
MCI (US)	☎800-777-5000 orwww.minutepass.com	☎800 90 58 25
Telecom New Zealand Direct	www.telecom.co.nz	☎800 17 26 41
Telstra Australia	☎800 676 638 orwww.telstra.com	☎800 17 26 10

Placing a collect call through an international operator can be expensive, but may be necessary in case of an emergency. You can frequently call collect without even possessing a company’s calling card just by calling its access number and following the instructions.

Calling Within Italy

The simplest way to call within the country is to use a coin-operated phone. Prepaid phone cards (available at newspaper kiosks and tobacco stores, or tabaccherie ), usually save time and money in the long run.

Cellular Phones

Cellular phones (telefonini) are a convenient and inexpensive option for those planning longer visits to Italy. Given the prevalence of cell phones in Italy, pay phones are increasingly hard to come by, making cell phones a good alternative for tourists. You won’t necessarily have to deal with cell phone plans and bills; prepaid minutes are widely available and phones can be purchased cheaply or even rented, avoiding the hassle of pay phones and phone cards.

The international standard for cell phones is Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). To make and receive calls in Italy you will need a GSM-compatible phone and a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card, a country-specific, thumbnail-sized chip that gives you a local phone number and plugs you into the local network. Many SIM cards are prepaid, and incoming calls are often free. You can buy additional cards or vouchers (usually available at convenience stores) to “top up” your phone. For more info on GSM phones, check out www.telestial.com, www.orange.co.uk, www.roadpost.com, or www.planetomni.com. Companies like Cellular Abroad (www.cellularabroad.com) rent cell phones that work in a variety of destinations around the world.

Gsm Phones. Just having a GSM phone doesn’t mean you’re necessarily good to go when you travel abroad. The majority of GSM phones sold in the United States operate on a different frequency (1900) than international phones (900/1800) and will not work abroad. Tri-band phones work on all three frequencies (900/1800/1900) and will operate through most of the world. Additionally, some GSM phones are SIM-locked and will only accept SIM cards from a single carrier. You’ll need a SIM-unlocked phone to use a SIM card from a local carrier when you travel.

Time Differences

Italy is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The country observes Daylight Saving Time, which starts on the last Sunday in March, when clocks are moved ahead one hour, making Italy two hours ahead of GMT. Clocks are put back one hour on the last Sunday of October.

The following table applies from late October to early April.

4am	5am	6am	7am	8am	1pm	10pm*
Vancouver Seattle Los Angeles	Denver	Chicago	Boston New York Toronto	New Brunswick	Rome	Sydney Canberra Melbourne

4am

5am

6am

7am

8am

1pm

10pm*

Vancouver

Seattle

Los Angeles

Denver

Chicago

Boston

New York

Toronto

New

Brunswick

Rome

Sydney

Canberra

Melbourne

*Australia observes Daylight Saving Time from October to March, the opposite of the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, it is 8hr. ahead of Rome from March to October and 10hr. ahead from October to March, for an average of 9hr.