London By Telephone

You can usually make direct international calls from pay phones, but if you aren’t using a phone card, you may need to feed the machine regularly. Prepaid phone cards are a common and relatively inexpensive means of calling abroad. Each one comes with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and a toll-free access number. You call the access number and then follow the directions for dialing your PIN. To purchase 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.

Placing International Calls. To call London from home or to call home from London, dial:
1. The international dialing prefix. To call from Australia, dial 0011; Canada or the US, 011; Ireland, New Zealand, or the UK, 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.
3. The city/area code. 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.

Prepaid Calling Cards. Prepaid calling cards are sold in newsstands and post offices. Be sure to check rates and connection charges before you buy. If you’re planning to make one long call, go for the card with the cheapest rate; for lots of short calls, look for a low connection charge. Before settling on a calling card plan, be sure to research your options in order to pick the one that best fits both your needs and your destination.

Billed Calling Cards. These calling cards must be set up in your home country before you leave: contact your telephone provider. In the USA, AT&T, MCI, and Sprint all offer their own versions. From the UK, simply dial the free access number and your account code: you’ll then be able to either make a direct-dial call home or reach an operator, who’ll make the connection for you. Once a month, the bill will be sent home—make sure someone’s around to pay it! The disadvantages of these cards is that rates are usually high, and they’re only good for calling their home country. You can make calls to other countries, but you’ll be charged the rate for calling home plus the rate from home to the other country.

Company	To Obtain A Card:	To Call Abroad:
AT&T (US)	www.att.com	0800 89 00 11 or 0500 89 00 11
Canada Direct	800-561-8868; www.infocanadadirect.com	0800 559 3141 or 0800 096 0634
MCI (US)	800-777-5000; www.minutepass.com	0800 279 5088
Telecom New Zealand Direct	www.telecom.co.nz	0800 899 776
Telstra Australia	www.telstra.com	0800 783 0021

Calling Within London

London’s phone codes have changed four times in the last two decades, so you may encounter some out-of-date numbers while in London. Here’s the low-down on how to convert the old numbers to the new ones. Starting in the late 1980s, London had two phone codes, 071 and 081. In the 90s, these were changed to 0171 and 0181. To convert these old seven-digit numbers to the new eight-digit number, prefix 7 (if it was an 0171 number) or 8 (for 0181) to the start of the old number.

Phone Numbers. London’s phone code is 020; within this area, all numbers are 8 digits long. All telephone numbers given in this book are area code 020 unless otherwise specified. Other UK codes: 0800 and 0808 numbers are free; 0845 numbers are charged at the local rate; 0870 numbers are charged at the national (long-distance) rate; numbers starting with 09 are premium rate (charging from £1-1.50 per min.); numbers starting with 07 are mobile phones, costing around 30p per min. from a landline (more from a pay phone).

Cellular Phones

Cell phones are ubiquitous in Britain; competitive, low prices and the variety of calling plans make them accessible even for short-term, low-budget travelers. For most visitors to Britain, a pay-as-you-go plan is the most attractive option. Once you arrive, pick up an eligible mobile (from £30) and recharge, or top up, with a card purchased at a grocery store, high-street shop, on the Internet, or by phone. Incoming calls and text messages are always free.

The international standard for cell phones is Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). To make and receive calls in London 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. For more information 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, providing a simpler option than picking up a phone in-country.

Service Providers

Many of the providers below also have their own stores.

Carphone Warehouse (sales advice ☎0870 087 0870; www.carphonewarehouse.com). Dozens of branches, including: 220 Tottenham Court Rd. (☎08701 682 319; Tottenham Court Rd. or Goodge St.); 49 Oxford St. (☎08701 682 792; Tottenham Court Rd.), and 434 Strand (☎08701 682 033; Charing Cross or Embankment). Sells all of the below providers. Most stores open M-Sa 9am-7pm, Su 10am-5pm.
Mobile Phone Boutique, 100 N. Circular Rd. (☎8208 4198). One of many unlocking service stores. Also rents mobile phones for as low as £1 per day.
Rent-a-Mobile (☎7353 7705; www.rent-mobile-phone.com). Rents mobile phones for £1 per day, with a £7 delivery fee.

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 US 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

The UK is on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). New York (USA) is 5hr. behind, Vancouver (CAN) and San Francisco (USA) are 8hr. behind, Sydney (AUS) is 10hr. ahead, and Aukland (NZ) is 11hr. ahead.