Mexico 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. You can also call home with prepaid phone cards purchased in Mexico (see Calling Within Mexico).

Placing International Calls. To call Mexico from home or to call home from Mexico, dial:
1. The international dialing prefix. To call from Australia, dial 0011; Canada or the US, 011; Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, 00; Mexico, 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; Mexico, 52.
3. The city/area code. Let’s Go lists the city/area codes for cities and towns in Mexico opposite the city or town name, next to a }. 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 obtain a calling card, contact the appropriate company listed below. There are often advantages to purchasing calling cards online, including better rates and immediate access to your account. To call home with a calling card, contact the operator for your service provider in Mexico 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	01-800-288-2872
Canada Direct	800-561-8868 or www.infocanadadirect.com	01-800-123-0200
MCI (US)	800-777-5000 or www.minutepass.com	001-800-888-8000 (US specific)
Telstra Australia	1800 676 638 or www.telstra.com	01-800-123-0261

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 Mexico

The simplest way to call within the country is to use a coin-operated phone. The LADATEL phones that have popped up all over the country have revolutionized the way Mexico calls. To operate one, you’ll need a colorful pre-paid phone card, available at most papelerías (stationery stores) or tiendas de abarrotes (general stores)—look for the “De venta aquí LADATEL” signs posted in store windows. Cards come in 30-, 50-, and 100-peso increments. Using a card will usually save time, if not money, in the long run. The computerized phone will tell you how much time, in units, you have left on your card. Phone rates typically tend to be highest in the morning, lower in the evening, and lowest on Sunday and late at night. As of August 2007, phone calls to the US cost 5 pesos per minute, long-distance domestic calls were 4 pesos per minute, and local calls 1 peso per minute.

On The Line. When calling home, you often get more time out of phone cards when dialing from a private line rather than from a LADATEL, which can cut your time by as much as half. Sweet talk hotel owners into letting you use their phones, and assure them that the card you are using is prepagada (prepaid).

Cellular Phones

Some American cell phone companies operate in Mexico, but charge hefty roaming fees. The international standard for cell phones is Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). To make and receive calls in Mexico 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, meaning that they come with calling time included and you don’t need to sign up for a monthly service plan. When you use up the prepaid time, you can buy additional cards or vouchers (usually available at convenience stores) to “top up” your phone. 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.

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. All three frequencies (900/1800/1900) operate in Mexico, which uses a tri-band system. 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.

TelMex, called TelCel in Mexico, and Movistar are the largest cell phone companies in Mexico. Their near-monopoly has resulted in high fees, but the vast majority of the Mexican population still owns cell phones. Prepaid minutes are available in increments of 100, 200, or 500 pesos. A 100 peso card will buy an approximately 10-minute conversation to the United States. It is expensive to receive international phone calls on a cell phone. To cut costs, locals often opt to send text messages in place of phone conversations. In some cases, it may be possible to receive messages from the US for free.

Time Differences

Mexico is divided into 3 time zones and observes Daylight Saving Time. Most of the country—Southern, Central, and Eastern Mexico—is six hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Southern Baja, Chihuahua, Nayarit, and Sinaloa are seven hours behind, and northern Baja and Sonora are eight hours behind. A good source for this info is www.worldtimeserver.com.

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