Telephones

All calls made within the United Kingdom are charged according to the time of day. The standard rate applies weekdays 8 AM-6 PM; a cheaper rate is in effect weekdays 6 PM-8 AM and all day on weekends, when it's even cheaper. A local call before 6 PM costs 15p for three minutes; this doubles to 30p for the same from a pay phone. A daytime call to the United States will cost 24p a minute on a regular phone (weekends are cheaper), 80p on a pay phone.

Any cell phone can be used in Europe if it's tri-band/GSM. Travelers should ask their cell phone company if their phone is tri-band, and make sure it is activated for international calling before leaving their home country.

You can rent a cell phone from most car rental agencies in London. Some upscale hotels now provide loaner cell phones to their guests. You can also rent a mobile phone through www.rent-mobile-phone.com (0870/7500 770) for £1 per day plus usage.

Area & Country Codes

The country code for Great Britain is 44. When dialing from abroad, drop the initial "0" from the local area code. The code for London is 020, followed by a 7 for numbers in central London, or an 8 for numbers in the Greater London area. Freephone (toll-free) numbers start with 0800 or 0808; national information numbers start with 0845.

A word of warning: 0870 numbers are not toll-free numbers; in fact, numbers beginning with this, 0871 or the 0900 prefix are "premium rate" numbers, and it costs extra to call them. The amount varies and is usually relatively small when dialed from within the country but can be excessive when dialed from outside the U.K.

The country code is 1 for the United States and Canada, 61 for Australia, and 64 for New Zealand.

Directory & Operator Assistance

There are several different directory-assistance providers. For information anywhere in Britain, try dialing 118-888 or 118-118; you'll need to know the town and the street (or at least the neighborhood) of the person or organization for which you're requesting information. For the operator, dial 100. For assistance with international calls, dial 155.

International Calls

To make an international call from London, dial 00, followed by the country code and the local number.

When calling from overseas to access a London telephone number, drop the first 0 from the prefix and dial only 20 (or any other British area code) and then the eight-digit phone number.

Local Calls

You don't have to dial London's central area code (020) if you are calling inside London itself -- just the eight-digit telephone number.

Long-Distance Calls

For long-distance calls within Britain, dial the area code (which begins with 01), followed by the number. The area-code prefix is only used when you are dialing from outside the city. In provincial areas, the dialing codes for nearby towns are often posted in the booth.

Phone Cards

Public card phones operate with special cards that you can buy from post offices or newsstands. Ideal for longer calls, they are composed of units of 10p, and come in values of £3, £5, £10, and more. To use a card phone, lift the receiver, insert your card, and dial the number. An indicator panel shows the number of units used. At the end of your call, the card will be returned. Where credit cards are taken, slide the card through, as indicated.

Public Phones

There are three types of phones: those that accept (1) only coins, (2) only British Telecom (BT) phone cards, or (3) BT phone cards and credit cards.

The coin-operated phones are of the push-button variety; the workings of coin-operated telephones vary, but there are usually instructions on each unit. Most take 10p, 20p, 50p, and £1 coins. Insert the coins before dialing (the minimum charge is 10p). If you hear a repeated single tone after dialing, the line is busy; a continual tone means the number is unobtainable (or that you have dialed the wrong -- or no -- prefix). The indicator panel shows you how much money is left; add more whenever you like. If there is no answer, replace the receiver and your money will be returned.