By Rick
Calling a friend or relative in another country can be a complicated process for most people. Unlike calling within your local region, international dialing requires a series of numbers to be dialed before the number you are calling to make the connection. Knowing what digits to use is important in making sure you avoid an expensive wrong number. This international dialing becomes much easier with time and will become second nature for most people the more they do it.
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Dialing Your Country’s Exit Codes
Because every phone exchange is slightly different between countries, you’ll need to make a country-specific connection when starting your call. This is known as an exit code and is unique to the country where you are starting your call. These codes are also referred to as international direct dialing codes (IDD). Before any international dialing, you’ll need to know this exit code and dial this first when making your call. The good news is that this exit code is the same for wherever you are in the country but may vary based on the carrier you are using. Be sure to check this before making your call. All international dialing uses these codes and there are plenty of websites that list them.
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Knowing the Country Codes for the Region You’re Calling
In addition to the exit codes for your country, you’ll need to also know the country code for the region you’re calling to complete any international dialing. These country codes are different for every country and are a single code for each. When dialing another country, these country codes are dialed right after the exit codes and before the phone number you are trying to reach. To make international dialing easier, list the exit code on a piece of paper and list the country code below it and then the number you are calling below that. When written together it can be confusing when trying to dial a long string of digits.
Special International Dialing Cases
In many ways calling a landline phone is much easier than calling a cell phone. Because a landline phone is always located in a particular country, region and city you can look up the required codes for international dialing and make your call. Since a cell phone is mobile, its exact location will be different every time you call it. It is also on a different network than the landline phones and requires a different dialing sequence. In most cases you will have to know the carrier code for the network the phone is on to complete your call. This is an easy thing to find but does take a little more work. What makes this even more confusing is that this cellular carrier code is not something that every country requires. Some regions route these calls through the same international networks and allow you to dial them just like a standard landline call. To make this easier, many websites provide applications to help you figure out the correct dialing sequence required to complete these calls. You can simply enter the country you’re calling from, the country you want to reach and the application will give you the correct series of digits required to make your call.
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