# International calls: Information needed

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-calls-information-needed/166848>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 6, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-calls-information-needed/166848 "2003-04-06T10:31:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-calls-information-needed/166848/1 "2003-04-06T10:31:25Z")

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I know somebody in Canada and was wondering how we would communicate via cell phone? Is it possible can some one help with codes here?  
I live In the north west of England

She lives in Toronto

Please I need help to call her and her to call me, another question, could she send me a txt message?

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**Author:** ![essohbee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71c47a/32.png) [@essohbee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essohbee)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-calls-information-needed/166848/2 "2003-04-06T10:52:06Z")

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When my girlfriend is in Norway we call each other on cell phones and normal phones and send lots of SMSs back and forth. Just prefix the phone number with a the country code (+47123456789 to Norway), where the + tells the switchboard to anticipate for a country code and 47 is the country code to Norway (Canada seems to have 1 as country code). The telephone companies in Sweden accepts 00 as substitute for the +, but this may vary. Do keep in mind that it is rather expensive calling abroads on a cell phone.

Your best bet would be to call customer service for your cellphone and simply ask them. They should know everything you need to know.

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**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-calls-information-needed/166848/3 "2003-04-06T13:35:30Z")

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Hey thanks for your advice Essohbee

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**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-calls-information-needed/166848/4 "2003-04-06T15:06:56Z")

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In the U.S. you can usually find country/city codes in the front of your telephone directory; don’t know about where you are. If you’re going to call each other on cell phones, I highly recommend prepaid international calling cards. The last one I bought was $5, and if you were to use it all at one shot to avoid per-call and/or maintenance charges, it would cover SEVEN HOURS of calls to my college roomie in England. That’s cheaper than a call from Illinois to Indiana!

You can find calling cards in any neighborhood in medium-to-large cities where there are either lots of international tourists or immigrants; there are tons of variations on fee structures, etc., so shop around for the best deal. When I visited my friend in Kent, the darn things were very cheap and all over the place.