Survival Guide - Discover Scotland: Experience the Best of Scotland - page 662

Telephone
The famous red telephone boxes are a dying breed now, surviving mainly in conservation
areas. You'll mainly see two types of phone booths in Scotland: one takes money (and
doesn't give change), while the other uses prepaid phonecards and credit cards. Some
phones accept both coins and cards. Payphone cards are widely available.
The cheapest way of calling internationally is via the internet, or by buying a discount
call card; you'll see these in newsagents, along with tables of countries and the number of
minutes you'll get for your money.

MOBILE PHONES
Codes for mobile phones usually begin with 07. The UK uses the GSM 900/1800 network,
which covers the rest of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, but isn't compatible with the
North American GSM 1900. Most modern mobiles, however, can function on both net-
works - check before you leave home.

PHONE CODES & USEFUL NUMBERS

Dialling the UK Dial your country's international access code then 44 (the UK country
code), then the area code (dropping the first 0) followed by the phone number.

Dialling out of the UK The international access code is 00; dial this, then add the code

of the country you wish to call.

Making a reverse-charge (collect) international call Dial 155 for the operator. It's an

expensive option, but not for the caller.

Area codes in Scotland Begin with 01, eg Edinburgh 0131, Wick 01955.

Directory Assistance There are several numbers; 118500 is one.

Mobile phones Codes usually begin with 07.

Free calls Numbers starting with 0800 are free; calls to 0845 numbers are charged at

local rates.