Dialing Internationally

Rarely will you have to make a call when travelling to a different country but sometimes there is an emergency or you've decided to pop over to a close country for a visit. A lot of people will think that calling another country is the same way that they do it at home but actually it's very different. I ran into this issue with I was in the Netherlands.

My plan had "roam like home" so I thought that if I called the number of the country that I was in just like I do a local phone number from home (area code + local number) that it would connect. Why did I think this? Well because I was in the country, connected to their service provider, I assumed it would then think my phone was local. Boy was I wrong.

Not being able to call created a lot of frustration as we were stuck outside of our B&B in Den Haague as the owner wasn't home and my phone wasn't connected to the phone number they had posted on the door. While we didn't have to wait too long (she was picking up her son from school which was just around the corner) it could have created an issue if we had to meet someone for keys or were lost.

Once checked in, work was able to call me and I could call some numbers but not all of them. Due to this I called my provider to see what the reason for the calling within the current country was. It turns out that even though I was on the local service providers network, my phone number was still Canadian and due to that I would have to call any phone number in my current country like I would if I was calling from home.

This would mean that I would have to dial:

(exit code) + (country code) + (city/area code) + (local number)

OR Like this:

(exit code) + (country code) + (local number)

For the Netherlands, they don't have a city/area code so I would do the second version. Example, calling from Canada to Netherlands: 011 + 31 + 123 5555

If I was going to be calling Canada from the Netherlands on a landline or collect then I would have to dial: 00 + 1 + 555 + 123 5555

The reason that some of my calls home were working but not all of them was because of the way the number was saved into my phone. Turns out with Rogers there is a such thing as "Easy International Dialing" which was allowing certain calls to connect. From the Rogers website:

Knowing this bit of information, i went through my phone and updated all of my contacts with the "+1" in front.

When it came to the exit + country code options that was a little more difficult. Since there are so many different combinations of countries I cannot write them all down here but I have found a link that can help. The website that I've found most helpful for finding out all of these exit codes is Country Calling Codes and all you have to do is pop in the country you are calling from and to for the website to provide you with the numbers as well as instructions on how to dial. They will also provide you with the time and mobile codes for the country. If you are interested in visiting the site, you can follow the line here - Country Calling Codes.

Another helpful bit of information is provided on the Rogers' website for Canadian travellers:

Canadian Dialing Instructions

Local Call area code + 7 digit phone number

Long Distance Call 1 + area code + 7 digit phone number

Access Voicemail Press & hold 1. You may be asked to enter your 10 digit phone number and then your password

Call Display Works as normal

US Dialing Instructions

Local Call area code + 7 digit phone number

Long Distance Call 1 + area code + 7 digit phone number

Overseas Call 011 + country code + city code + phone number

Text Message area code + 7 digit wireless number

Access Voicemail Press & hold 1. You may be asked to enter your 10 digit phone number and then your password

Call Display Works as normal

International Dialing Instructions

Local Call local phone number

Long Distance Call (to Canada / USA) "+" [plus sign] + 1 + area code + 7 digit phone number (ex. +1-555-5551234)

Long Distance Call (outside Canada/USA) "+" [plus sign] + country code + phone number (ex. +033-1234)

Text Message "+" [plus sign] + country code + area code + 7 digit phone number (ex. +1-555-5551234)

Access Voicemail Press & hold 1. You may be asked to enter your 10 digit phone number and then your password

Call Display Not guaranteed to work

If be able to get the "+" [plus sign] you will have to press & hold the "0" button on your phone until the + symbol appears. If you save your contacts as "+" + "country code" then you will be able to dial them just by pressing on the contact instead of having to edit the number.