Telephones and Telegrams
Coin-operated telephones are available in most public places. Whenever you are dialling a number outside the telephone region of the call box you are using, you have to prefix the number with 1; this puts you through to the operator, who will tell you how much money you need to get connected. The operator asks for an amount (about $2.50) to cover the initial time period, which even within a province is fairly brief. Thereafter you'll be asked to shovel money in at regular intervals, so unless you're making a reverse-charge/collect call you need a stack of coins - usually quarters (25c). Some connections within a single telephone code area are charged at the long-distance rate, and thus need the "1" prefix; a recorded message will tell you if this is necessary as soon as you dial the number. Local calls cost 25c from a public phone and are dialled direct; private subscribers pay nothing for these, so you'll find that shops often don't mind you using their phone for local calls. Emergency (tel 911) and information (tel 411 local, tel 555-1212 long distance) are free from payphones. Long-distance calls are cheapest from 11pm to 8am daily, and most expensive from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday. From 6pm to 11pm on Monday to Saturday and from 8am to 11pm on Sunday, charges are more economical. Detailed rates are listed at the front of the telephone directory . Needless to say, using pocketfuls of money is an inconvenient way of making international calls . Payphones taking major credit cards, however, are increasingly common, especially in transport and major tourist centres. In some cities there are Bell offices that enable you to make your call and pay afterwards. Nearly all the provincial and national phone companies produce local and long-distance calling cards . Cards are sold in various outlets, including petrol stations, pharmacies and post offices, and in various denominations from $5 to $50, with calls being offered at discounted rates. You are given a number to dial and then a PIN number before you dial your destination. AT&T and other companies also produce affinity cards whereby the cost of your call is debited directly from your credit- or debit-card account. More upmarket hotels and motels have direct-dial phones where the call is automatically charged to your bill. Elsewhere, the hotel switchboard operator will place a call for you, or you'll be linked to an operator who will ask for the room number to which to charge the call - but be warned that virtually all hotels will levy a service charge in the region of 65-95 percent. Many hotels, tourist offices and transport companies have toll-free numbers (prefixed by tel 1-800, 1-877 or 1-777). Some of these can only be dialled from phones in the same province, others from anywhere within Canada, a few from anywhere in North America - as a rough guideline, the larger the organization, the wider its toll-free net. Increasingly popular the world round, cellular phones (mobiles) are sold pretty much everywhere and are sometimes available to rent from information centres in major cities. However, the cheapest and most popular phones are only sold to Canadian residents. Pay-as-you-go accounts are generally expensive to use, and limited to the province you're in. Check before leaving home if your existing mobile can have its chip replaced to operate in Canada. Mobile-phone reception in Canada is still quite limited, and may not work out in the wilds. To send a telegram either within Canada or abroad, contact the local AT&T Canada office, listed in the telephone directory. Credit card holders can dictate messages over the phone. At any time, day or night, you can also phone in Telepost messages, a guaranteed next-day or sooner service in Canada and the US; billing arrangements are made at the time of giving the message. Intelpost is an international fax service available at main post offices, and paid for by cash.
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