How To Make Phone Calls
Out of Singapore

1. Country Code

The first thing you need to know about Singapore is probably its country code of 65. This is very important - so do write it down somewhere. And for those not in the know, Singapore has three main telecommunications operators - SingTel, StarHub and MobileOne (M1).
 

Phone booths in Singapore
Photo by jeremyfoo Some rights reserved
 

2. Public Phones

Are you confused about the public phone system in Singapore? Well, let it be known that there are essentially two kinds of public phones in Singapore, the coin operated phone and the phone card operated phone.

The coin operated phone accepts coins where 10 Singapore cents will provide you with three minutes talk time. They are usually reserved for local calls only.

The phone card operated phone accepts stored value phone cards of denominations ranging from $3, $5, $10 and $20. If you need to purchase a phone card, go to a convenience store or post office.
 

3. International Dialing

Do you need to make international calls from Singapore? Not sure how to dial that IDD call? Well, help is here. The first thing you need to do is to dial the access code. Now, this would be 001 (for SingTel), 002 (for M1), and 008 (for StarHub).

Next, key in the country code, area code and party's number. Once that is done, you should get through. It should be made known that several of the telecommunications providers have offered cheaper rates for calls using the Internet. What are these Internet access codes, you say? Well, I happen to know of 019 and 013 (for Singtel) and 018 (for Starhub).
 

4. Calling Cards

If you intend to use a calling card, you should know that Singapore offers many calling cards for different international destinations. Let me give you an example - the Hello Card from Singtel. This offers access to 8 countries (China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand) at a very cheap rate.
 

5. Mobile Phones

If you're like me, you should know that mobile phones are commonplace in Singapore. In fact, if you are visiting Singapore, you probably are coming in with a mobile phone.

If you want to own a phone to make local calls in Singapore, you can carry in your own GSM 900 or GSM 1800 phone. Some people I know even purchase a cheap phone model in Singapore.

Next, what you have to do is to move out your SIM card in your phone and insert a prepaid one (which are available directly from the telecommunication providers, convenience stores or phone shops).

To give you some idea of the charges involved mobile telephony, here are some stats: each call will cost about 5-25 cents per minute, while a local text message (SMS) costs about 5 cents. If you are sending international SMSes, each SMS costs about 15-25 cents.
 

Conclusion

Well, I hope I've provided you with some good details on how phones work in Singapore. Be sure you are armed with this knowledge before you try to make calls out of Singapore. It'll save you a lot of hassle when you arrive in the country and are trying to make contact with your home town.

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