TELEPHONE

Telephone Books
Information (Directory Assistance)
Long Distance Calls
Toll-Free Calls

Telephone Books

Telephone books provide not only local numbers for local people and business, but lots of information about the area. Consult the first few pages of any telephone book for instructions on using the telephone and for general information. Telephone books provide two types of listings: the White Pages, which contain alphabetical listings of people and businesses with telephones, and the Yellow Pages, which contain products, services, business firms, physicians, hospitals, schools, etc., listed alphabetically by subject matter. The White Pages has two sections. One section contains a listing of business telephones. The other section contains residential listings. These pages can be very helpful to you, and we refer to them quite often. The front of the phone book has special sections with other reference information such as maps, government agencies. Some telephone books also have Consumer Information Pages. All this information can be accessed on-line.

“The Chicago telephone book lists only people living within the city limits. Each local region has its own local telephone directory, which often includes street maps of each town or towns that it serves. To find the number for a division or employee at Argonne, use the on-line directory at on the Inside Argonne Website, under Tools and Tasks.”

Information (Directory Assistance)

To locate a phone number, use the on-line directory for current information. You can also call directory assistance; however note that there is a charge. Depending your service provider, local and numbers within the United States are about $1-3 and international directory assistance is significantly higher.  

For telephone numbers you can not find in the telephone books or online for numbers within your area code, dial 411. For information about numbers outside your area code, dial 1, the appropriate area code, then 555-1212. Downtown Chicago information is, therefore, 1-312-555-1212. Area code numbers are listed in the front pages of your telephone book, or you can dial 411 to ask the local directory assistance operator for the area code of the town you wish to call.

Long Distance Calls

When calling long distance it is much less expensive to dial direct than to have an operator connect you. Pre-paid calling cards for domestic and international use can be purchased on-line and in many shops. These provide a considerable saving and allow you to dial direct by first entering your card and identification numbers. A recorded message will tell you how many minutes you can be connected to the dialed number. If you are making international calls make sure that you purchase the correct card. You can also have a different phone company for long distance service than for local service. To compare rates, check out this website.

Dial the following sequence for calls within North America :

• Code for North America - 1
• The Area Code (a three digit number), and
• The local telephone number.

Dial the following sequence for international calls:

• The International Access Code (011),
• The Country Code (a two- or three-digit number),
• The City or Area Code (a one- to five-digit number), and
• The local telephone number.

Complete instructions for international calling and a selected list of foreign access codes are found in the Telephone Services section in the front of local telephone books.

You need an operator to make any of the following calls:

• Most often you will not speak to a real person; rather a voice recognition computer will assist you with the call. 
• Person-to-person : You pay only when you have reached the person you specified when you placed the call.
• Collect or reversed charges : The person who answers will be asked if the charge for the call may be billed to his or her number.
• Third-party : You have the call billed to a telephone other than the one from which you are calling, for example, to your home telephone.

You make these operator-assisted calls by dialing 0 (operator), area code, and telephone number; the operator/computer will interrupt.

Toll-Free Calls

Many companies, such as catalog sales, airlines, and hotels, have numbers that you can call toll-free (without charge) no matter where they are located. Toll-free numbers usually have an 800 area code, but may begin with 866, 877, or 888 as well. You can find out whether a particular company has an 800 number by dialing 1-800-555-1212.

On the other hand, you should also be aware that all "900" calls are Pay-Per-Call services which entice people to call their phone numbers with the promise of information or conversation. These services can be wide ranging and often quite helpful. They can also involve information or conversations inappropriate for minors. When you dial a 900 number, the pay-per-call service provider bills you an amount that is considerably higher than what you would normally pay for a long-distance call. Often the charge is based on the length of call but some providers bill on a per call basis. You will be charged either through your long-distance bill or your local phone bill. Some pay-per-call services accept credit cards. Federal law requires that providers disclose the costs of their services in advertising and to begin calls costing more than $2 with an announcement of the cost of the call. After the announcement, callers must be given three seconds to hang up without being charged.

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