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Martin Stut - Telephone System in Germany

Why I wrote this page
How to use (public) telephones in Germany
Types of public telephones
National and international numbering (area codes)
German telephone charges, a complex topic since deregulation (January 1998)
Overview for a year's stay
Call-by-Call overview (includes list of links to an up-to-date rate database)
Summary: tips for travellers

Why I wrote this page

To give information about the german telephone system to

web page designers, who might want to know how expensive local calls are here (do you want your viewers to pay 0,15$ to load a single page, just because it contains lots of large graphics?)
travellers, who might want to know how to use telephones here, what cost to expect and how to reduce it (somewhat)
the courious, who are interested how other countries run their phone system.

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How to use (public) telephones in Germany

As the Deutsche Telekom had (until the end of 1997) the monopoly of the telephone system, things were set up as uniform as a former government agency can make it. This is easy, but expensive. Better bring a calling card or use some trick (see the charges page).

It's relatively simple (compared to what I hear about the US system):

lift the receiver
insert coins or a phone card (only necessary at public telephones)
wait for the dialtone (long, continuous, single frequency of 440 Hz)
dial the number of your destination
after 2 seconds to 1 minute you should hear the remote ringing sound (in germany: a single frequency tuut every 5 seconds)
charges start occuring as soon as (not before) the other party lifts their receiver. This holds for all domestic destinations. Exceptions exist for some foreign countries, with the most remarkable one being Austria (is that still the case?).
talk whatever you like (the audio quality is excellent), but keep in mind the high charges (the remaining value of your card or coins is continuously displayed)
when you are finished, hang up the receiver (on public telephones: press the hook briefly, less than half a second)

Public telephones can be found in most train stations, large public places, restaurants ("Raststätte") besides motorways and in some residential areas. Beware: there may be rural areas, where the next public telephone is 10 km away. There are several types of public telephones ("öffentlicher Fernsprecher", "Telefonzelle"):

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Types of public telephones

cardphones ("Kartentelefon", more than 80%, the most practical way) operated by Deutsche Telekom: they accept only a prepaid phone card ("Telefonkarte", 12 DM or 50 DM) which can be purchased in post offices ("Postamt", very restricted times of service), gas stands ("Tankstelle", many are open round the clock), major train stations ("Hauptbahnhof", try the bookstore inside) and some shops (by law forced to close mo-fr at 8 pm, sa at 4 pm and on sundays).
Insert the card into the slot, with the chip contacts to the upper and to the inside of the machine. Press firmly until there is resistance (the card will totally disappear within the phone). If you have to exchange cards during the call (you will be warned by beeps about 20 seconds before "out of money"), you can press the green button, remove the used card and insert a new one. After the call, you can hang the receiver briefly (less than 1 second) and make another call. If you hang the receiver for longer (as is usual when you have finished), then the phone will sound repeated loud beeps reminding you to take out your card.
Next to the LCD-display there is a metallic, square shaped button which toggles through three languages: german (default), english (first push), french (second push). Instructions on paper are usually present in german, english, french and sometimes a few other languages (italian, greek, turkish).
Some card phones can be called to from the outside. This may be of use if "home" has cheaper rates than you (a standard case with the USA) or you are running out of cash.
card phones with fax (operated by Telekom, found in places of high traffic): for usual voice call they behave exactly like standard card phones. Using the fax part costs an extra 2 DM, which are charged when you press the "start" button.
card phones in trains can be found in every ICE train (coach 9, next to the restaurant coach), many IC trains and some IR trains (in the bistro-cafe). They look quite similar to standard card phones, but are in effect radio phones. After dialling you have to press a special button in bottom row before it will start to attempt the connection. Charges are 3.5 times as high as within the standard (fixed line) network and any call within Germany is considered "long distance". This is tolerable (around 1 DM per minute) for short messages ("I missed a connection train, so I'll arrive an hour later") in off-peak times (Monday through Saturday before 7 am or after 8 pm, Sunday all day). The most high rated call I've ever made was from a moving train to Japan back in 1983...
Update in early 2001: the move of Deutsche Telekom to discontinue their analogue C-Tel service has caught the German railway corporation by surprise, so many public train phones may be out of operation for several months.
coin telephones ("Münztelefon", becoming rare these days, being replaced by card phones) operated by Deutsche Telekom: they accept only coins of 0.10 DM, 1 DM and 5 DM. Minimum deposit is 0.20 DM. After one call you can place the receiver briefly (less than one second) to make another call with the remaining value of your coin. If you place the receiver for longer, then (only) the completely unused coins will be returned and you have no more chance go get change. So always place the recevier only briefly and then think what to do next.
Change is given in a limited way: insert enough (small) coins so that the credit in the display matches one of the (large) coins you inserted, then hang up and your large coin will be returned. For example: you have inserted a 5 DM coin, after your (shorter than expected) call the credit is 3.80 DM, then you can insert 1.20 DM (so the credit is again 5 DM), place the receiver and you will get back your 5 DM coin. If you have to leave some remaining credit behind, then don't waste it to Telekom, but leave it to the next user by placing the receiver on top of the phone machine.
privately owned coin phones: they can be found in restaurants and the like. Using them is even more expensive (50% to 150% surcharge) than using Telekom-operated phones. They accept coins of 0.10 DM, 0.50 DM, 1 DM and 2 DM, somewhat different from Telekom-phones.
Credit card phones operated by Deutsche Telekom (to be found in international airports and train stations): somewhat more expensive (20% to 50% surcharge, minimum charge 3 DM per call) than coin or card phones, therefore I never tried one...
privately operated credit card phones (to be found in some restaurants near major motorways): terribly expensive (100% to 200% surcharge, often with a charging system different from Telekom), so I never tried one. Some offer various extra services (e.g. passing a message at a later time to someone you didn't reach by direct call), but the cost (up to 30 DM) will make you think twice.

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National and international numbering (area codes)

German national calls

As in most countries, german phone numbers consist of an area code and a local number. In domestic relations, the area code is always given with a leading 0 (zero) that has to be dialled for domestic calls outside your area code. (It also works even if you dial the area code for a local call.) The area code is usually separated from the local number by a "/" (slash) or "-" (dash) or by putting it in "( )" (brackets).

The length of the area code varies roughly with the size of the city, from 3 digits (e.g. 069 for Frankfurt/Main) to 5 digits (e.g. 06421 for Marburg), some small towns in eastern Germany even have 6 digit area codes (e.g. 039454 for Elbingerode). Correspondingly the length of local numbers varies from 3 to 8 digits, even within one area code. If you need to determine an area code, there is the complete list (95kB) on the web.

If you are calling a major organization (more than about 10 people, the limit drops with increasing use of ISDN), chances are high that they have a private branch exchange (internal telephone system). In this case the complete local number is given as a combination of the number of the organization and the internal number (extension) within the organization, separated by a "-" (dash). As everywhere: lengths vary from 1 to 5 digit internal numbers, possibly varying even within one organization. Internal number 0 (zero) is usually (90%) the central switchboard. For example if you are calling Marburg university, the number in the phone directory is 28-0 (switchboard), but if you call the hospital (owned by the university) the number is 28-3691, so a four digit internal number, indicating a very large organization.

After all the dry theory, let's have an example. Suppose you just arrived at Frankfurt airport (area code 069) and you are doing a few calls:

To a friend in Frankfurt, who gave you his number as "069-1234567": dial just 1234567, because you are in the same area code
To my home in Marburg (number: 06421-85712): dial as given: 06421 85712
To my employer's switchboard in Marburg (06421-188-0): 06421 188 0
To my personal office room in Marburg (06421-188-180): 06421 188 180

Special area codes

0800: free calls (like 800 in the USA) - 0130 has been discontinued during 2000.

0180: same number from all over Germany; used by customer centered organizations with several branches. Rates vary from local (01802) to long distance (01805).
0190, 0900: special services for which callers are paying a high surcharge (like 900 in the USA). Rates vary from 1.20 DM per minute (01901) to 8 DM per minute (01908).
015x, 016x, 017x: mobile phones; calling them is very costly (around 1 DM per minute).

Useful numbers

11834: international directory service (before Oct 1st 1997: 00118) - beware of the high charge of 1.90 DM per Minute
11833: domestic directory service (I don't know whether they understand english) (before Oct 1st 1997: 01188) - beware of the high charge of 1.90 DM per Minute
110: police and emergency number (misuse will be heavily punished)

From Germany to other countries

The international access code in Germany is 00. This means that international numbers are composed as follws:

00 for international access
country code, e.g. 1 for the USA, 44 for the U.K.
area code and local number according to the rules of the country of destination. For countries with a german-like numbering system (e.g. U.K., Austria, Italy, Brazil) this means to leave off the leading zero of the country code.

For example a London number is dialled as 0044 171 1234567 and a San Francisco number is dialled as 001 415 1234567. You don't have to wait for any intermediate tones or follow any special procedures - just dial as you would with a local call, just the number is longer (and the charge a little higher).

The german charging system used to have a big advantage for short calls: cost is in increments of one unit, starting at zero, no minimum charge. This has been modified to "by the minute" charging.

From other countries to Germany

Dial your international access code (in many countries, including Germany, Italy and Brazil, this is 00, is some places of the US this seems to be 011)
then the country code for Germany (from most countries this is 49, Austria is an exception)
then the area code without the leading zero, e.g. 6421 for Marburg or 69 for Frankfurt
then the local number, including a possible extension number

Suppose you are in a callable card phone in Stuttgart with a sign containing a bell and the number "0711/1234567". Cash ran out and you want "home" (say in Brazil) to call you. In this situation you can briefly call them and tell "call me at 0049 711 1234567".

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Summary: Tips for Travellers

mind the leading 0 (zero) in area codes (always needed for domestic calls, never use for international calls) and the variability of number lengths
as soon as possible (right on the airport) get a prepaid phone card (50 DM is not too much)
short calls are cheap, even if intercontinental
long calls are very expensive, even if local
avoid phones in hotel rooms (expensive)
if you want it cheaper: find a friend with a phone at home (0.12 DM per unit instead of 0.20 DM)

Achim Schmidtmann's homepage provides more general (beside the phone system) tips for travellers to Germany.

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Last updated: 05.05.2007 17:43:05 Martin Stut, email: email address as image

, Marburg, Germany
URL: http://www.stut.de/phoneger.htm