With the development of smartphones in the country, various connections and the ability to call another country via wireless communication, dialing rules have also emerged. This is a combination of numbers that allows you to write down a phone number and call a citizen who is outside the Russian Federation. Russians are accustomed to writing down their number using the number eight, but it is impossible to dial through it to a citizen located abroad of Russia.
And when you need to dial a number in another country, many questions arise in your head.
How are country codes distributed?
There are 197 recognized countries in the world and several dozen more unrecognized ones. And there are only 10 numbers that could appear at the beginning of the number.
The International Telephony and Telegraph Consultative Committee, by resolution No. E.164, determined the numbering plan for public networks. The number 7 went not only to Russia, but also to Kazakhstan and Abkhazia. Actually, they inherited the seven from the USSR.
In general, there are nine large number zones allocated on the planet (0 is used for official purposes):
Clickable.
To avoid confusing numbers in neighboring countries, you need to look at the following numbers. For example, Ukrainian numbers start with 380, and Belarusian numbers start with 375.
The same resolution No. E.164 states that telephone numbers can have no more than 15 digits. They are usually written with the prefix “+”. To call a number in this format from a regular landline phone, you need to use the international line prefix instead of the “+” sign.
Benefits of placing a phone number on the website
The survey, which was organized by the famous financial corporation American Express, demonstrated an interesting behavioral feature of online store buyers: more than 50% of them do not use the opportunity to call consultants when choosing products and when making a purchase. At the same time, more than 24% of customers try to find answers to their questions by browsing the pages of an online store, and another 12% actively use chats to communicate with seller managers.
At the same time, when resolving issues related to payment and product returns, more than 40% of buyers prefer live communication over the phone. Google analysts note that more than 47% of online store buyers are ready to refuse a purchase if the site does not have phone numbers to contact consultants.
- Phone numbers on the store website increase customer loyalty
A well-designed interface of the online trading platform allows customers to quickly find all the necessary information, but the well-thought-out telephone format serves as a kind of calming factor. By quickly finding contact phone numbers, the client concludes that, if necessary, he will always receive answers to his questions from an online store consultant.Competition among virtual points of sale is growing very quickly, so a competent manager understands that gaining the trust of customers is one of the most important strategies for success. Initially, web resources cannot compete with offline stores in creating comfortable and inviting conditions for making purchases. Unfortunately, the technology has not yet been invented that allows you to feel, touch and feel a thing through the screen of a gadget in order to accurately verify its characteristics. Often, an online store's policy requires full prepayment for the product, which stops many people from making a decision.
To increase trust among website users when making payments, online stores resort to various tricks. The most popular among them are a flexible policy for returning and exchanging goods, positive customer reviews and comments, the option to inspect purchased items before final payment, pickup from delivery points, etc. As practice shows, a working phone number will be a useful additional element on the way to building strong, trusting relationships with customers. If a person knows that the employees of an online store will answer the phone and help with a problem that has arisen, they will most likely think about buying a product from you.
- Phone numbers on a website increase conversions.
Website conversion rates are largely determined by trust among users. Therefore, a resource with a contact number will have a higher conversion rate. One marketing company decided to prove this by launching A/B testing with sites where the number was indicated and not (the conversion in the first case was more than 50%, and in the second it did not exceed 45%). - What other benefits can you get by setting the correct phone format on the site?
Many people don't like talking to a robot or looking for answers on an FAQ page.Most users are in a hurry, wanting to quickly find the information they need and move on to the next task. Therefore, the number on the site will give them the opportunity to get answers quickly, and therefore purchase a product or service from you.
Since fraud is common on the Internet, one of the signs that characterizes this is the lack of contact information on the official website (including a phone number).
[expert]
Sites that are still in the process of addition and improvement should have a phone number so that visitors do not feel insecure on an unfinished resource.
Not all representatives of the older generation can skillfully manage modern technologies. They are more accustomed to talking on the phone with a real person.
It is undeniable that after some time, telephone numbers will become irrelevant for web resources, as the development of AI and chatbots is rapidly gaining momentum, and users increasingly prefer to correspond. At the moment, there are still groups of users who choose to call an employee. Therefore, businesses should take this into account and indicate contact information on official resources.
How to call Russian numbers within the country and abroad
If you are in Russia, you can also use the usual format with 8 or +7. In any case, the telecom operator will understand that you are calling within the country and will easily connect you to the desired subscriber. And you won't have to pay for an international call.
If you are abroad, you need to dial the number starting with “+7”. Otherwise, operators may think that the call is internal, and the person you called will not answer you.
And if you are calling from a landline and there is no “+” button, try dialing “00” instead. But it is better to check the international access code in advance with your local telephone service. For example, to call Russia from the USA, you need to dial 011 - 7 (Russian code) - operator code - phone number.
Interesting fact
The origin of the call sign 007 and many James Bond films has a real story that is connected with the Soviet regime, British spy Sidney Reilly (real name Solomon Rosenblum). Until 1918 in Moscow, in order to make a call, you had to pick up the phone, turn the knob three times, and you would be connected to a telephone operator, who would connect you to the required subscriber.
The first automatic dialing station in Russia was installed in 1918 in the Kremlin. Solomon Rosenblum’s cousin, Yakov Blumkin, served in the Cheka. He was close to F.E. Dzerzhinsky. Yakov suggested that Felix install automatic telephony so that there would be no need to call an operator and ask to be connected.
An automatic station from Bella is being installed in the Kremlin. 100 telephones allocated. Lenin got number 001, Trotsky - 002, Sverdlov - 003. Dzerzhinsky got number 007. The same number was duplicated for an additional device that was in Sidney Reilly's apartment. Accordingly, when Dzerzhinsky’s phone rang, Reilly’s phone also rang. It was enough to pick up the phone to listen to the conversation. eventually became "007 ". This is how the famous agent Bond, James Bond, appeared.
Why instead of +7 they dial 8
In the countries of the former USSR, the number 8 was used to access long-distance connections. The rest of the numbers were taken. City telephone numbers or numbers of special services began with them: 01 - fire, 02 - police, 03 - ambulance, 04 - gas service, 09 - information service.
After the collapse of the Union, many post-Soviet countries retained the number 8 for long-distance calls in their national numbering plans.
They also decided to consider mobile numbers as long-distance numbers. It’s logical: when you call a cell phone, you don’t know in which city the subscriber is located.
What happens if you use 8 instead of 7 when making an international call?
The number 8 in international format is assigned to China and its special regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as South and North Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Taiwan.
If you start the number simply with 8, then the call most likely will not go through. If you score “+8”, you will reach the international level. And if such a number exists in the listed countries, there is a risk that the call will cost you a lot.
Dialing format will change in a few years
If you want to call from Russia to a number in another country, you can dial the number in the following format: 8 – (wait for a dial tone) –> 10 –> country code –> operator code –> phone number.
In 2021, the international communications format “8 – 10” should have been replaced by “00”, as in many other countries. And use the prefix 0 instead of 8 within the country. But so far this has not happened.
In any case, it’s easier to immediately save the number with “+7” so that you can dial it with one touch from anywhere – be it within the country or from abroad.
What about mobile operators?
With the development of cellular networks, rules for international mobile phone dialing have emerged. Regarding dialing the country code, the rules are identical - everything is the same. Dialing is carried out using the “+” symbol. The area code should follow. Mobile operators are not tied to cities. The mobile operator prefix is tied to the region. the prefix of the Caucasus branch of the mobile operator Megafon may be “928”, “938”, “929”. Currently, each operator on the website has the ability to check whether a number belongs to a region. But determining the regional affiliation of a mobile phone by prefix is very problematic.
There has been confusion regarding the ability to migrate subscribers between companies (MNP). If previously it was possible to understand by the prefix which operator the subscriber belongs to, now this has become impossible. There are various sites and verification teams for this.
Let's look at the example of MegaFon:
- If you go to the website and enter a phone number in the box, you can understand which operator this number belongs to and which region. For example, the system produces the result: “MegaFon, Russia, Rostov region.” If this number goes to MTS, then after some time the system will issue “MTS, Rostov region,” although the prefix “928” has not changed.
- The same MegaFon has a special command - *629#Call. By typing this command, it is also possible to check the operator and regional affiliation.
How to determine the country by phone number
You can look at the map above. But it’s easier to use online services:
- Spravportal
- Phonenum
- Beeline
There is another option. Enter the request “telephone code” and the first four digits of the number in any search engine: the first is the country code, the next three are the operator code. If the call was from a landline, the search engine will show the country and state/region.
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