Argentine telephone numbering plan

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Codes
Country code: 54
Trunk code: 0
International code: 00
Intl. operator code: 000
National operator code: 19

Argentina made major changes to its telephone numbering plan in 1999, after its telephone system was privatized. This page describes the changes and the current dialing practices. (For a general overview of the Argentine phone network, see the relevant section of the article about Communications of Argentina.)

1 General phone calls within Argentina
- 1.1 Calls to Uruguay
- 1.2 Calls to the Islas Malvinas
2 Mobile phone calls within Argentina
3 Receiving calls from abroad
4 Other calls and numbers

[edit] General phone calls within Argentina

In Argentina, changes were made to area codes in 1999, when the telephone network was split up into three different areas, with a new digit representing the new telephone company.

In the present, the valid numbers are:

011+ 8 digits for numbers in Buenos Aires
02+ 9 digits for numbers in southern provinces under Telefónica
03+ 9 digits for numbers in northern provinces under Telecom

Similarly, the digit 4 was added to existing subscribers' numbers. For example, before the change, a number in Buenos Aires would have been dialed as follows:

xxx xxxx (within Buenos Aires)
(01) xxx xxxx (within Argentina)
+54 1 xxx xxxx (outside Argentina)

After the 1999 change, it would instead be dialed as:

4xxx xxxx (within Buenos Aires)
(011) 4xxx xxxx (within Argentina)
+54 11 4xxx xxxx (outside Argentina)

[edit] Calls to Uruguay

Until 1998, calls from Argentina to Uruguay were made using domestic dialing codes. For example, to call a number in Montevideo from Argentina before 1998:

059 xxx xxx

After 1998, this changed to:

00 598 2 xxx xxx

[edit] Calls to the Islas Malvinas

Although Argentina claims the Falkland Islands, which it calls Islas Malvinas as part of its national territory, calls are made using the Islands' country calling code, e.g:

00 500 xx xxx

[edit] Mobile phone calls within Argentina

Almost all Cell phones in Argentina operate with a calling party pays (CPP) system. That means that whoever initiates the call pays for it. For this reason, Cell phones in Argentina usually start with number 15. Since calls to cellphones are more expensive than land calls in Argentina, this prefix indicates the calling party that this call is going to cost more. For instance if a user wanted to call a Buenos Aires CPP cell phone, from within Buenos Aires, he/she would have to dial:

15 xxxx-xxxx

Should the user want to call a cell phone in another province, he/she would have to add the local prefix, e.g.:

0351 15 xxx-xxxx if it is a Córdoba cell phone
0341 15 xxx-xxxx if it is a Rosario cell phone
0221 15 xxx-xxxx if it is a La Plata cellphone

Non-CPP phones are available for purchase, and the calling and numbering is the same as the land numbers (non 15) but few users choose this numbers since that means that they would have incoming and outgoing calls deducted from their monthly minute allocation as opposed to just the outgoing.

[edit] Receiving calls from abroad

Since 2003, the digit 9 had to be dialed when calling CPP mobile phone numbers in Argentina from abroad:

+54 9 11 xxxx xxxx (Note that the 15 prefix should not be dialed from outside Argentina)

Phone calls from abroad to a land line (or non-CPP mobile phone), however, are dialed "normally." For example:

+54 11 xxxx xxxx

[edit] Other calls and numbers

Toll-free numbers in Argentina must be dialed the following way:

0-800 xxx-xxxx

Numbers that are paid as local calls countrywide start with 0810. These numbers are mostly used by companies that have branches in different provinces and only one call center, and cannot be dialed from abroad:

0-810 xxx-xxxx

Subscriber dial-up Internet access in Argentina gets a special, reduced-tariff number:

0610 xxx-xxxx

This is because there is a number of ISPs that provide "free" dial-up access through standard cost phone numbers that do not use the 0610 prefix. In these cases, the user does not need to pay a subscription cost, he/she only pays for the standard telephone call (usually a local telephone number in major cities); then the telephone company gives the "free" ISP a fraction of what the user pays for the call.

However, 0610 tends to be confused with "gaming" phones, where a special 3 pesos + VAT tariff is quoted. These numbers always have to be dialed like this:

0609 xxx-xxxx

All 0800, 0810 and 0609 have the same number countrywide. However, 0610 only can be used in the Internet Service Provider's area.

Some of the reserved, toll-free special numbers are:

Emergencies:

100 Firehouse
101 Police
107 Ambulance

Starting in January 2004, in the Province of Buenos Aires, the new emergency number will be 911. Unlike 100, 101 and 107, 911 will have people trained for the task of handling emergencies.

The newer 911 dispatcher sends police from a randomly selected police station, instead of the station assigned for that specific area. This measure was added to avoid the "liberated zones" where dirty cops allow crooks to commit numerous crimes without arresting them.

Services: