Telephones calls from and in India
Telephones in India
Calling from hotels is usually more expensive. Both national and international calls are dialled direct. To call abroad, dial the international access code (00), the code for the country you want - 1 for the USA. Privately run phone services with international direct dialling facilities are very widespread. There privately runned phone services are called STD/PCO in locals. You can find many wherever you are in India. They are extremely quick and easy to use; some stay open 24 hours. Prices vary between private places and are slightly cheaper at official telecommunications offices; many have fax machines too.
Direct dialling rates are very expensive during the day - Monday to Saturday 8am to 7pm - but this falls to half rate on Sundays, national holidays, and daily from 7am to 8am and 7pm to 8.30pm, after which the charge is reduced further.