Doubtless, most people will associate the bright red telephone kiosks of yesteryear with the British telephone system, these however are becoming increasingly rare and most have been replaced by rather characterless, clinical, glass kiosks. Several companies compete for the market share, but BT, (British Telecom), provide the majority of our public telephones. The famous old red telephone boxes can still be found in certain conservation areas and museums.

Fortunately, all the call boxes you should encounter will have clear instructions, (with diagrams), and facilities for credit cards and/or coins.

Calling codes

• 0800 & 0500 prefixes indicate a free call
• 0845 & 0345 prefixes indicate local call charges apply
• 0990 prefixes indicate national call charges apply

Look out for other unfamiliar codes, as this may indicate a mobile phone number, and these can be very expensive for the caller.

Useful Utility numbers

• 999 Emergency operator
• 100 UK operator
• 155 International operator
• 118 500 Directory enquiries
• 118 505 International directory enquiries
• 44 Britain's country code (when dialling from abroad)
• 0800 190190 If you urgently need to get a message to your home country.

Note
Call charges in the UK can vary quite substantially depending on the time of day and distance. As a general rule of thumb 'peak' time is during business hours, usually 8am - 6pm, with 'off peak' charges being levied outside of these hours. Weekends are also charged at the off 'peak' rate.

FAX
FAX, (facsimile), bureaus are plentiful and many stationers, post offices and libraries offer a service. The price will be around 25p-50p per sheet.

Internet access
Second only to the USA in terms of numbers of Internet users and web sites, the UK now has an increasing number of Internet access shops or 'cyber cafes', where Internet access and E-Mail facilities can be purchased for around £5 an hour.

Mobile (cellular) Phones
Recently, the UK has seen an unprecedented increase in the use of mobile phones, particularly the 'pay-as-you-go' type where you can purchase a phone outright for as little as £50 and then buy 'top-up' cards. These cards apply credit to your phone for service and call time. Top-up cards can be purchased from a huge variety of shops including newsagents and petrol stations and are a good choice for those intending a backpacking or car holiday that requires the peace of mind that a mobile phone could offer.

TV and video
There are currently 5 terrestrial television channels available in the UK :-

BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Cable TV is available in many towns and cities although widespread coverage has yet to be achieved.

Sky TV (UK Satellite and digital) enjoys tremendous success with an almost complete monopoly on major sporting events.

The UK video format is VHS PAL.

Want to see more information here? Let us know!