 |
 |
|
London Phone |
||
London can boast of an efficient telephone system, rich in history and heritage. Perhaps it was only to be expected, given the city’s importance as the capital of England and as a major attraction for people from all over the world. London’s familiar red phone boxes have attained such an iconic stature that almost every tourist wants to be photographed outside one of them. Rapid changes Phones in London, or the entire world for that matter, have witnessed rapid changes over the last few years. Till the 1970s, there used to be a single supplier who provided some expensive services over fixed lines accessible through only a limited range of handsets. A decade later, the process of deregulation and privatization gained momentum and new services began to be offered. London Phone sets began using local wireless connection to a physically close base unit. Automatic answering machines were introduced and pager devices which exploited the short message service (SMS) technology began to be available. Gradually, the first generation analogue mobile phones took over. The 1990s saw the arrival of the second generation digital mobile London Phone making an entire generation of phones, pagers and scanning devices redundant. In 2000, the third generation (3G) Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) mobile phone made its appearance. London phone services Payphones are widely available in London, especially at stations, airports etc. They normally take cash (not less than 20p), but recently have begun accepting credit and debit cards also. Some of them will even allow you to surf the Internet and send emails as well. Although phone cards are gradually being phased out, different types of pre-paid phone cards can still be bought for cheap international calls. There are, however, some direct-dial services that offer much lower rates than standard providers for international calls. Services like My Mondo, Telediscount or Just-Dial won’t even ask you to buy a card or sign up for an account. Mobile phones The majority of Londoners now use mobile phones, and their numbers are still rising. The four major networks are T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange and O2 that are all GSM based at present. You can find GPRS data services too, normally priced per MegaByte. CDMA based 3G networks have begun to be deployed with a limited coverage since 2003, with 3 being the first commercial provider. Mobile phone tariff are mainly divided into two types: pay monthly and pay as you go. Pay monthly is a fixed monthly fee plus any call charges debited from a bank account or credit card. It generally includes some call or text messages for free, contracted for one year or 18 months. Pay as you go or pre-pay is the cheapest for one who seldom uses the phone. You purchase a pre-pay phone for the network you have selected, and then buy voucher cards from a newsagent. Then scratch the back of the card to see a number, and enter that into your phone. If you possess a credit card or a debit card, you can also use this to purchase call time. Otherwise, you can ask for money to be added to your account automatically. But mind you, prices vary considerably depending upon the provider. Also keep in mind that calls from hotel rooms can be hugely expensive due to the hotel surcharges. Calls from payphones and wired, or landline, phones to mobile phones can be costly also; better call the other party's landline. Premium rate calls can be very expensive too. Mobile phones underground According to Transport for London, mobile phones can be used in London Underground railway system within 2008. After the summer of 2008 the technology is likely to be extended to put mobile phone connections inside all tunnels so that Tube rail commuters have uninterrupted reception while traveling through the underground network. Landline calls For landline calls within the UK, try to call before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. on weekdays or any time at weekends to avail of the cheaper rates. Don’t forget that phone calls made on national holidays are often charged at the same rates as ordinary days. Calls between landlines are charged at either local rate or national rate. It depends upon the originating and destination area codes and if both happen to be the same, the area code becomes optional and local rate is applied. Emergencies In case of a serious emergency requiring immediate action, dial 999 (or 112) and ask to be connected to the fire, police or ambulance service (or a special rescue service such as the coast guard, mountain rescue or cave rescue). The call is free and will be answered by an operator who will ask you for your location and the service(s) you need. The calling code of the UK is 44. If you want to phone another country, dial 00 followed by the calling code and subscriber number. You can look up London phone numbers in a local telephone directory or in a directory of local services like the Yellow Pages or Thomson Local. You can also log on to BT’s Directory Enquiries service at www.bt.com/directory-enquiries/dq_home.jsp for free information on the Internet. The darker side of London phone box It began rather innocuously with advertisements for second hand pianos or bed-sits with a few handwritten cards for models and masseuses thrown in. But printed cards of prostitutes began appearing in phone boxes in London in the mid-1980s when a loophole in the law meant they were not, in the strictest sense, illegal. The practice, mostly prevalent in London and some seaside resorts, is known as ‘carding.’ According to rough estimates, more than 13 million cards are deposited in Central London Phone boxes each year. Recent surveys indicate that only 250 prostitutes are now working from cards. Mostly students or unemployed people called ‘carders’ place these cards in the London Phone boxes and they are paid by the girls themselves. With the passage of time, the styles of the cards have changed too, with ‘old-world’ appeal making way for crass commercialism. Related
Articles |
|||
|
|
  |
  |
 |