Calling Belarus

[Koluji Ezhik]

Hi all, this is probably an easy question for someone out there to answer. I tried searching for the answer on google, but what I read doesn't make much sense. A girl in Minsk Belarus has given me her phone number. I have called to Russia many times, but never to Belarus. The number she gave me looked like this...
+375 29 710 90 38
She said she didn't know what the country code for Belarus was.  i tried to look this up on google. There I read that you should dial 011 and then the phone number which would be 375 29 710...
I read on another page that you should dial a city code, and for Minsk it said to add 172 in before the number.
I read on another page to add a 22 as the country code. I am throughly confused.
I tried 011 375 29 719 90 38 but that didn't seem to work. Could anyone clue me in as to what I should dial???? Thankz a million))))
KJ

[bjoer751]

Have you tried to dial the exact number she gave you?
Searching Google, it seem that 37529xxxxxxx indicates a mobile phone in Belarus. Mobile phones aren't distinct for a city, but for the operator.
So, dial the code for international calls followed by 375... and it should work just fine.
When you have called to Russia - you have dialed the international access code every time - it might be 011 for you (for me, in Sweden, it's just 00) - what have you dialed when you dialed Russia?

[Faux Pas]

Kolugi

think of it like this 01137-529-719-9038. That should get you to her phone. Keep in mind that many cell phones in FSU cannot accept an international call unless they have a plan specifically for doing so. I've ran into that before with a lady whose phone wouldn't accept it and she did not know it.

[viking]

I call Belarus often. Gomel to be exact. I dial 011-372-2 plus the remaining 8 digits. Never had a problem. Cell or land line. Keep in mind that calling Belarus is a LOT more expensive than calling Russia.

[mischief]

The phone number  she gave you is a cell... so you should dial: 011 - 375 (Code for Belarus)- 29 (that means it's a cell) - 7 digit phone number... Sometimes it doesn't connect you with the cell there or connection is very bad...  it depends where you are calling from and when ... i'd recommend you to ask gor her regular phone #  ... then you'll need to dial: 011- 375 - 172 (if she is from Minsk)- 6 digits phone #

[Cold Warrior]

375 29 is a cell number for Velcom. It should receive intl. calls without any problems. If you are calling from the US you will have to add 011 in front, other countries maybe 00, also check if your carrier does calls to Belarus.

[Koluji Ezhik]

thanks fellas! the 011 worked after some trying. Calling  a Belarussian cell is a whole new ballgame. Wretched connection and burned through 3 hour Russian fone card in like 10minutes! wow!

[mischief]

after five years of calling I would not recommend using the phone cards to call to Belarus... you don't save that much money and connection is always bad...

[lindochka]

What Mischief said about phone cards for Belarus -- I have found no good deals out there in the past eight years. If the advertised cost per minute is low, there are all kinds of hidden and not so hidden fees that will greatly increase the real per-minute cost and the connection is likely to be bad. Expect to pay an average of at least $0.30 US per minute plus taxes and fees -- that's probably why you burned through your three-hour Russian phone card so quickly.

I've used a couple of long distance carriers with some success. I've had the best luck with GlobalPhone. DM and my relatives live in a smallish town a couple of hours north of Minsk and I almost always get through with a decent connection, even to DM's mobile (unless he's out in the country). GlobalPhone's cost per minute is comparable to the real costs of other carriers and is generally far better than what you can get with a phone card.

They also offer callback services and in-country toll free access numbers -- when I'm there, the latter allows me to call back to the US from a landline in Belarus without incurring any cost to the landline owner, and to pay US prices instead of Belarus prices (much higher than in the US) for the call.

Insert the usual disclaimers (I don't work for, or own stock in, GlobalPhone) here.

Good luck!

[divad]

I've been trying call a girl located in Gomel, Belarus. I bought a phone card but I could never get a connection.  After reading this thread about phone cards not saving much money, I called AT&T to enable my phone for calls to Belarus.

I called her phone number directly but I have not been able to make a connection. I keep getting the following message when I make the call: “All international circuits to the country are calling are busy now. Please try your call later.” I've called her all times of the day (and night) but I get the same results.

The phone number that I am calling is:  011-375-259-xx-xxxx

Any suggestions?

[viking]

I have been using Nobel.com for some time with very few problems. Good prices, good connections and I am calling the same town as you. You can dial a local number or an 800 number and then enter an ID code and then her phone number. You can also register your phone to eliminate the ID portion. ATT is VERY expensive.

[lindochka]

Divad, are you sure that's 259? If that's a mobile phone, it might be 295.

[viking]

Divad

Lindocha is correct. It is 29. But my g/f cell is a 6. 296.

[Daveman]

edit :off topic.. not about Belarus, but about phone cards and specifically nobel.com pricing

I have been using Nobel.com for some time with very few problems. Good prices, good connections and I am calling the same town as you. You can dial a local number or an 800 number and then enter an ID code and then her phone number. You can also register your phone to eliminate the ID portion. ATT is VERY expensive.

Hey Viking, using Nobel.com, does the per minute pricing include the opposite end fees?  Seems no matter what card I use, there are always hidden minutes fees (which they claim is coming from 'the other side') which bring actual per min/call costs back to about what I pay straight through AT&T Wireless, Vonage, Lingo, or Skype to ukrainian cell - .12 - .15 per min (for example, a card at 4.2 cents per minute, place the call for ten minutes, but 30 minutes mysteriously disappear for the call, bringing actual price back up to 12.6 per minute to Ukraine cell).  Obviously the planet rotates at a different rate of turn in FSU than here. 

Anyway, just curious if you are seeing a big jump from the listed price vs. actual price per min.

Dave

[Faux Pas]

edit :off topic.. not about Belarus, but about phone cards and specifically nobel.com pricing

Hey Viking, using Nobel.com, does the per minute pricing include the opposite end fees?  Seems no matter what card I use, there are always hidden minutes fees (which they claim is coming from 'the other side') which bring actual per min/call costs back to about what I pay straight through AT&T Wireless, Vonage, Lingo, or Skype to ukrainian cell - .12 - .15 per min (for example, a card at 4.2 cents per minute, place the call for ten minutes, but 30 minutes mysteriously disappear for the call, bringing actual price back up to 12.6 per minute to Ukraine cell).  Obviously the planet rotates at a different rate of turn in FSU than here. 

Anyway, just curious if you are seeing a big jump from the listed price vs. actual price per min.

Dave

Dave,

I have been using Nobel also. Tremendous savings over AT&T. Initially I used another card and got caught in that hidden fees trap. I've re-charged my card with Nobel numerous times and have always received the minutes advertised. Also, a good discount for the higher dollar cards. (As lindochka I don't own stock or the company, just found a good square deal)

[lindochka]

Divad

Lindocha is correct. It is 29. But my g/f cell is a 6. 296.

That 6 is the first digit of the actual cell number -- the 29 is the code that tells you it's a mobile phone. DM's and my cousins' mobiles are all 29-XXX-XX-XX, so is the Belarusian "simka" (simcard) that I pop into my own mobile when I'm there. (We all have MTS.)

[divad]

Thank you everyone for your help.

I tried 295 instead of 259 and I do make a connection. With who? I have no idea. A girl answers the phone and when I ask for my girl by name, she hangs up. The last time I called, I heard a small child crying in the background and my girl has no child.

I tried 296 for kicks and the phone rings but no one has answered the phone yet.

My girl has given me her phone number 4 times and the last 3 times she said 375-259-xx-xxxx. The first time she said 375-29-xx-xxxx which doesn't work at all.

I asked her last week if her phone was a home phone or mobile but did not answer the question.  I think this girl is ready to give up on me. I am going to tell her what has been mentioned in this thread.

To get my phone enabled by AT&T, I pay $2.99 per month and I get charged just under $0.30 per minute. If I ever get connected with this girl, I will definitely check out Noble.

[Daveman]

Dave,

I have been using Nobel also. Tremendous savings over AT&T. Initially I used another card and got caught in that hidden fees trap. I've re-charged my card with Nobel numerous times and have always received the minutes advertised. Also, a good discount for the higher dollar cards. (As lindochka I don't own stock or the company, just found a good square deal)

Thanks Faux Pas... I'm hooked up with Nobel now and the prices are indeed actually what they say.  Tastes great... less filling! 

[divad]

My girl in Gomel, Belarus insisted her phone number is 011-375-259-xx-xxxx. I tried to call her a couple times everyday and I never got through. I either got the message, "The subscriber is not answering, please call later." or
“All international circuits to the country are calling are busy now. Please try your call later.”

I was about to give up on this girl. I had told myself if I wasn't able to reach her on the phone by Friday, I'll have to move on. But what do you know... I finally got a ring and she answered the phone! Maybe Cupid was involved.

When she realized who was on the other side of the phone, she became very excited... maybe too excited but that is another story. We were having a great conversation but after 5 minutes of enthusiastic chit-chat, the call suddenly dropped. I called right back and I got a busy signal. I called several more times but all I got was the same 2 messages as before.

I will now look into Noble for a card.

Thanks again, for everyones help.

[BillyB]

I tried to call her a couple times everyday and I never got through.

 We were having a great conversation but after 5 minutes of enthusiastic chit-chat, the call suddenly dropped.

The phone system can be crappy in the FSU. Some areas worse than others. Calling my fiancee in Uzbekistan, sometimes I have to dial 10 times to get through. Sometimes when I do get through, there's so much static on the lines that we can't hear each other and I got to hang up and try again. Once the phone system took a dump for 4 months and we couldn't speak to each other. But I've never had phone problems calling the embassy. They probably got better phone lines.

When getting a calling card, get a no hassle, no hidden fee's, and no sneaky stuff card. You pay a few cents more but it comes out cheaper. I pay 12 cents a minute calling Uzbekistan.

[viking]

Divad

For goodness sakes. Get the Nobel service already and stop screwing around with your current provider!

[divad]

Viking:

I wanted to talk to the girl one time before I bought another phone card.

Buying phone card from Nobel now...

BillyB:

My Sochi girl would sometimes go 1-4 days without power and I would not be able to talk to her. But it was never like this. 4 months without phone calls must have been very frustrating for both you and your fiancee... and also a real test of your commitment to each other.

[Faux Pas]

The phone system can be crappy in the FSU. Some areas worse than others. Calling my fiancee in Uzbekistan, sometimes I have to dial 10 times to get through. Sometimes when I do get through, there's so much static on the lines that we can't hear each other and I got to hang up and try again. Once the phone system took a dump for 4 months and we couldn't speak to each other. But I've never had phone problems calling the embassy. They probably got better phone lines.

When getting a calling card, get a no hassle, no hidden fee's, and no sneaky stuff card. You pay a few cents more but it comes out cheaper. I pay 12 cents a minute calling Uzbekistan.

Billy

Nobel's most expensive card is .04 cents a minute (to Russia)and it is a pretty good connection. It does on occasion have a bad connection. When that happens I usually just hang up and call right back and 90% of the time it is much better. Incidentally, the .04 cents card is a one-second round up which also makes a difference on real speaking time.

Perhaps Uzbek is like Belarus and 3 times as expensive to call?


Dave,

Glad it worked out for you!

[lindochka]

I knew there was a reason why I didn't switch to Nobel when I previously looked into it for calling Belarus. Some of the cards have connection fees, most have rounding (of as much as five minutes per call), and many also have monthly maintenance fees.

All of these conditions drastically reduce the number of available talk time and substantially increase the true per-minute cost to call. Factor in the all too frequent lousy connections and dropped calls and you could easily spend two to three times the advertised per-minute price. Nobel also charges more per minute for using their toll free access numbers, which could be an issue if they don't offer a local number in your area.

The best card Nobel offers for Belarus (no connection fees, no monthly maintenance fees, one-second rounding) would save me one cent per minute over my GlobalPhone plan. Not worth it, IMO; even at the rate we talk, I'd save only a dollar or two per month. And, unlike GlobalPhone, Nobel doesn't offer callback or the option to call direct to the US from a toll free access number in-country.

These features are not only useful for those of us traveling there. Both features allow calls to be made from Belarus at US rates and to be billed to your account. Your girl would pay a dollar per minute at Belarusian prices to call you from a landline. I don't know what the per-minute cost would be for her to call you from her cellphone, but to be able to do that she'd have to get international roaming for her plan. My DM informed me that a plan which includes international roaming costs $50 US per month before the subscriber even makes a call -- not a realistic expense for the typical Belarusian.

In addition to GlobalPhone, I also have ECG as my long distance carrier. Per-minute prices for Belarus are comparable, and I like having a backup. (Sometimes when I can't get through with one service, I can with the other. Go figure.)

There are a lot of good deals from many companies for Russia, even outside of Moscow, but not so many for other parts of the FSU. YMMV.

Divad, glad you persevered and finally got through!

[YEP]

If calling from home ... consider a VOIP client on the PC

www.voipraider.com

Rates for Belarus.
http://www.voipraider.com/en/calling-rates.html#letb
Belarus  (Landline)   0.167 USD
Belarus  (Mobile)   0.250 USD
if you have a 3G/wifi enabled phone and able to get www.fring.com installed you're able to use above VOIP service via that.

Another option for less capable mobile phones is jajah.com
http://jajah.com/info/rates/