Stockholm - Phone

Sweden has a large number of telephone lines and everybody has a mobile phone. Wherever you are you will hear phones ringing and you will see people talking not to the person next to them but on the phone while looking at you!

General information  

The Stockholm area code is 08, however if you call from abroad you enter the country code 46, drop the 0 before the 8 and dial the local number. If you call often abroad it is worth considering joining one of the companies who can offer better deal on the price. If you do so you will end up paying the rent fee to Telia which is the government owned telephone company and the cost of phone calls to this other company at a much cheaper rate than Telia can offer. It is difficult to give more details on which company to choose because the market is changing very rapidly in this sector.

It is better if you buy your telephone and answering machine in Sweden even if here they are more expensive as your foreign apparatus may not work so well here. Usually they work in one room or in a single outlet. Instead of an answering machine you can also subscribe to Telia Telesvar, a voice service where all you need to do is to press a code to get your message. For more information
website: www.telia.se

Facilities such as e-mail and the Internet are widely available. In Stockholm there are various internet cafés where, for about SEK 28, you can have a coffee and the use of the Internet for 20 minutes. One of them is Access Café.
Kulturhuset
Sergelstorg 31
SE 10327
Stockholm
Tel: + 46 (0)8 508 31 489
website: www.cafeaccess.se

Fax facilities are widely available. The main post office at Skeppsbron 2, in Stockholm, has a fax service open daily 08.00-24.00. Fax facilities are available from commercial bureaux and hotels have facilities which are available for the use of residents.

Internal codes:
Stockholm  08
Göteborg 031
Malmö 040
Uppsala 018

Emergency and useful telephone numbers in Sweden:
Fire Brigade   112
Police   112
Ambulance   112
International Access Code  00
Country code for Sweden  46
International operator  020 0018
International directory enquiries 118 119
Directory enquiries within Sweden  118 118

Every day after 6pm and during the weekends the charges for calls within Sweden are only 50% of the standard rates.

Directory  

To make your life easier here are some explanations on the various telephone books you will receive:
The one with white pages has all the listed domestic numbers;
The yellow pages one lists companies under headings such as lawyears, hairsalons and so forth. Not 
all  businesses in Stockholm are listed here as a fee is required to be listed. The red pages in the back  of  this yellow book are maps of greater Stockholm complete with an index.;

The directory with pink pages are business listed in alphabetical order. You will also find information  about the municipalities (green pages), health care (blue pages) and telecommunication services   (purple pages).

Public phones

Public phones are still available in public places. Payphones take either Sek 1, 5 and 10 coins, telecards in units of 30, 60 or 120 or credit cards (indicated by 'CCC'). Telecards are sold at newsagents, tobacconists or other shops.