USA: Telephones, mail, email and time zones
In general, keeping in touch is easy. The exception would be in rural areas where you may find it slightly frustrating getting to the nearest public phone - which may be many miles away.US telephones are run by a large number of local companies, many of which were spun off from the previous Bell System monopoly - the successor to which is the nationwide AT&T network.
Public telephones usually work, and in cities at any rate can be found everywhere - on street corners, in train and bus stations, hotel lobbies, bars and restaurants. They take 25¢, 10¢ and 5¢ coins. The cost of a local call from a public phone is usually 25¢ - when necessary, a voice comes on the line telling you to pay more.
Some numbers covered by the same area code are considered so far apart that calls between them count as non-local (zone calls). These cost much more and sometimes require you to dial 1 before the seven-digit number. Pricier still are long-distance calls (to a different area code, again with the 1 in front), for which you'll need plenty of change. Non-local calls and long-distance calls are much less expensive if made between 6pm and 8am - the cheapest rates are 11pm-8am - and calls from private phones are always much cheaper than those from public phones. Detailed rates are listed at the front of the telephone directory (the White Pages , a copious source of information on many matters).
Making telephone calls from hotel rooms is usually more expensive than from a pay phone, though some budget hotels offer free local calls from rooms - ask when you check in. An increasing number of phones accept credit cards , while anyone who holds a credit card issued by an American bank can obtain an AT&T calling card (information at 1-800/225-5288).
More about Telephones, mail, email and time zones:
International calls
Toll-free numbers and area codes
Mail
Mobile phones
Email
Telegrams and faxes
Time zones
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