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Country codes are defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in ITU-T standards E.123 and E.164. The prefixes enable international direct dialing (IDD). Country codes constitute the international telephone numbering plan. They are used only when dialing a telephone number in a country or world region other than the caller's.
When dialing a telephone number, the area code may have to be preceded by a trunk prefix or national access code for domestic calls, and for international calls by the international access code and country code. Area codes are often quoted by including the national access code. For example, a number in London may be listed as 020 7946 0321.
Mobile phones use geographic area codes (two digits): after that, all numbers assigned to mobile service have nine digits, starting with 6, 7, 8 or 9 (example: 55 15 99999–9999). 90 is not possible, because collect calls start with this number.
In 1998, as Italy switched to a closed dialing plan, San Marino incorporated the 0549 area code into its subscriber numbers. [7] A telephone number in San Marino may be reached as follows: [citation needed] 0549 xxx xxx: from Italy +378 xxx xxx: from all other countries +39 0549 xxx xxx: from other countries, using the Italian country code
The country code for calling Italy from abroad is 39. [3] For calling foreign destinations from Italy, the international call prefix is 00, as is standard in most European countries. Italian regulations prescribe no fixed rules for grouping the digits of telephone numbers for printing or display.
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Each NPA is identified by one or more numbering plan area codes (NPA codes, or area codes), consisting of three digits that are prefixed to each local telephone number having seven digits. A numbering plan area with multiple area codes is called an overlay. Area codes are also assigned for non-geographic purposes.
Telephone exchange names were used in many countries, but were phased out in favor of numeric systems in the 1960s. In the United States, the demand for telephone service outpaced the scalability of the alphanumeric system and after introduction of area codes for direct-distance dialing, all-number calling became necessary.