Telephone numbers in Argentina

Argentina made major changes to its telephone numbering plan in 1999, this page describes the changes and the current dialing practices. (For a general overview of the Argentine phone network, see the relevant section of the article about Communications in Argentina.)

General phone calls within Argentina

In Argentina, changes were made to area codes in 1999, when the telephone network was split up into three different areas, with a new digit representing the new telephone company.

At present, the valid numbers are:
*011+ 8 digits for numbers in Buenos Aires
*02+ Area Code (2 or 3 digits) + Subscriber Number (7 or 6 digits) for numbers in southern provinces under Telefónica
*03+ Area Code (2 or 3 digits) + Subscriber Number (7 or 6 digits) for numbers in northern provinces under Telecom

Similarly, the digit "4" was added to existing subscribers' numbers. For example, before the change, a number in Buenos Aires would have been dialed as follows:

*xxx xxxx (within Buenos Aires)
*(01) xxx xxxx (within Argentina)
*+54 1 xxx xxxx (outside Argentina)

After the 1999 change, it would instead be dialed as:

*4xxx xxxx (within Buenos Aires)
*(011) 4xxx xxxx (within Argentina)
*+54 11 4xxx xxxx (outside Argentina)

City Area Codes in Argentina are given by the first three digits of the Dialing Code. Examples:

*011 - Buenos Aires, and Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area
*022 - Buenos Aires Province (0220: Villars, 0221: La Plata, 0223: Mar del Plata, 02284: Olavarría, 02293: Tandil)
*023 - Buenos Aires Province (02316: Daireaux, 02325: Azcuénaga, 02342: Bragado, 0237: Moreno, 02392 Trenque Lauquen)
*034 - Santa Fe and Entre Ríos Provinces (0341: Rosario, 0342: Santa Fe, 0343: Paraná, 0345: Concordia, 03462 Teodolina, 03492: Rafaela)
*035 - Córdoba Province 0351: Córdoba, 0353: Villa María, 03451: Villa Carlos Paz, 03548: La Falda, 03564: San Francisco, 0358: Río Cuarto)
*026 - West - Cuyo (0261: Mendoza, 02627: San Rafael, 0264: San Juan, 02646: Valle Fértil, 02652: San Luis, 02657: Villa Mercedes)
*037 - North East - NEA (03717: Formosa, 03732:Sáenz Peña, 03772: Resistencia, 03783: Corrientes, 03752: Posadas)
*038 - North West - NOA (0381: Tucumán, 03822: La Rioja, 03833: Catamarca, 0385 Sgo. del Estero, 03865: Concepción (T), 0387: Salta, 0388: Jujuy)
*029 - South - Patagonia (02901: Ushuaia, 02966: Río Gallegos, 0297: C. Rivadavia, 02965: Trelew, 02945: Esquel , 0299: Neuquén, 02972 San Martín de los Andes, 02920: Viedma, 02944: Bariloche, 02954: Santa Rosa, 0291: Bahía Blanca).

Calls to Uruguay

Until 1998, calls from Argentina to Uruguay were made using domestic dialing codes. For example, to call a number in Montevideo from Argentina before 1998:

*059 xxx xxx

After 1998, this changed to:

*00 598 2 xxx xxx

Calls to the Falkland Islands

Although Argentina claims the Falkland Islands ( _es. Islas Malvinas) as part of its national territory, calls are made using the Islands' country calling code, e.g:

*00 500 xx xxx

Mobile phone calls within Argentina

Almost all cell phones in Argentina operate with a "calling party pays" (CPP) system. That means that whoever initiates the call pays for it. For this reason, cell phones in Argentina usually start with number 15. Since calls to cellphones are more expensive than land calls in Argentina, this prefix indicates the calling party that this call is going to cost more. For instance if a user wanted to call a Buenos Aires CPP cell phone, from within Buenos Aires, they would have to dial:

*15 xxxx-xxxx

Should the user want to call a cell phone in another area code, he/she would have to add the local prefix, e.g.:

*011 15 xxxx-xxxx if it is a Buenos Aires cell phone
*0221 15 xxx-xxxx if it is a La Plata cell phone
*0341 15 xxx-xxxx if it is a Rosario cell phone
*0351 15 xxx-xxxx if it is a Córdoba cell phone
*0261 15 xxx-xxxx if it is a Mendoza cell phone
*0381 15 xxx-xxxx if it is a Tucumán cell phone
*02324 15 xx-xxxx if it is a Mercedes cell phone
*03492 15 xx-xxxx if it is a Rafaela cell phone
*03717 15 xx-xxxx if it is a Formosa cell phone
*02901 15 xx-xxxx if it is a Ushuaia cell phone

Non-CPP phones are available for purchase, and the calling and numbering is the same as the land numbers (non "15") but few users choose these numbers since that means that they would have incoming and outgoing calls deducted from their monthly minute allocation as opposed to just the outgoing.

A notable exception to this rule are the calls made from payphones, as well as the ones made from locutorios. In this case, even when dialing the "15", the mobile party is billed for the airtime.

Calling Argentina from abroad

Since 2003, the digit "9" has to be dialed before the city code, when calling CPP mobile phone numbers in Argentina from abroad:

*+54 9 11 xxxx xxxx for Buenos Aires (Note that the 15 prefix should not be dialed from outside Argentina)
*+54 9 xxx xxx xxxx for larger cities
*+54 9 xxxx xx xxxx for smaller cities

Phone calls from abroad to a land line (or non-CPP mobile phone), however, are dialed "normally." For example:

*+54 11 xxxx xxxx

Other calls and numbers

Toll-free numbers in Argentina must be dialed the following way:

*0-800 xxx-xxxx

Numbers that are paid as local calls countrywide start with "0810". These numbers are mostly used by companies that have branches in different provinces and only one call center:

*0-810 xxx-xxxx

Subscriber dial-up Internet access in Argentina gets a special, reduced-tariff number:

*0610 xxx-xxxx

This is because there is a number of ISPs that provide "free" dial-up access through standard cost phone numbers that do not use the "0610" prefix. In these cases, the user does not need to pay a subscription cost, he/she only pays for the standard telephone call (usually a local telephone number in major cities); then the telephone company gives the "free" ISP a fraction of what the user pays for the call.

However, "0610" tends to be confused with "gaming" phones, where a special 3 pesos + VAT tariff is quoted. These numbers always have to be dialed like this:

*0609 xxx-xxxx

All "0800", "0810" and "0609" have the same number countrywide. However, "0610" only can be used in the Internet Service Provider's area.

Some of the reserved, toll-free special numbers are:

Emergencies:

*"100" Firehouse
*"911" Police
*"107" Ambulance

Starting in January 2004, in the Province of Buenos Aires, the new emergency number will be "911". Unlike "100", "101" and "107", "911" will have people trained for the task of handling emergencies.

The newer 911 dispatcher sends police from a randomly selected police station, instead of the station assigned for that specific area. This measure was added to avoid the "liberated zones" where dirty cops allow crooks to commit numerous crimes without arresting them.

Services:

*"110" Phone Listings (Similar to "411" in the US)
*"112" Customer Care (for telephone customers)
*"113" Official time
*"114" Phone repair
*"115" Ring test
*"121" Phone usage info (delayed 24 or more hours)