Get Telephone Service and Make Calls?

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Types of Phone Calls Within the United States

  • Local Area Call (or Local Call) – Calls within your immediate calling area.
  • Regional Toll Call (or Local Toll) - Calls outside your local calling area, but not considered long distance. These areas are set by the Federal Government. The boundaries between local and regional toll calls depend on your location and calling plan. Calls to numbers with the same area code may be local or they may be regional.
  • Long Distance – Calls outside your regional toll calling area. They may include calls within your state, in another state, or overseas.
  • Toll-Free numbers (1-800, 1-888, 1-877 & 1-866) - These numbers are free for the caller (the recipient pays for the call) and are often used as help lines and customer service lines. (855, 844, 833 and 822 are also reserved for toll-free numbers, but are not yet in use).
  • 1-900 numbers (also 1-976) - These numbers are paid services that charge a fee for calling them. The charges are either per-call or per minute (often the first minute is more expensive). Examples are a psychic hotline that charges $2.99 for the first minute and $0.99 each additional minute; or a charity donation line which charges $20 per call. WARNING: You should NEVER dial a 1-900 number unless you are fully aware of the charges you will incur.
  • Collect Calls

The area codes for the Central New Jersey are:

  • Local - 732, 848, 908
  • Regional - above, plus 973, 862, 201, 551

Note that this means a call from New Brunswick to Princeton is considered a long distance call.

To look up the geographic location of a particular area code, check the NANPA website

Making Phone Calls

  • Phone numbers in the USA have 10 digits (e.g. 732 932 1234). The first 3 digits are the area code (e.g. 732 for New Brunswick).
  • If you are dialing a number outside your local area, you need to dial a one (1) first. 
e.g. 1-876-123-4567
  • If you are using a campus phone you only need to dial a ‘2’ (for College Ave and Cook/Douglass campuses) or a ‘5‘ (for Busch & Livingston), then the last 4 digits. 
e.g. For an office on College Ave campus the full number is 1-732-932-1234, but you would dial 2-1234. 
     For Busch campus the full number might be 1-732-445-1234, but you would dial 5-1234
  • To dial overseas you must dial 011 then the country code and phone number you wish to dial. Here is a useful resource listing country phone codes and other information needed to dial overseas calls.
  • The emergency number in the USA is 911. To call from on-campus, dial 6-911.
  • Toll free numbers begin with 1-800
  • Numbers that will charge you for calling them (some times at very high rates) begin with 1-900

Phone Cards and Payphones

If you don't have your own phone line, you may still a Phone Card to make phone calls. They are available at most groceries stores, bookstores or delis in downtown New Brunswick, along Easton Ave, and in Highland Park as well. There are also websites where you can purchase talk time online with a credit/debit card.

  • Here are some websites where you can buy on-line cards for national calls:
  • Payphones are available on-campus and in closeby cities. You can use them to make local and long distance calls, and toll-free numbers remain free calling from payphones. Calls can be made using coins (quarters, dimes and nickles) or calling cards. Instructions for their use and the customer service number should be mentioned on the phone itself.

Hints

  • Sometimes there are low advertised rates but the cards have high connection costs and it never hurts to make sure!
  • If you do not know the telephone code to dial into your country, one way to find out is by calling any phone company on their 1-800 number (free!).
  • International Calls are made by dialing 011 and then the country code, city code and so forth.
  • For Local Area Calls, only the last 7 digits of the telephone number are needed.
  • For Long Distance calls within the US, you need to dial 1 then the area code + the number.
  • Connection charges and rates per minute are usually the same as stated in the posters, but it is worth your while to examine the phone card itself carefully before you buy it.

On-Campus Phone Calls

  • All calls to any official on-campus phone are free of charge from any other on campus telephone. Each campus has its own extension. (For example Busch Campus telephones will be 445-xxxx and College Avenue and Cook/Douglass will be 932-xxxx. One notable exception is all dorm phones. They are of the form 373-xxxx irrespective of the campus they are on.)
  • When you use on-campus phone, you only need to dial the last five digits of the number. For example if you are calling the CIFSS office from an on-campus phone, you only need to dial 2-7015. 
 To call the police from an on-campus phone you need to dial 6-911.

Getting a Home Phone

  • On-Campus or Off-Campus: Students need to call a local telephone company and get their phone lines installed. The procedure takes around 20-30 minutes and usually requires a security money deposit. Selection of a long distance carrier is totally a matter of personal choice and depends on the kind of plan one is looking for. Some major telephone companies are:


If you live on-campus, you may call:

  • Verizon: 1-800-427-9977 Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 6:00pm EST (Eastern Standard Time, time zone where NJ lies)
  • AT&T: 1-800-205-6268 Monday - Friday, 7:00 am - 7:00 pm EST

Getting a Cell Phone

If you want to buy a cell phone, first compare the different companies and plans online (e.g. Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Cingular, Nextel). Also shop around first before buying a device. You may need a Social Security Number (SSN) to order online, so if you don’t have one, give them a call instead, or visit the T-mobile and Sprint stores on George Street, or take a trip to Menlo Park Mall. We suggest that you find out the calling plan you like depending upon the talk time and service features. Talk to a cell phone dealer to find out these details. Based on your credit score you might or not have to pay a security deposit for the service. Some major cellphone companies are: 

 Plans are generally upgradable but not downgradable, hence its important to select the calling plan keeping this aspect in mind.
 Check out this web-page with discounts for TAs, GAs, or Rutgers employees.
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