International direct dialing (IDD) or international subscriber dialing (ISD) is the process of an international telephone call being placed by the caller (the subscriber) rather than by an operator. The term international subscriber dialing was used in the United Kingdom and Australia until the terminology was changed to international direct dialing. Since the late 20th century, most international calls are dialed directly.
Calls are made by dialing the international call prefix for the country one is in, followed by the country calling code for the country one wishes to call, followed by the phone number within that country. When phone numbers are published for use abroad they typically include the country calling code, but replace the international call prefix with "+" to signify that the caller should use the prefix appropriate for their country. For mobile phones, the plus sign (+) can be used instead of the prefix.
Famous quotes containing the words direct and/or dialing:
“Forty years after a battle it is easy for a noncombatant to reason about how it ought to have been fought. It is another thing personally and under fire to have to direct the fighting while involved in the obscuring smoke of it.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Although I will inherit darkness
I will keep dialing left to right.
I will struggle like a surgeon.
I will call quickly for the glare of the moon.
I will even dial milk.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)