Telephone
Country code: 998. International calls can be made from a telephone
office which will usually be found attached to a post office or from card phones
which located in abundance in major Kazakhstan's cities; they can also be made
from some hotels but need to be arranged through reception or the floor attendant.
Local calls within the city are free of charge if made from private telephones;
hotels sometimes levy a small charge.
You should also be aware that there are two types
of telephones numbers (6 digits and 7) and connections: pulse (or "analogovyi"
in Russian) and tone or digital ("tsifrovoi'). This has implications when
you call areas other than the one you are in. Please remember that when you're
using a tone (digital or 'tsifrovoi' in Russian) line phone to call outside
your area you can dial all the digits without any pausing. When you're using
a pulse phone you have to wait for a beep after dialling the first zero, and
then continue to dial.
To place local calls do not dial an area code.
For example, in Tashkent a telephone number will consist of six digits: 24-00-11
or seven digits 724-00-11(it is usually written this way with dashes).
Street phones
In Uzbekistan and in particular Tashkent there are both coin and
card operated telephones on the streets. The coin itself is called a "zheton"
and it is sold in some newspaper-stands, kiosks, etc. You can not make any long-distance
telephone calls using coin-operated telephone. The connection is pretty bad
too. With a zheton first place the call, listen for the receiver to be picked
up and then insert the zheton.
Card phones called "taksophon" can be
used to make both local and long distance calls. Prices for cards with different
number of units are different and are set by UZ telecom. Some kiosk venders
might add a small mark up, but the general rule is the more units are on the
card, the less the cost per unit.
Emergency numbers
01
-Fire Department (Only in large cities)
02
-Police (Only in large cities)
03
-Ambulance (free) (Only in large cities)
04
-Gas Department (Only in large cities)
07
-Operator assisted long-distance calls (Only in large cities)
09
-Information Department
Telephone Directory
Any time you want to know the telephone number of some organization,
person, you can call 09 and ask, by telling the title of an organization or
last name/address of a person.
Long Distance Calls
Once you've settled down, you of course would want to correspond
with family and friends. Some landlords may allow you to use the telephone to
make long distance calls, others may not in which case you'd have find an alternative
option like a post office or a friend's place. To be able to call abroad from
your apartment/house, your landlord has to have a contract with the telephone
service provider for long distance calls.
If you make operator-assisted telephone calls to any country, the
tariff for your call is set once and stays the same (depends on the country
where you are calling). If you do not make operator-assisted telephone calls,
the charge will depend on the time and the country you call.
Mobile network
GSM 900 network provided by the number of companies: Daewoo
Unitel, Coscom and Buztel
GSM. TDMA network is also in use and provided by Perfectum
mobile. Coverage is limited to certain areas around major cities. Sattelite
mobile provider is UzPak.
There are roaming agreements with some western providers, find it out with your
local provider.
Fax
Services are available from business centres of major hotels (if
they have such) for residents only. If you are travelling with a travel agent
you can rely it on them, as most of solid agencies have the facsimiles in the
offices.
Internet
ISPs Internet Services. There are a number of providers, some hotels
also have business centers where that kind of service is available. There are
also a number of internet cafes around the downtown.
Telegram Services are available from any of state post offices.
Post
To send letters/packages you would have to go to a post office.
There your package will be checked for contents, weighed and put in the mail.
Letters and parcels to Western Europe and the USA can take between two weeks
and two months. Stamped envelopes can be bought from post offices and book shops.
Delivery within the republic takes 3 to 5 days. Addresses should be laid out
in the following order: country, postcode, city, street, house number and lastly
the person's name.
The postal service is rather reliable when you
send things out of Uzbekistan, but you can't rely too much on it if you're on
the receiving end. Letters are OK, but packages often take up to two months
and are sometimes opened. Do not send any valuable items through the mail. Having
them delivered to Glavpochtamt (general delivery) is a safer way of getting
them. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1800. The Main Post Office in Tashkent
is open daily from 9:00-19:00 and located on 7, Shahrisabskaya st. Visitors
can also use the post offices situated in the major hotels. There are also a
number of international courier services based in major cities.
Regular mail (letters, newspapers and magazines)
will be delivered to your apartment or house every day except Sundays and official
holidays. If you are sent a package though, it will not be delivered to your
apartment/house, but instead you'll receive a notification that it has arrived
to your local post office where you can pick it up from. With regard to letters,
our advice is have them put in the rented mail box at the Main Post office ("Glavpochtamt")
and do not just drop them in the mailbox in your house. Going through the Glavpochtamt
is always faster and safer.
