Telephone code (Germany)

Area codes in Germany

The telephone prefixes in Germany include 5202 local networks , five number ranges for mobile communications and several special numbers . They are (today ) organized and awarded by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA).

composition

The area codes are given including the national traffic elimination number ( prefix ) "0", as they are usually dialed for telephone calls within Germany . In official usage, area codes are further differentiated in terms of content. Examples:

• 030 12345678 Local network number (Berlin)
  The area code 030 consists of the prefix "0" + local area code (ONKz) "30"
• 0170 1234567 Mobile number (Deutsche Telekom)
  The area code 0170 consists of the prefix "0" + service code "17" + block identifier "0"
• 0180 1 123456 special number (shared cost 3.9 cents / minute)
  The prefix 01801 consists of the prefix "0" + service code "180" + tariff code "1"

For calls from abroad , the national traffic elimination number "0" is omitted. Examples:

• [phone] local network number (Berlin)
• [phone] mobile number (Deutsche Telekom)
• [phone] special number (shared cost 3.9 cents / minute)

The caller must replace the plus sign “+” with the currently valid international traffic elimination number; For example "00" for calls from Europe to other countries or "011" for calls from North America to other countries.

When the German preselection system was introduced, the long-distance switching network, based on analog switching technology, was structured hierarchically on several levels, with each selected digit of the local network code being evaluated individually and corresponding to one of the hierarchical levels (central switching center, main switching center, nodal switching center and local switching center). This earlier hierarchy is therefore still recognizable today in the West German dialing codes, see exchange .

In the fixed network , a number can usually be dialed within the same local area network without an area code. This does not work in cellular networks.

Since the introduction of number portability , the selected network or the connection operator can no longer be determined with certainty based on the area code. However, since the tariff often depends on this, many connection operators offer information services (e.g. via freecall or SMS) that display the tariff-relevant affiliation to a phone number.

The area covered by an area code does not match the city and municipality boundaries. In some cases, several municipalities are combined under one code and parts of a municipality can have their own code or share it with a neighboring municipality. In some cases the borders of the federal states are also exceeded.

Preselection ranges

For historical reasons, area codes are only in the area code ranges 02 to 09. They were officially set and historically published in the Official Directory of Area Codes (AVON). Special numbers are mainly located in the 01 area code. Important exceptions are the area codes 032, 0700, 0800 and 0900. 00 is the international traffic elimination number.

• Area Code 00 - International Telephone Codes
• Area code 01 - Call-by-Call , MABEZ , mobile radio , special numbers , service services
• Area code 02 - North Rhine-Westphalia (except Northeast), Rhineland-Palatinate (north), Hesse (Dillenburg area)
• Area code 03 - Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia, Lower Saxony (Neuhaus district)
  • 032 - National subscriber numbers
• Area code 04 - Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony (coast)
• Area code 05 - North Rhine-Westphalia (northeast), Lower Saxony (without coast), Hesse (north)
• Area code 06 - Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate (center, north [here also border towns in the south of North Rhine-Westphalia]), Hesse (center, east, south), Baden-Württemberg (Mannheim / Heidelberg area), Bavaria (Aschaffenburg area)
• Area code 07 - Baden-Württemberg, Southern Palatinate, Bavaria (Neu-Ulm area)
  • 0700 - personal numbers
• Area code 08 - Southern Bavaria
  • 0800 - free numbers
• Area code 09 - Northern Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg (Wertheim area), Hesse (Kalbach, Fulda district and Seckmauern, Odenwaldkreis)
  • 0900 - Chargeable numbers, "value added services"

Short numbers

Abbreviated numbers can be dialed anywhere in Germany, and most of them also have origin-dependent routing (e.g. 110). Contrary to the general number range with area codes, you have your own number range , e.g. B. Elfer-Gasse.

• 110 police emergency number
• 112 Euro emergency number (fire brigade, ambulance service, police)
• 115 Uniform telephone number for authorities (since 2011)
• 116xxx Harmonized services of social value , including for example:
  • 116000 Initiative for Missing Children e. V.
  • 116006 White Ring e. V.
  • 116111 number against sorrow e. V.
  • 116117 Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians : medical on- call services
  • 116116 Central contact point for blocking electronic authorizations (blocking emergency call)
  • 116123 Telephone counseling in Germany (one of three numbers, the others are free) of the Catholic Federal Working Group for Marriage, Family and Life Counseling
• 118xx telephone information services

Changes in the course of German reunification

Until German unification, each of the two German states had their own systems for telephone prefixes. However, there was no reform here, as by expanding the area code to six digits (including a leading zero), enough area code numbers in the area “03” (previously only used in the form of “030” for Berlin) were available, through which the previous GDR was available - Area codes replaced. The international code "+37" for the GDR was dropped with the reform. Reforms of primary elections are generally only carried out very restrictively and were also rare in the Federal Republic before 1990. When the area codes were changed in the new federal states, the numbers were retained as far as possible. From June 1, 1992, only the new area codes were eligible.

See also

• Historical primaries (Germany)
• Spelling of the phone numbers

Web links

• Federal Network Agency: numbering
• Federal Network Agency: Directories of local networks
• Federal Network Agency: Structure and design of the number range for local network numbers (PDF file; 205 kB)
• Area codes and international landline and mobile phone codes

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Federal Network Agency: overview map of the area code (PDF; 800 kB)
2. ↑ European Commission - Information Society The European emergency number - 112