International access code for Israel: +972.

Israeli public phones are numerous and are card operated. The local mobile phone operators use GSM networks and have roaming agreements with most international operators. Mobile phones can easily be rented.

International pre-paid phone cards allow you to call cheaply from any land line by entering a pin code and can be purchased from main post offices and at tobacconists. Rates for international calls can vary dramatically depending on the country that you want to call, so make sure you get a phone card that’s suited to your needs (some are intended for calls within Europe for example).

Israeli landlines are owned by six companies: Bezeq, Hot, Smile 012, Globcall, Cellcom and Orange. Bezeq is the oldest and is reputed to have a monopoly in the field. Hot uses its cable infrastructure in order to provide telephone services. The cables infrastructure is currently not yet spread throughout the entire country and therefore not every house in Israel can me a member of Hot, in comparison with Bezeq which has landline infrastructure in all towns and villages in the country. By employing internet telephone technology the other companies make use of the existing Bezeq and Hot infrastructures.

Consider signing up for a Skype account on your PC. The software is free to download and calls to other people that are connected to Skype via their computers cost nothing (you'll need a microphone, headset or USB phone). You can also buy credit to make calls to regular phones from your computer at very reasonable rates:

• http://www.skype.com