How To Make a Collect Call from a Telephone in Brazil

Here's How:

1. Before you call, check the number - all telephone numbers in Brazil have eight digits. To place a long distance call, you will need a two-digit area code and an operadora (telephone company) two-digit code. Some popular operadoras are Embratel (code 21) and Telefonica (code 15).
2. Pick up the receiver and make sure you get a long, continuous dial tone.
3. To make a local call, dial:
   9090 + eight-digit telephone number
4. To make a long distance call, dial:
   90 +operadora code + two-digit city code + eight-digit telephone number
   For example, to call Angra dos Reis (area code 24) collect via Telefonica (code 15), you would dial 90 - 15 - 24 + the eight-digit number in Angra.
5. After you dial a local or long distance collect call, you will hear an eight-note tune, twice. That means someone has answered the phone. A female voice will say, "Chamada a Cobrar: Após o sinal, diga seu nome e a cidade de onde está chamando", which means "Collect Call: After the tone, say your name and the city you're calling from." You hear a shrill tone and you're on. Meanwhile, the person on the other end heard the eight-note tune and the message "Chamada a cobrar - para aceitá-la, continue na linha após a identificação", meaning "Collect call - to accept it, stay on the line after identification".
6. To make an international collect call, your best bet is to get help from Embratel at 0800 703 21 21. You can also get information about time zones and fees, as well as search for a phone number abroad through their Info Line: 0800 703 21 00

Tips:

1. To find out what the area code is for a city in Brazil, go to the Telefonica website (www.telefonica.com.br), click on Residencial, Atendimento, Guias e Informações Úteis, and Guia de Código DDD.
2. Get familiar with the collect call tune by checking out Ligação a Cobrar - o Tema, a jazzy piece that Sandro Teixeira, a musician and songwriter from Minas Gerais, wrote based on the collect call eight-note sequence.