Telecommunications

National Telephone System

The international area code of Novosibirsk is +7 383 (007 383). 8 383 works just as well inside the country, that is why many Russians often write phone numbers this way. Incoming calls are free in Russia since 2006, which means that all the calls are paid by the calling person with the only exception of those made from roaming mobiles.

Payphones can be found near major shopping centers, bus stops and post offices. All the calls are payable by the cards which can be purchased in news-stands and some other places.

Payphones can be found near major shopping centers, bus stops and post offices.

Neither mobile carriers in Novosibirsk, nor those in any other Russian city run the service of the third generation mobile telephone systems yet. The most widespread wireless network standard is GSM-1800. Three operators provide the mobile phone service to subscribers in Novosibirsk: MTS (telephone code - +7 913/007 913), BeeLine (+7 905/007 905) and MegaFon (+7 923/007 923).
The CDMA-450 standard is represented by Skylink. However, it is oriented at corporate subscribers.

Local Telephone Network

The cheapest way of subscribing to one of the three local cellular networks is buying a sim-card of one of them. It can be done in almost every single , that can be recognized by logos of cellular networks - which can be found in every shopping center. A foreigner has to show his or her passport, visa and registration ticket in order to subscribe.

Typical mobile phones “salon” – a small shop selling cellular phones

‘Pre-pay’ is widely spread in Russia. One can put money to one’s account in the kind of shop described above. Another popular means of purchasing conversation time is with the help of a so-called ‘multipurpose cashier’ or, in Russian, «мультикасса» [mool-tee-‘cah-sah]. This is a kind of ATM designed for paying different kinds of bills and putting money to the subscriber’s account, as well. The usual commission to be charged amounts to 1 to 10 percent. The money is added to the account almost instantly. Despite the Russian interface, foreigners can operate multipurpose cashiers with ease.

So-called ‘multipurpose cashier’ or, in Russian, «мультикасса» [mool-tee-‘cah-sah]

A third way of putting money to the account is buying your carrier’s express payment card. Such cards are sold in news-stands, tobacco sections inside shops and in the above-mentioned cell phones ‘salons’. 

Russian news-stands.

International Phoning

An IP-telephony card is the cheapest way of making international calls. After buying a card in a news-stand or a mobile phones “salon”, one can call the recipient using this card and an ordinary stationary phone. In order for you to get acquainted with the prices, here are the rates of one of the IP-telephony carriers of Novosibirsk (for a minute of talking):

The US: 5.87 rubles
France: 6.77 rbls.
Germany: 6.97 rbls.
The UK: 6.77 rbls

Emergency numbers

The emergency number is 01 for the calls made from stationary phones, and 002 or 112 for mobile phones. The calls made to this number, shared by paramedics, police and firefighters, are free of charge.

The Internet

Internet cafes are far from being widespread in Novosibirsk. Apparently, the reason may be an easy access to the Internet at workplace and at home for most citizens, while those who need it at other places use GPRS and Wi-Fi. That is why the overwhelming majority of the so-called internet cafes are just computer clubs for gamers with access to the Internet. Here are some of them:

Downtown

• “Bomba”. 1, Dimitrova str. Paid Internet.
• “Internet-club”. 1, Trudovaya str. Paid Internet.
• “Kofemolka”. In the shopping center “Moskva”. 26, Krylova str. Free Internet.

Akademgorodok

• “Traffic”. 18, Pirogova str. Paid Internet.
• “Traffic 01”. 54, Morskoy Prospect str. Paid Internet.
• “Zeon”. 22, Morskoy Prospect str. Paid Internet.

Wi-Fi Hotspots are much more numerous. Here is the list of free hotspots:

• “Il Patio” restaurant. 29, Krasny Prospect str.
• “Planeta Sushi” restaurant 29, Krasny Prospect str.
• Casino “Imperial”. 50, Krasny Prospect str.
• Nightclub “Begemot”. 17/1, Vatutina str.
• Nightclub “Shchuka”. 49, Karla Marksa Prospect str.
• Nightclub “Ostrovsky” restaurant. 64, Gorky str.
• Café «Bellissimo». 29, Ivanova str.
• Café “Vostok-Zapad”. 6, Ilyicha str. The shopping center.
• “Vostok-Zapad” coffee house. 6, Ilyicha str. The shopping center.
• “Respublica” bar. 20, Demakova str.
• Café “Yantsdzy”». 54a, Morskoy Prospect str.
• Novosibirsk State University. 2, Pirogova str.
• People's Bar and Grill. 12a, Tereshkova st. (Akademgorodok).

In most cases you will get connected automatically, but in some places you will have to address a waiter or the administrator in order to get instructed about how to connect your laptop or another device to the wireless network.

Commercial hotspots are much larger in number. They may be found in most restaurants and cafes in the downtown. Others can be easily identified thanks to “Wi-Fi” stickers at the entrance doors. Also it would be wise to take notice of the fact that Wi-Fi hotspots can be found in almost all the coffee houses of “Traveler’s coffee”, in “People’s” bars and in the majority of cinemas, as well as in hotels “De Luxe”, “River Park”, and “Sibir” and Tolmachevo Airport.

Practically, all paid hotspots are serviced by “Riss-Telecom” company, which means that after purchasing an access card in a café for the price of approximately 200 rubles for 20 megabytes one can use the very same card in another café or restaurant.

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