Where does the country code 011220 come from? (+220 / 011220 / 00220)

+220 (011220) is the Country code for Gambia. If you are outside United States of America and you want to call a person in Baja Kunda, , in addition to the area code, you need the Country code for the country you wish to call. The Country code for United States of America is +220 (011220), so if you are in United States of America and you want to call a person in Baja Kunda, , you have to prefix that person’s phone number with +220 566. The zero in front of the area code is omitted in this case. For the fictitious phone number 17452085, the area code 566 and the Country code +220 the number to dial is +220 566 17452085.

The plus sign at the beginning of the phone number can usually be used in this format. However, it’s more common to replace the plus sign with a sequence of numbers that alerts the telephone network that you want to dial a telephone number in another country. The ITU recommends using 00, which is also used in many countries, including all European countries. In United States of America, 011 is used instead of 00. As an alternative to +220 566, which you have to place in front of the telephone number of a person in Baja Kunda, in order to call them from United States of America, you can also use 011220 566. For the fictitious phone number 17452085, the area code 566 and the Country code 011220 (Gambia) the number to dial is 011220 566 17452085.

Even when a call is received from abroad, the caller's number may conceal a service for which the service provider charges an additional fee. Such calls frequently come from Africa – i.e. calls with the Country code +2xx – with the intention of enticing the called party to return the call. Returning a missed call from such a number often results in high charges to the subscriber concerned, which are transferred to the company that made the bait call. The longer the returned call lasts, the higher the charges will be. Caution should thus be exercised when returning such unexpected calls from abroad. Subscribers often know the prefixes of expensive service numbers in their own countries, but it is not usually possible to identify such services in foreign telephone numbers.

If the subscriber is called on a mobile number, it does not matter in which country the mobile device is located. Whether the call is an international call and whether the Country code – in this case +220 (011220, Gambia) – has to be specified depends solely on whether the called mobile device uses a mobile phone provider from the same country as the caller. The location of the mobile device makes no difference. However, under certain conditions the location may make a big difference when it comes to call charges. As soon as a mobile device dials into a foreign mobile network, roaming charges are incurred. These charges are borne by the owner of the device in question, regardless of whether he or she is the called party or has called someone else. Roaming charges have largely been abolished within the European Union, so no additional charges are incurred when using a mobile device in another European country. Outside the European Union, however, this often incurs a high surcharge. Roaming charges are particularly high in aircraft and on ships that are equipped with a mobile network cell. It is therefore advisable to inform yourself in advance about roaming charges while you are abroad, or to play safe by leaving the device in flight mode for the entire duration of your trip.