Ever since the Scottish inventor Alexander Graham Bell made his first phone call on March 10, 1876, the words: “Mr. Watson - Come here - I want to see you” became legendary. At the time, his assistant was next door and Bell didn’t really have to dial a number as there were only two phone sets in the world.
The expansion of telephone network in Europe started in 1881, when the American Bell Telephone Company signed a contract with Russia to create phone networks in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw, Odessa, Riga and Lodz, and has not stopped since. By 1890, there were already 26,000 phones in Great Britain, and 22,000 in Germany.
There were numerous attempts to create a cable connection between the United States and Europe and in 1953 the laying of the first successful transatlantic telephone cables began, making it possible for Americans to call Europe.
Today, Europe has a vast phone network, covering almost every corner of the continent, with both fixed and cellular phones. What was once Bell’s dream became reality in the 21st century.
Here is the list of telephone calling codes for 39 European countries.