Mobile Phones
The German mobile phone companies usually have roaming partners in Brazil. Your mobile phone wants to log in automatically when being switched on and phone calls can be made. You should definitely ask for more advice or advice. Another possibility is to buy a local prepaid card. There are several providers; good experiences have been made with TIM. The price for a card is about 35R $ of which 20R $ are credit. A call from Germany to a Brazilian cell phone costs less than 10 cents/minute (with respective low-cost dial code). Inexpensive rates can be found at www.billiger-telefonieren.de
Landlines
There are phone shops where international phone calls can be made, faxes can be sent and internet used. But it is cheaper to buy a phone card (“cartão telefonico” – always choose the one with 60units) to call home. It is thus possible to make an international “collect call” processed by a credit card. It works at every phone booth (“Orelhao”). Dial the number 0800-7613333, choose the language, enter the credit card number and follow the instructions.
For local calls from Orelhão: just dial the number. If phone calls to the greater area of Fortaleza are made, a provider code needs to be entered first. There are several private companies: 021 (Embratel) always works, in the north-east of Brazil (federal states of Ceará, Bahia, Rio Grande do Norte) the provider of 031 (Telemar) is cheaper. For international calls 0021 or 0031 must be dialed.