Local telephone calls are free of charge on both residential and business lines. There are numerous public call boxes with a charge of HK$1 for each local call of up to 5 minutes.
Many public telephones are operated with Cardphones, which can be purchased from Hong Kong Telecom and various other locations including restaurants and shops. Also there are credit card public phones which take American Express, Visa, etc.
International phone calls to the US, Canada, Europe and other Asian countries are become one of the world's cheapest places to make in Hong Kong. You can pay less than HK$1 per minute to make an international phone call.
Some useful and free local phone calls in Hong Kong:
| Service | Phone Number |
| Emergency services (police, fire, ambulance, and medical services) | 999 |
| Local Directory Enquiry | 1081 for English; 1083 for Cantonese |
| International Services Enquiry | 10013 |
| International Fax Enquiry | 10014 |
