Sorry about the no topic post I hit the wrong button.
Last year we bought a phone card called Telecom. Our problem was when we tried to put in the number in at public phones to use it we would put in the 12 digit number after putting in the four digit code and it would disconnect us. We had no problem with the same type of card in 2007. So whats that about?
My first guess is defective card. Second guess is the card had no time on it. Assume it was a card you bought there.
Some phone cards require activation in the US before you ever try to use them overseas. Maybe that was it. Happened to a friend of my daughter whose boyfriend bought her a card to call him and no one realized it had to be validated first (so it was essentially worthless when she tried to use it since it couldn't be activated from Italy).
This was a card, the same kind we had bought in Italy in 2007 and it just didn't work in almost all the public phones we tried. We were in smaller towns than we had been before, but I can't believe that would make a difference, since we had had no trouble with our card in 2007.
I believe that is the same card we had a problem with in 2009. If we did get through on a public phone, it used up the time very quickly. Much more quickly than the card we had in 2006. We did not have a problem using the card from a private phone. I'll be interested to see if someone has a definitive answer for you.