If you are planning to call to Belarus from abroad it may be a good idea to purchase a calling card from a company that specializes in calls to this part of the world. For example, while calls via larger phone companies to Belarus can cost you from US$ 1.5 to $3.0 per minute, a calling card from zvonok.com or Primus would cost you less than $ 0.30.
 

You can call from Belarus directly to practically any country of the world. For international calls you have to dial "8", then wait for the tone, then dial "10" + code of the country you are calling to + area code + phone number.

Calls to the numbers within Belarus are made using different procedures, depending from what type of phone you are calling - landline or mobile.

If you are calling from a Belarusian cell phone: Just dial a 7-digit phone number both for landline and mobile numbers.

If you are calling from a landline phone: To call to another landline phone within the same area code you only dial a 7-digit number. To call to a Belarusian mobile phone you have to dial 8, then wait for the tone, then dial 029, and only then the 7-digit phone number.

For your information:
Area code for mobile phones is 029 (if dialed from abroad zero is omitted). Most mobile numbers in Belarus start with 6, 7 or 4 (and then other 6 digits).
 

There are tree cell phone operators in Belarus. One of them operates analog NMT and digital CDMA2000 networks and another two operate digital GSM. Networks of the providers cover mainly larger cities and highways and are not available in remote rural areas.

If you have a GSM phone it is possible that it will operate in roaming mode in Belarus. Note, however, that American GSM is not the same as European GSM, so make sure with your provider that your phone will be compatible and will operate in roaming. Another important thing to note is that price of roaming calls is quite high and many foreign providers will charge you up to US$ 5 per minute to roam in Belarus.

It is possible to rent a cell phone while you are in Belarus. For details see the websites of mobile phone service providers (www.velcom.by, www.belcel.by & www.mts.by).
 

There is a quite extensive network of payphones in major Belarusian cities, however most regular payphones cannot be used for international calling. There is quite a limited number of the phones with international call option in large cities. However, international payphones would be normally available at main post offices in smaller towns.

Payphones in Belarus accept only special phone cards and do not accept cash or credit/debit cards. Phone cards are sold at post offices and in newspaper kiosks.