Mobile phone numbers conversion to affect 60 million subscribers nationwide

13/08/2018 14:36

All major mobile phone service providers in Vietnam, consisting of VinaPhone, Viettel, MobiFone, and Vietnamobile, reported that they have successfully piloted the number conversion process from 11-digit to 10-digit. It is supposed that the official conversion will be launched on September 15 in accordance with the guideline of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Mobile phone numbers conversion to affect 60 million subscribers nationwide

After this technical pilot turn, the above companies are now perfecting their various methods to guarantee the optimal results.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, 21 prefixes of 5 phone service providers being used in Vietnam will be affected in this conversion.

_ The prefixes 0162, 0163, 0164, 0165, 0166, 0167, 0168, 0169 of Viettel will be changed to 032, 033, 034, 035, 036, 037, 038, 039

_ The prefixes 0120, 0121, 0122, 0126, 0128 of MobiFone will be changed to 070, 079, 077, 076, 078

_ The prefixes 0123, 0124, 0125, 0127, 0129 of VinaPhone will be changed to 083, 084, 085, 081, 082

_ The two prefixes 0188, 0186 of Vietnamobile will be changed to 056, 058

_ The prefix 0199 of Gmobile will be changed to 059

The last 7 digits of the current mobile phone numbers will remain the same.

Any current 10-digit phone number having the prefix 090 and 091 will not be affected by this change.

The three-step conversion will begin from 12:00am of September 15, 2018.

_ The first stage, using both the old and new numbers, will end on November 14, 2018.

_ From the next day until June 30, 2019, callers using the old number will hear a bilingual notice in English and Vietnamese about how to use new numbers.

_ After June 30, 2019, phone calls can only be made with new numbers and no notice is delivered.

Statistics of the Ministry of Information and Communications show that around 60 million mobile phone subscribers and 700 VSAT service subscribers will be affected by this conversion.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Hong Hai said that it is essential to implement this number conversion in order to more effectively manage the national number storage by avoiding a shortage of mobile phone numbers while landline numbers are still surplus.

This action is also to meet the long-term requirements of telecommunications development and answer the demand of economic growth regarding smart traffic, smart health care, smart electric system, and Industry 4.0.

In 2017, there was an area code change for 59 provinces and cities nationwide so that all new codes will begin with the prefix 02. All the experience gained from that conversion is valuable in ensuring the success for the national number change this time, minimizing any inconvenience for users as well as service providers themselves.

It is expected that many 11-digit phone number users will face difficulties in the upcoming time since they have used these numbers to register for various banking, trading, and Internet services. However, all providers promise to try their best to work with related partners and help these customers to address any arisen problems as soon as possible.

Phone users are advised to visit banks or other concerned organizations to announce this information change.

By TRAN LUU – Translated by Yen Nhi