TRAI recommends the digit of the mobile number should be 11 digit Mobile Number instead of 10. Along with this, it has been said to change the digits of the landline number as well.
The new recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) include a ‘Unified Numbering Plan’ for mobile and landline service. Under this plan, it has been suggested that the digits of the mobile number should be changed to 11 instead of 10. At the same time, it will be mandatory to make zero before calling from the landline. However, there is no need to apply zeros when calling from the landline. All these mobile numbers in India will change as soon as these new recommendations are implemented. About 10 billion mobile numbers will be affected by this.
According to the new recommendation introduced by TRAI, the way you dial an inter-service area mobile call from a fixed-line phone, in the same way, it will become mandatory to call zero for calling a mobile phone within the service area as well. TRAI’s new recommendations are not only for mobile numbers and landlines, but it also suggests changing the number of mobile numbers to be distributed for dongles to 13 digits.
The recommendations introduced for landlines are suggestions to shift mobile numbers from 10 to 11 digits and the first digit of these 11 digits will be 9. At the same time, the mobile number of 10 numbers is distributed for the dongle, while the TRAI recommends that the mobile number of the dongle should be changed to 13 digits instead of 10.
Fixed line numbers must be moved to sub-levels of 2 or 4. Having said this, some time ago some operators had issued landline connections with numbers starting from 3, 5, and 6, however, this number is not currently in service. Now TRAI has recommended taking these closed connections to sub-level of 2 or 4. This will allow mobile operators to use these closed connection numbers for future mobile phone connections.
‘0’ as Prefix to be Mandated for Landline Calls
Mandating prefix “0” for calling mobile numbers from a fixed-line connection – At present, mobile phones can be accessed from a fixed-line phone without dialing a prefix “0”. The latest recommendations are, however, mandating “0” to be prefixed for dialing from a landline number.
This means that just like how you dial inter-service area mobile calls from a fixed-line phone, you will be required to prefix “0” to access a mobile phone even within a service area. It is important to note that there won’t be any change in dialing landline to landline, mobile to a landline, or mobile to mobile calls.
Mobile Numbers to Shift From 10 Digits to 11 Digits
Shifting from 10-digit to 11 digit mobile number scheme in case of mobile numbers – The second major recommendation by TRAI is to switch from 10 to 11 digits for mobile numbers, with first digit as “9”. The regulator said that this new change will give a total capacity of 10 billion numbers.
Mobile Numbers Allotted with Dongles to Change as Well
Mobile numbers allotted for dongles to be shifted to 13 digits – Just like the numbers associated with our mobile phones, various devices such as dongles and data cards currently have the 10-digit numbering scheme. The latest list of recommendations, however, includes a point that such devices should be shifted from the existing 10-digit to 13-digit numbering scheme. This will also release some numbering resources, TRAI said in its recommendations.
Landline Numbers to be Changed to a New Sub-level
Moving fixed line numbers to a sub-level of “2” or “4” – Since some operators in the past offered landline connections to users with numbers starting from “3”, “5”, and “6” numeric that is no longer in service, TRAI has recommended moving the underutilized fixed line numbers to a sub-level of “2” or “4”. This will allow mobile operators to use the underutilized numbers for mobile phone connections in the future.
Fixed Lines to Come with ‘0’ Dialling Facility
All fixed-line connections should be provided with “0” dialling facility – Currently, fixed-line users who have opted for subscriber trunk dialling (STD) are only provided with “0” dialling facility. TRAI, however, has recommended allowing all fixed-line subscribers to use the “0” dialling facility. This is essential as mobile numbers would be required to deal with the prefix “0” from landline numbers.
In the recent TRAI recommends, highlighting the recommendations, TRAI has mentioned that India already has about 1.2 billion telephone numbers, with a teledensity of 87.47 percent. The number of fixed and mobile subscribers in the country is also growing rapidly. All this has chiefly led to finding new solutions to have adequate availability of number resources.
