Prefix’0 ‘for all January 15 cell to landline calls.

Key points:

1.  Starting January 15, to make calls from landline to cell phone, callers would have to dial numbers with the prefix’0 ‘.
2. A statement from the ministry said, “All fixed to mobile calls will be dialled with prefix ‘0’ from January 15 2021,”
3. The ddiallingfacility’0 ‘will be provided for all fixed-line subscribers.

With regard to phoning numbers for fixed-to fixed, mobile-to-mobile and mobile-to-fixed, calls, there will be no improvement. Starting January 15, to make calls from landline to cell phone, callers would have to dial numbers with the prefix’0 ‘.

The communications ministry, implementing the decision, said the change would free up ample numbering resources for further use, and as a result, almost 2,539 million numbering series are expected to be produced.

With regard to dialling numbers for fixed-to fixed, mobile-to-fixed, as well as mobile-to-mobile calls, there will be no improvement. A statement from the ministry said, “All fixed to mobile calls will be dialled with prefix ‘0’ from January 15 2021,”

Relevant notification for the same will be fed into the fixed-line switches. Whenever a subscriber dials a fixed-mobile call without appending ‘0’, this note will be played, it stated. In addition, the dialling facility’0 ‘will be provided for all fixed-line subscribers.

“With the releasing up of enough numbering resources, a greater variety of connections may be delivered in the future so that you can be useful to the mobile clients at large.

 The above adjustments were carried out in an effort to have minimal inconvenience to the subscribers and releasing up important numbering resources,” it said.

It is important to note here that the Department of Telecommunications recently requested telcos to make the necessary arrangements to introduce the new system by January 1.

The Department of Telecom approved the suggestion of sectoral regulator Trai to have the ‘0’ prefix for such calls in order to establish adequate numbering space for telecom services.

In May this year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) proposed the dialling prefix ‘0’ for a call from a defined number to a mobile number.

However, the regulator noted that the implementation of a prefix for a certain form of call is not equivalent to raising the number of digits throughout the telephone number.