All Fixed landline phone users should use ‘0’ to call mobile phones from Jan 15, 2021

The Department of Telecommunications has decided to implement the compulsory dialing of 0 to call mobile phones after TRAI Recommendation on “Ensuring Adequate Numbering Resources for Fixed Line and Mobile Services.”

All Fixed to Mobile calls will be dialed with prefix ‘0’ from 15^th January, 2021 and there will be no change in dialing plan from fixed to fixed, mobile to fixed and mobile to mobile calls, it said.

Pending a detailed announcement to be made soon, the statement said whenever a subscriber dials a fixed to mobile call without prefixing ‘0’, he will be asked to do so. All fixed line subscribers will be provided with ‘0’ dialing facility.

A total of approximately 2539 million numbering series is expected to be generated from the above. This will free up sufficient numbering resources for future use. “With the freeing up of sufficient numbering resources, more number ofconnections can be added in future which will be beneficial to the mobile customers at large,” said the statement.

The above changes have been done in order to have minimum inconvenience to the subscribers and freeing up essential numbering resources.