Making the switch to 10-digit dialling

Allen, who acknowledges that the mandatory changes that came into effect this week are a welcome sign that SA is falling in line with international standards, warns that companies of all sizes need to be aware that there is programming work to be done if their systems use least cost routing (LCR) or routing via a PABX system.

"These changes will make a huge impact on businesses with PABXs, and everyone should check to ensure that the necessary resetting of numbers has been done," says Allen.

"Where PABX customers have programmed their systems for international call barring, the system will need to be re-programmed to avoid misuse."

The new dialling procedures have been implemented for international as well as local calls, with the legal requirement prescribing mandatory 10-digit dialling and the replacement of 09 with 00 as the international dialling prefix.

Callers now have to dial 10 digits when making local fixed line to fixed line calls within the same area. For overseas calls, the "09" international dialling access number has been replaced by "00". There are no changes to current dialling procedures for any person telephoning South Africa from overseas. A further consequence of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) regulated change of the international dialling access number from 09 to 00 is that the short numbers used to dial international operator-assisted services have also altered.

She says that people should also check that any pre-programmed diallable local numbers or speed dial numbers are stored in the full 10-digit format. If international numbers are included in this list, the dialling prefixes will also have to be changed from 09 to 00.