TANZANIA PLANS to replace its old East African telephone numbering system with a new one.

The new system, in which telephone numbers will have seven digits, is scheduled to take effect from June 1.

The public relations manager of Tanzania Communications Commission (TCC), Mr Mkumbwa Ally, told The EastAfrican that the telecommunication numbering system currently in use in Tanzania had been prepared by the dominant telecommunication operator, the Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd (TTCL). It was later modified to accommodate cellular and paging networks.

He added that the system had deficiencies that included the fact that it was unable to accommodate some emerging new services. It was also unable to accommodate operators coming on board because of liberalisation.

"More than 40 per cent of the numbers available were allocated for the East African regional traffic by the direct STD access codes to Kenya's and Uganda's networks," Mr Ally said.

The TCC found it necessary to review the numbering system to facilitate expansion of the existing networks and services.

The TCC takeover also led to introduction of the new telecommunications and data services and operators in the country and enhanced overall penetration, variety and quality of telecommunications and data services in the country.

A series of number changes have been introduced in Tanzania since last year and modifications were expected to continue to December 2001. TCC has said changes have been necessary to accommodate emerging new services.

The changes will affect international access codes, national destination codes, service codes, mobile phones, paging and special services.

Cellular phone numbers will also change during the last quarter of this year. Mobitel (Tanzania) Ltd, which operates the 0811 series, will switch to the 0741 series while Tritel (Tanzania) Ltd will change from the 0812 to the 0742 series. Zantel will retain their 0747 series.

New entrants in the provision of mobile telephone services – TTCL's subsidiary Cellnet and Vodacom (Tanzania) Ltd – will operate on the 0743 and 0744 series respectively.

The TCC was created by The Communication Act 18/1993. It is responsible for, among other things, the planning and management of national telecommunications numbering systems, setting guidelines for systems interconnection and tariff sharing.

Numbering systems are defined by numbering plans – the rules for formatting and allocating numbers – and dialling plans – the rules for using numbers to make calls. These determine the user-friendliness of a given system.

TCC officials said numbering is a limited national resource that must be managed fairly in the public interest.