Thursday, September 18, 2025

No more prefixes as telephone dialing changes now in effect

A new and simplified 10-digit telephone dialing system takes effect in Mexico today but the existing system won’t be phased out completely until August 3, 2020.

All telephone prefixes are eliminated under the new system, which was first announced by the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) in the fall of 2017.

That means that dialing the prefix 01 for national long-distance calls or non-geographical numbers (think 01-800 numbers) is no longer required.

Similarly, the prefixes 044 and 045 don’t need to be dialed to make local and long-distance calls, respectively, to a mobile phone from a landline.

To make a long-distance call from abroad to a mobile number in Mexico the prefix 1 is no longer required after the country code.

While all prefixes are eliminated, two or three-digit area codes are added when making local calls to create a uniform 10-digit system.

In Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, the corresponding two-digit area code is added to make a call within the city, while across the rest of the country, three-digit area codes are added.

An exception to the 10-digit system is the national emergency number, which remains 911.

The IFT had planned to give telephone users just one month to adjust to the new dialing system before eliminating the existing one.

However, the institute announced last month that people will be able to continue to use the numbers to which they are accustomed for a period of one year from today.

Telecommunications analyst Jorge Bravo said that having a one-year period in which both new and old numbers can be used is normal.

However, he warned that the public will need to be reminded about the new dialing system in the lead-up to the definitive elimination of prefixes on August 3, 2020.

Source: El Universal (sp) 

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.

Fed rate cut sends peso to strongest level vs. dollar in more than a year

0
Wednesday's closing rate of 18.32 pesos per dollar represented a 0.2% gain from Monday's session, capping the peso's eighth consecutive day of strengthening against the greenback.
sacks of drugs

US names Mexico among 23 principal drug-producing countries while praising its anti-cartel crackdown

6
Mexico's inclusion was hardly a surprise, but it was noteworthy that the Trump administration praised the Sheinbaum administration for its increasing cooperation.
Guiengola, Oaxaca

Biologists work to turn Oaxaca’s Guiengola archaeological zone into nature reserve

1
Led by 23-year-old biologist Eduardo Michi, a group of scientists has deployed camera traps across more than 300 hectares to document local fauna like coatis, rabbits, squirrels and ocelots.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity