The department of telecommunications (DoT) in a circular said landline users will have to add a zero before calling any mobile number January 1 onwards. The department of telecommunications accepted the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendations because the move would allow creating numbering space for fixed-line and mobile services.
The circular dated November 20 also said that it may inform landline customers about this change. “Fixed-to-mobile calls shall be dialled with prefix ‘0’. Suitable announcement may be fed in the fixed line switches to apprise the fixed line subscribers about the requirement of dialling the prefix ‘0’ for all fixed-to-mobile calls,” it said. “All the fixed line subscribers should be provided with `0’ dialling facility, that is, STD dialling facility,” the circular posted on DoT’s website said.
DoT has given telecom service providers till January 1 to implement the newly-recommended changes. This change was recommended by TRAI to DoT earlier this year in May. According to PTI, TRAI had said that adding a 0 to a mobile number while dialling from a fixed-line number. TRAI also said that introducing this new pattern will add 2,544 million additional numbering resources for mobile service providers.