Thailand To Use 10-digit Mobile Telephone System On September 1

[dotcom]

francois

We had similar change with landlines in Belgium a few years back.

Changes like that are bound to happen....probably unavoidable.

So yeah give Thailand a break

Here it is every 6 months.

[Chang_paarp]

For those wanting to change carrier it is a perfect time to do so. Tell every one you can think of that there is a new number system in thailand and blame the new number on the changes.

[Gumballl]

seems to me to hear westerners in their home country!

never satisfied!

always something to complain about!

give Thailand a break, would you ...

francois

Quite right. Here in the UK we've been through all this many times with mobiles and landlines. Of course some people are making big money out of it. My only concern is that they are underestimating future mobile use and will have to change again. UK - 55M people with good landline infrastructure is 11 digits. Thailand 63M people with poor landline infrastructure = 10 digits.

The US with approx 300M people has only 10-digits. Seems that the UK has dropped the ball somewhere.

In some populated cities in the US, it is required to dial all 10-digits to complete a local call. Here in New Mexico (where I live now), all that is required is that one dials 7-digits to complete a call. Yet dialling all 10-digits still works. (BTW, New Mexico has only about 1.3M residents).

The concept of local and long distance calls in the US is for the most part history. All calls are treated the same (and charged, for the most part, at the same rate). If someone is getting fleeced with "long-distance charges", then they need to switch carriers.

[Gumballl]

Beginning September 1, users of all mobile telephone systems will have to dial the prefix 08, he said. For examples, the number 01-123-4567 will be changed to 08-112-345-67 and the new number of 09-123-4567 will be 08-912-345-67.

wouldnt it be easier to understand if you say the number 01-123-4567 will be changed to

08-1-12345-67 or number of 09-123-4567 will be 08-9 -12345-67. so in other words you add the prefix follow it by previous prefix, simple. Just a different way to explain

I LOS, I have seen numbers listed as 0-xxxx-xxxx and also as 0x-xxx-xxxx (where x represents a number). Dissimilar formats if you ask me. Personally I favour the latter style, since this is somewhat similar in the US.

Anyhow, it seems that in LOS businesses might print their number as 08x-xxx-xxxx.

P.S. Interesting enough, this almost starts to look like the US-style of telephone numbers. However, for whatever reason, a zero (0) cannot be used as the first number in the US. (Or has that changed now that we are living in the 21st Century?).

Edited May 27, 2006 by Gumballl

[tracer0]

oh my god..... this means printing millions and millions of namecards again..... and as for me, telling more than 100 people in other South-East-Asian countries about the change.... nasty

No, there will mostly be recorded messages in Thai to really confuse all callers

Great move.. just after I get namecards printed... not to mention telling the hundreds of people.. couldn't they figure out a diff system whereby only new numbers were 10 digit, or is that far too intelligent?

Nope, this is very intelligent. Dont forget they can also say add 07 or whatever and land lines also get an extra 30 years....

Now obviously people donot NEED all those numbers, problem is all the shitty bad connections. End of the month I want discount for not getting connected on AIS...

[Jai Yen Yen]

There are still many questions to be answered.

Will there be a switchover period when both versions will work

or will it all happen in one day...

The old numbers will cease to work at 10 am on Sept. 1st.

The new numbers will start to work at 10 pm on Sept. 1st.

Somchai will blame the manuals being written in German for not knowing which button to push.

[tracer0]

francois

We had similar change with landlines in Belgium a few years back.

Changes like that are bound to happen....probably unavoidable.

So yeah give Thailand a break

Here it is every 6 months.

We dono9t have to give Thais a break, whatever we give them gets broken anyway...

Anyway, as said above, we need more numbers BUT its time everybody here gets assigned a phone number usable with any company for life. Current systems are stupid...

[Gumballl]

francois

We had similar change with landlines in Belgium a few years back.

Changes like that are bound to happen....probably unavoidable.

So yeah give Thailand a break

Here it is every 6 months.

We dono9t have to give Thais a break, whatever we give them gets broken anyway...

Anyway, as said above, we need more numbers BUT its time everybody here gets assigned a phone number usable with any company for life. Current systems are stupid...

From whose perspective is the current system 'stupid'.... your perspective or the phone carrier's perspective?

A couple of years ago, the FCC in the US forced all telecom carriers to allow consumers to take their number (i.e. continue to use it) with another competitor. This was a radical new concept and great for the consumer. Phone carriers were bitching that this would cost them money. Now a consumer who lived in LA with a 310 area code number can move to NYC and still use the same number. You can bet that the phone carriers lost a great deal of money on this idea. No longer does the consumer have to fork over new monies to setup new phone service.

As you can imagine, phone carriers make money everytime a consumer switches to a new number. Therefore, from the phone carrier's perspective, the system, similar to the one in LOS, is not 'stupid', but in actuallity a money maker. If you were in the business, you probably would agree.

Anyhow, I just wanted you to see the other side of the coin.

[Phil_Pattaya]

Happens everywhere. Dont see what the big fuss is about it has to be done. Surely it is not that expensive to have new business cards printed in Thaliand.

[dotcom]

If they have 10 digits in Hong Kong - then that is what the Thai's will want.

When Hong Kong goes to 12 - we will go to 12.

[edd]

An easy way to preserve mobile numbers is to let people keep there prepaid number in stead of loosing it if they don’t top up every month.

So many people run out of money at the end of the month and loose there number, several months later when they have a little more cash they then buy a new sim card.

I am quite sure that the old number is not reissued as I have, just for curiosity, rung some of the old numbers, with no result.

[Backpack_thailand]

Try to call a 10 digit no. without having to pass through a 9 digit no. first using a paid phone. Can you?

Yes, there's no numbers in Thailand that start '08'.

Idiot!

[Quark]

Why not give everyone a 15 digit number now and we'll never have to change again in our lifetimes and possibly not for generations? I don't know diddly squat about the telephone system so don't know if this would be practical. Just my 17 satang worth.

[yorkie100]

You ought to think yourselves lucky. We've had 3 number range changes in the UK in the past 10 years

Couldn't agree more and in the UK you now have to dial 11 digits both for mobile AND landline numbers.

Why is everyone bitching and moaning on Thaivisa.com all the time. Enjoy your life here, isn't that why you came to Thailand in the first place?

[pjallittle]

oh my god..... this means printing millions and millions of namecards again..... and as for me, telling more than 100 people in other South-East-Asian countries about the change.... nasty

No, there will mostly be recorded messages in Thai to really confuse all callers

If changes like this took place in any other non-English speaking country, do you think they'd feel the need to play an English recording? Get used to it, you're in Thailand, it's not their fault that you haven't learned the language.

And for you poor souls that just bought new business cards, everyone will understand if you just alter the printed number with a new one, for that's what they'll be doing.

The length of the new number is actually shorter than what's presently the case in the USA, Canada and elsewhere. For example, if you live in Los Angeles and want to call across town, you would very possibly have to input a different area code. So you'd end up dialing 1-213-244-2866, the same is true in Canada.

These kinds of changes have been going on for 40 years in the USA, so I entirely agree, give Thailand a break. Better that you spend a little time altering your new business cards to comport with their new system than wasting time complaining about their efforts to improve their system. Keyword ...THEIR

[dubstar]

hi'

always something to complain about ...

add or change by hand the phone number or you customer will do it!

what are you afraid of, loosing customers?

seems to me to hear westerners in their home country!

never satisfied!

always something to complain about!

give Thailand a break, would you ...

francois

I absolutely agree with you Francois. Why are all these farang losers in Thailand if they hate it so much. It seems to me many people using this forum should take a trip back home where all is not quite so rosy as they remember it.

[Milo]

I love this country, but explain to me I have a Telephone post on my property and the neighbor

acrossed the street has a phone running off of my pole,I have been trying to get a hard line phone

installed in my house for over 6 month now and was told they ran out of number and I may have to wait years for a phone,so I am connected with satillite to run my computer.

Does anyone else have the same problem not getting a phone hooked up?

Had the same problem myself when trying to have a line installed by TOT, told me no numbers, have to wait at least two months. Went across to TT&T, turns out they buy all the numbers from TOT for resale, line installed within a week!

[seatimes]

excuse me a moment

but is it not true that there is not enough bandwith

for existing mobiles in thailand

seems it might be an idea to expand bandwith

to service existing units first

[raslin]

Something I've never understood - if its necessary to dial "0" at the beginning of EVERY number, then what function does it serve? Why not just get rid of it? One less digit to dial.

Graham

Right! Mobile users could dial 8 instead of 0. This requires a bit of logic though.

Might be better to consider it as opening the door before you have a pee!

[Zemran]

Something I've never understood - if its necessary to dial "0" at the beginning of EVERY number, then what function does it serve? Why not just get rid of it? One less digit to dial.

Graham

You do not dial 0 when you call for a pizza delivery do you? or when you call for the boys in brown etc. or an ambulance.....

[meemiathai]

If they have 10 digits in Hong Kong - then that is what the Thai's will want.

When Hong Kong goes to 12 - we will go to 12.

I don't get what you mean. HK has 8 digits only.

[meemiathai]

Try to call a 10 digit no. without having to pass through a 9 digit no. first using a paid phone. Can you?

Yes, there's no numbers in Thailand that start '08'.

Idiot!

I guess adding 08 is just the beginning. 01, 02, 03 and so on are going to be added sooner or later. Is it not what the idea is all about?

[MaiChai]

Hum, I have friends who have been working on this for a couple of months already. I was led to believe they will be inserting an 8 to make the number longer. So 06 becomes 068. If you think about it, this makes for sense, since the first two digits are usually used to determine what kind of number it is and the national land line codes are three digit already (apart from Bangkok). This means that once the change is made, number ranges 060-069, excluding 068, are available for expansion.

Need to check this out...

Edited May 28, 2006 by MaiChai

[Clipped]

what really sucks is, i have to update about 200 phone numbers in my mobile phone....

how repetitive and excruciating it will be... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

[Chua]

Beginning September 1, users of all mobile telephone systems will have to dial the prefix 08, he said. For examples, the number 01-123-4567 will be changed to 08-112-345-67 and the new number of 09-123-4567 will be 08-912-345-67.

wouldnt it be easier to understand if you say the number 01-123-4567 will be changed to

08-1-12345-67 or number of 09-123-4567 will be 08-9 -12345-67. so in other words you add the prefix follow it by previous prefix, simple. Just a different way to explain

Even easier.. just insert an "8" after the "0" ---

To answer the question of why all number start with "0" - to distinguish them from the "short numbers" that start with "1"... such as "1175" for AIS. The "2000-9999" numbers are still for sale...

But, what makes no sense at all is why inserting an "8" into all numbers gives the system any more numbers to work with. Unless the "8" will eventually change to another digit for future numbers, all this seems to be is a blatent marketing ploy to appeal to the "lucky 8" believers in Hong Kong and China.

[minbari357]

Beginning September 1, users of all mobile telephone systems will have to dial the prefix 08, he said. For examples, the number 01-123-4567 will be changed to 08-112-345-67 and the new number of 09-123-4567 will be 08-912-345-67.

wouldnt it be easier to understand if you say the number 01-123-4567 will be changed to

08-1-12345-67 or number of 09-123-4567 will be 08-9 -12345-67. so in other words you add the prefix follow it by previous prefix, simple. Just a different way to explain

Simple..the average person cannot remember a number pattern of more than 4 digits in sequence. So long numbers are broken up in groups of not more than 4 digits per group. How the number groupings are setup are regionally driven.

[billd766]

I love this country, but explain to me I have a Telephone post on my property and the neighbor

acrossed the street has a phone running off of my pole,I have been trying to get a hard line phone

installed in my house for over 6 month now and was told they ran out of number and I may have to wait years for a phone,so I am connected with satillite to run my computer.

Does anyone else have the same problem not getting a phone hooked up?

Had the same problem myself when trying to have a line installed by TOT, told me no numbers, have to wait at least two months. Went across to TT&T, turns out they buy all the numbers from TOT for resale, line installed within a week!

Milo

I live right out in the sticks in the Central region. When we started bulding the house my wife went up to Khampaeng Phet to see about getting a number. That was 3 years ago and we are still waiting.

I am working offshore at the moment and when I come back for my holidays I want her to come with me and explain that I am willing to pay the cost of 4 1/2 km of 50 pair phone cable and I only want 5 lines, my neighbours want 2 or 3 each and they can sell the rest.

That may be a way around it.

[sfokevin]

I seem to have read somewhere that China is planning a 22 digit system... hehe

[bamforte]

chua, i'm sure that they will be inserting the other digits from 1-9 very soon. in singapore, we changed from 7-digit to 8-digit a few years back. initially, it was just prefixing a "9" to mobile #s, eventually, the land lines all prefixed with "6". now, 8 is also being used.

[BPayette]

There are still many questions to be answered.

Will there be a switchover period when both versions will work

or will it all happen in one day...

The old numbers will cease to work at 10 am on Sept. 1st.

The new numbers will start to work at 10 pm on Sept. 1st.

Somchai will blame the manuals being written in German for not knowing which button to push.