Thai Telephone numbers set to change to accommodate rising number of users

By Coconuts Bangkok

 

Photo: Karolina Kabat/Flickr

 

To increase the available telephone numbers in Thailand, both landlines and mobile, by 550 million, the nation’s telecom commission has plans to insert the digit “1” in between the two-digit prefix of landline numbers, effectively changing the number for every landline and allocating some of them to mobile.

 

According to the commissioner of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), Prawit Leesathapornwongsa, this new three-digit prefix landline change is expected to go into effect in 2021.

 

The plan, which met early approval on Tuesday, will have its final draft reviewed by NBTC again before a public hearing is held, reported Bangkok Post.

 

Full Story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2016/08/11/thai-telephone-numbers-set-change-accommodate-rising-number-users

 

 

-- © Copyright Coconuts Bangkok 2016-08-11

Other than Bangkok with its '02' prefix, other cities have a three digit prefixes,   '038' for Chonburi,    '043' for Khon Kaen etc.  Presumably in future they will be 012 for Bangkok, 0138 and 0143  etc respectively.  That will be fun for a while, and expensive for business cards, letterheads adverts etc.

That's a lot of people who need multiple numbers if they need to add an extra 550 million new ones to the numbers they already have