Telephone numbers in South Africa
International access 00 | | |
| Long-distance | 0 | |
|---|---|---|
South Africa switched to a
international access code and the country code
+27.
Background
History
Numbers were allocated when South Africa had only four provinces, meaning that ranges are now split across the current nine provinces.
South-West Africa (including Walvis Bay) was integrated into the South African numbering plan.[1] However, the territory had already been allocated its own country code by the International Telecommunication Union, +264, in the late 1960s.[2]
Namibia
Following its independence,
+264 country code. For example, for a call from South Africa to Windhoek
, before and after 1992:
Lesotho
Calls to
Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe
Calls to
+263.[6]
Number ranges
00
International access code
effective from 16 October 2006 and mandatory from 16 January 2007.
01
The old
North West
:
- 010: New overlay planfor Johannesburg
- 011: around Johannesburg, currently code for the entirety of Greater Johannesburg
- 012: Brits)
- 013: Eastern Gauteng (Bronkhorstspruit) and Western and northern Mpumalanga: Middelburg, Witbank and Nelspruit
- 014: Northern North West and Southwestern Limpopo: Rustenburg and Modimolle
- 015: Northern and Eastern Limpopo: Polokwane
- 016: Transvaal.
- 017: Southern Mpumalanga: Ermelo
- 018: Southern North West: Klerksdorp
02
Northern Cape
:
- 021: Cape Town metropole and surrounds, including Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Gordon's Bay
- 022: Malmesbury
- 023: Worcester and greater Karoo, including Beaufort West
- 027: Namaqualand (Northern Cape): Alexander Bay, Port Nolloth
- 028: Southern region: Caledon / Hermanusregion.
03
KwaZulu-Natal
:
- 031: Durban
- 032: KZN North coast region: Stanger
- 033: Pietermaritzburg and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands
- 034: Vryheid, Newcastle and Northern KZN
- 035: Zululand region: St. Lucia, Richards Bay, Ulundi
- 036: Drakensberg region: Ladysmith
- 039: KwaZulu-Natal South Coast region: Port Shepstoneand interior, and Eastern Pondoland (in Eastern Cape)
04
Eastern Cape
and eastern parts of the Western Cape:
- 040: Bhisho
- 041: Gqeberha and Uitenhage
- 042: Southern region: Humansdorp
- 043: East London and surrounds
- 044: George
- 045: Central region: Queenstown
- 046: Southern region: Bathurst, Port Alfred, Kenton-on-Sea
- 047: Mthatha / most of previous Transkei
- 048: Northern region: Steynsburg
- 049: Western region: Graaff-Reinet
05
Free State
and Northern Cape
- 051: Central and southern region: Bloemfontein, and Aliwal North in E Cape
- 053: Kimberley, eastern part of Northern Cape, far west of NW province
- 054: Upington, Gordonia region
- 056: Northern Free State: Kroonstad
- 057: Northern Free State: Welkom (Goldfields region)
- 058: Eastern Free State: Bethlehem
06 (Cellular)
Cellular[7]
- 0600: Cellular: Used by Liquid Telecommunications (South Africa)
- 0601 - 0602: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
- 0603 - 0605: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 0606 - 0609: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
- 061: Cellular: Used by Cell C
- 062: Cellular: Used by Cell C
- 0630 - 0635: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 0636 - 0637: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
- 0640: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 0641 - 0645: Cellular: Used by Cell C
- 0646 - 0649: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
- 0650 - 0654: Cellular: Used by Cell C
- 0655 - 0657: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 0658 - 0659: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
- 066: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
- 0670 - 0672: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA[8]
- 0673 - 0675: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
- 0676 - 0679: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
- 0680 - 0685: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
- 0686 - 0689: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 0690: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 0691 - 0699: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
07 (Cellular)
- 0710: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 0711 - 0716: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
- 0717 - 0719: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 072: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
- 073: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 074: Cellular: Used by Cell C
- 0741: Cellular: Used by: Virgin Mobile as of June 2006 to September 2021[9]
- 075: Cellular: Used by Purple Mobile South Africa
- 076: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
- 078: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 079: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
08
Cellular
- 0810: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 0811 - 0815: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
- 0816: Cellular: Used by Rain
- 0817: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
- 0818: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
- 0819: Cellular: Used by TelkomSA (8.ta)
- 082: Cellular: Used by Vodacom
- 083: Cellular: Used by MTN
- 084: Cellular: Used by Cell C
Special Services
- 080: FreeCall, Toll-free, called party pays
- 085: Cellular: USAL license holders - Vodacom and MTN have some prefixes out of this range for their USAL offerings
- 086: Sharecall, MaxiCall and premium-rate services, calls can be routed to regional offices automatically
- 0860: Sharecall Land line callers pay local call, called party pays long distance if applicable
- 0861: MaxiCall caller always pay long distance for call even if routed to local office
- 0862 - 9: Premium rate caller pays increasing rate linked to last digit[10]
- 0862, 0865, 0866, 08673, 08774, 08676: Fax to Email caller always pay increasing rate linked to last digits
- 08622, 086294: Competition lines caller always pay premium rate
- 08671 - 08674: Information services caller always pay increasing rate linked to last digit
- 087: Value-added services (VoIP [1]among others)
- 088: Fax Divert, Pagers and Telkom CallAnswer voicemail
- 089: Maxinet, for polls and radio call-in services
Note that from 10 November 2006, mobile number portability was introduced in the cellular market. The cellular prefixes as above are therefore not strictly applicable anymore, although they remain mostly unchanged.
- 090: Premium-rate services[7][11]
- 0902: Premium-rated adult services[12][7]
- 091: Premium-rate services
- 092: Premium-rate services
- 096: Machine-related services (14-digit numbers)
- 097: Machine-related services (14-digit numbers)
- 098: Machine-related services (14-digit numbers)
There are still some non-automated exchanges which use longer dialing codes, mostly for "farm lines" and remote areas with operator-assisted exchanges.
09X XXX XXXX numbers are no longer in use in South Africa.
External links
- Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) - South Africa’s communication regulator
- How to call South Africa - howtophoneto.com
See also
References
- ^ South West Africa & Walvis Bay - Suidwes-Afrika & Walvisbaai, lolDepartment of Posts and Telecommunications, 1976
- ^ White Book, Volume 2, Part 1, International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee, International Telecommunication Union, 1969, page 29
- ^ Official South African Municipal Yearbook, S.A. Association of Municipal Employees, 1995, page 1161
- ^ The phone book: Cape peninsula, Telkom, Universal Web Printers, 2007, page 49
- ^ Lesotho, David Ambrose, Winchester Press, 1983, page 846
- ^ Pretoria Telephone Directory, Department of Posts and Telecommunications, 1991, page 21
- ^ a b c "INDEPENDENT COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY OF SOUTH AFRICA" (PDF). Government Gazette. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ McKane, Jamie. "The difference between 082, 072, and 062 cellphone numbers in South Africa". Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ "Virgin Mobile South Africa". Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2006.
- ^ "TELKOM SA LTD TELKOM TARIFF LIST 1 August 2009" (PDF). Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ "New numbers for machines, premium rated services". Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "Phone sex services to get new number range in South Africa". Retrieved 16 August 2018.