Vietnam dials in changes to telephone area codes

By Ngoc Tuyen   November 23, 2016 | 01:28 am PT
Get ready to change your speed dials, phone book and business cards.

Vietnam is planning to change its landline telephone area codes in 59 of its 63 provinces as part of a three-phase plan that is expected to come into effect in less than a year from now, said Minister of Communications Truong Minh Tuan in a recent announcement.

According to the plan, all area codes will start with a "2" and be either two or three digits long. Callers will be required to dial the new area code (plus the 7-digit number) to place a domestic call.

Minister Tuan said that people’s existing phone numbers will remain the same and there won’t be any changes to calls between fixed line numbers within the same province.

However, the changes will affect calls between different provinces and incoming calls from mobile phones and foreign countries to a fixed line number in Vietnam, Tuan said. In these cases, callers will be required to use the new area codes.

The plan is divided into three phases, with the first phase starting in February, 2017 in 13 provinces, and the later phases finishing in August the same year in another 46 provinces. Area codes in four provinces will remain the same.

Each phase will take three steps: announcements in the media, keeping both new and old phone numbers running in parallel for 30 days and maintaining notification of the changes for at least 30 days after the parallel dialing has ended. After that, all applicable calls must be made with the new area code.

Vietnam constructed its first repository of phone numbers in 2006 after eliminating a monopoly in the telecommunications sector, but the area codes and network codes of the previous networks have been left unchanged to avoid confusion.

The ministry hopes that the area code change will solve inconsistencies in Vietnam’s area code system without having a big impact on Vietnam’s telecom traffic and users.

“Some Vietnamese provinces have three-digit area codes while others have one or two-digit ones. It makes dialing numbers for long-distance calls difficult and confusing since it could be a 10 or 11-digit number.  This system is also not consistent with international practices,” said the minister.

“Subjects that will be most affected by the changes will be agencies, the business sector and organizations, in addition to organizations and individuals that have associated their products with area codes, such as business cards or advertisements,” said the ministry.

Reports on Vietnam’s telecoms sector show that inter-provincial calls and mobile and international calls to fixed landlines in Vietnam only account for 1.6 percent of the country’s total telecom traffic.

The ministry said the changes will be the first step in a long-term plan to reduce the number of area codes from 63 to only 10. Under this plan, adjacent provinces and cities will be grouped into regions with one area code. This should make the telecom network easier to manage, while people living in provinces with same area code will enjoy lower call rates.

Provinces subject to area code changes in the first phase (February 7 to April 14, 2017).

 No.  Province   Old Area Code  New Area Code
 1  Son La  22  212
 2  Lai Chau  231  213
 3  Lao Cai  20  214
 4  Dien Bien  230  215
 5  Yen Bai  29  216
 6  Quang Binh  52  232
 7  Quang Tri  53  233
 8  Thua Thien - Hue  54  234
 9  Quang Nam  510  235
 10  Da Nang  511  236
 11  Thanh Hoa  37  237
 12  Nghe An  38  238
 13  Ha Tinh  39  239

Provinces subject to area code changes in the second phase (April 15 to June 16, 2017).

 No.  Province  Old Area Code  New Area Code
 1  Quang Ninh           33  203
 2  Bac Giang  240  204
 3  Lang Son  25  205
 4  Cao Bang  26  206
 5  Tuyen Quang  27  207
 6  Thai Nguyen  280  208
 7  Bac Can  281  209
 8  Hai Duong  320  220
 9  Hung Yen  321  221
 10  Bac Ninh  241  222
 11  Hai Phong  31  225
 12  Ha Nam  351  226
 13  Thai Binh  36  227
 14  Nam Dinh  350  228
 15  Ninh Binh  30  229
 16  Ca Mau  780  290
 17  Bac Lieu  781  291
 18  Can Tho  710  292
 19  Hau Giang  711  293
 20  Tra Vinh  74  294
 21  An Giang  76  296
 22  Kien Giang  77  297
 23  Soc Trang  79  299

Provinces subject to area code changes in the third phase ( June 17 to August 31, 2017).

 No.  Province  Old Area Code  New Area Code
 1  Hanoi  4  24
 2  Ho Chi Minh City  8  28
 3  Dong Nai  61  251
 4  Binh Thuan  62  252
 5  Ba Ria - Vung Tau  64  254
 6  Quang Ngai  55  255
 7  Binh Dinh  56  256
 8  Phu Yen  57  257
 9  Khanh Hoa  58  258
 10  Ninh Thuan  68  259
 11  Kon Tum  60  260
 12  Dak Nong  501  261
 13  Dak Lak  500  262
 14  Lam Dong  63  263
 15  Gia Lai  59  269
 16  Vinh Long  70  270
 17  Binh Phuoc  651  271
 18  Long An  72  272
 19  Tien Giang  73  273
 20  Binh Duong  650  274
 21  Ben Tre  75  275
 22  Tay Ninh  66  276
 23  Dong Thap  67  277

Area codes for Vinh Phuc (211), Phu Tho (21), Hoa Binh (18) and Ha Giang (19) will remain the same.

Related news:

> Fiery Samsung Note 7s fail to cut off Vietnam's mobile phone exports

> Screen time, phone use linked to less sleep for teens

> Vietnamese mobile phone users ‘pickpocketed’ by networks

 
go to top