Benin switched to a new numbering system in the early hours of this Saturday, November 30, 2024. From eight digits, telephone numbers are moving to ten digits. Migration is simplified because there is only one prefix to add for all old numbers.
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With our correspondent in Cotonou, Jean-Luc Aplogan
The old telephone numbering system had reached saturation and the new system offers a capacity of several tens of millions of numbers for mobile telephone services. This guarantees availability of numbers for 50 years.
The millions of Beninese telephone subscribers were not surprised: they knew the date of the new numbering system. ARCEP, the communications regulatory body, like GSM operators, started their information campaign very early.
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It was difficult to miss the information and some even announced it with a gong, as was done to carry the message of a king to his subjects. “ The new numbering plan starts on the 30th » warns an actress in the commercial of a mobile telephone operator.
Each time you dial a number fromBenigna message informs: “ For your next calls, precede your recipient’s number with 01 “. Clearly, all numbers must be preceded by “01”, regardless of the operator.
The old eight-digit numbers will disappear in a month, during the transition. The first consequence for subscribers is to update their telephone directory: free applications are available free of charge for automatic conversion of contacts.
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