Changes to landline telephone area codes effective February 11, 2017.

The area code conversion for all 63 provinces and cities will be completed on August 31, 2017. The Ministry of Information and Communications believes that the area code conversion will have very little impact on users.

The Minister of Information and Communications has just issued a decision on the Area Code Conversion Plan. Accordingly, the area code conversion roadmap is divided into 3 phases, starting from [date]. 11/2/2017Each phase consists of four steps: announcement through media channels, implementation of technical measures for parallel dialing for 30 days, maintaining the announcement tone for a minimum of 30 days after the end of parallel dialing, and ending the announcement tone – calls are only successful when users dial using the new area code.

The landline telephone area code change will begin on February 11, 2017. (Illustrative image)

Phase one, which began on February 11th and ended on April 14th, 2017, included 13 provinces and cities: Son La, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Dien Bien, Yen Bai, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Da Nang, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh.

Phase 2 of the area code conversion for 23 provinces and cities includes Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Bac Can, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Ha Nam, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Can Tho, Hau Giang, Tra Vinh, An Giang, Kien Giang, and Soc Trang. The conversion will take place from April 15th to June 16th, 2017.

Phase 3 of the area code conversion for 23 provinces and cities includes Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Thuan, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Kon Tum, Dak Nong, Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Vinh Long, Binh Phuoc, Long An, Tien Giang, Binh Duong, Ben Tre, Tay Ninh, and Dong Thap. The conversion will take place from June 17th to August 31st, 2017.

The area codes for the four provinces of Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Hoa Binh, and Ha Giang remain unchanged.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, adjusting the telecommunications numbering plan is normal and necessary. Countries around the world typically adjust their numbering plans every 10-15 years to better meet development needs. Vietnam first developed and issued its numbering plan in 2006, after opening up the market and eliminating monopolies in the telecommunications sector. Therefore, to avoid impacting users while still ensuring the numbering plan's usability for 10 years, the 2006 plan maintained the existing area codes and network codes.

However, during the process of splitting and merging provinces and cities, the length of Vietnam's area codes has been inconsistent. "Some provinces have area codes with 3 digits, while others only have one or two digits. This means that when making long-distance calls within the country or calling from mobile networks to landlines, sometimes you dial 10 digits, sometimes 11, leading to confusion and difficulty in remembering. This is not in line with international practice," a Ministry leader stated.

Previously, since 2014, to address the aforementioned shortcomings, the Ministry issued amendments to the 2014 Telecommunications Numbering Plan, adjusting area codes and network codes. This adjustment not only resolved the aforementioned issues but, according to the management agency, also made it easier for users to remember and reduce confusion. Furthermore, the Ministry explained that adjacent provinces and cities were grouped together into a single area code group (for example, the 20x group includes the northeastern provinces), opening up the possibility of easily reducing the number of area codes nationwide from 63 to approximately 10 in the future. This would benefit the public as calls within the same area code would be more affordable.

Furthermore, according to the Ministry, after the plan is implemented, all area codes will be converted to the prefix 2, freeing up many prefixes for converting 11-digit mobile phone numbers to 10 digits. This will help reduce the number of fake SIM cards and spam messages.

The Ministry of Information and Communications stated that the area code change will not affect subscriber numbers, which will remain the same. This means that when making local calls, from landline to landline within a province or city, nothing will change.

Intercity calls, calls from mobile phones, and international calls to landlines will be affected by this plan. For these calls, the old area code must be replaced with the new area code.

According to reports from telecommunications companies, the total volume of inter-provincial calls from mobile phones and international calls to Vietnamese landline numbers accounts for only about 1.6% of Vietnam's total telecommunications traffic.

"Therefore, the actual impact on calls is not significant. The affected parties are mainly concentrated in the government, business, and organizational sectors. In addition, some organizations and individuals may be affected by having to redo products associated with the area code, such as business cards, packaging, and advertising signs...", the Ministry of Information and Communications stated.

According to VNE