National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Moldova

Providers of fixed telephone networks services will operate, before March 1, 2012, technical modifications to the telephone exchanges for the implementation of the „closed” format of dialing range „2” of numbers. Following this exercise, in the timeframe March 1 - 15, these exchanges will be tested, whereas on March 31, at 24.00, the new format of dialing will be launched. These and other measures are prescribed in the Action Plan, approved in a Board Decision of the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI – www.anrceti.md).

The Plan was discussed and approved on Tuesday, January 10, in a public session of the Board, attended by the majority of fixed and mobile operators. Practically all the representatives of the operators supported the Agency’s proposal to offer the subscribers the possibility to temporarily use (April 1 – June 30, 2012) both formats, „closed” and „open”, of dialing telephone numbers.

The three-month transition period is planned in order to give the fixed subscribers enough time to learn about the new format of dialing telephone numbers and become used to applying the new format. In the three months, providers of fixed telephone networks and services will inform their subscribers about the change by means of answering machines. Starting July 1, 2012 fixed subscribers will be able to use only the new „closed” format for dialing telephone numbers. Mobile users have been using this format since 2003, when the new Numbering Plan (NNP) was implemented.

For fixed subscribers, the transition from the old „open” format to the new „closed” one means that they will be able to dial fixed telephone numbers, no matter whether local or long-distance, not by dialing 5 or 6 digits, but by dialing 9 digits (prefix „0” + geographic zone code + subscriber number). For example, in order to call a number in Chisinau, the caller will have to dial „0+22+6-digit subscriber number”; a number in district (rayon) Briceni - „0+247+5-digit subscriber number”, regardless of the geographic zone of call origination.

The need for transition to the „closed” format of dialing telephone numbers is explained in the Press Release published on the agency Internet page on December 15, 2011.

ANRCETI approved the Action Plan to enforce the new provisions of the NNP, approved by Order (doc. in state language) of the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications no. 93 of 25.11.2011, and synchronize the actions taken by providers of public telephone networks and services to implement the „closed” format of dialing telephone numbers. The transition to the „closed” format is an international practice, this format being used in a number of EU countries, such as Belgium, Italy, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia etc.

January 12, 2012