Telephone numbers in Singapore

Telephone numbers in Singapore
	Location of Singapore
Location
Country	Singapore
Continent	Asia
Regulator	Info-communications Media Development Authority
Type	Closed
NSN length	8
Format	+65 XXXX XXXX
Access codes
Country code	+65
International access	000, 001, 002, 008, 011, 013, 018, 019, 020, and 021
Long-distance	none (Previously 0 via Malaysia until 1995)

Last updated July 06, 2024

Telephone numbers in Singapore , also known as the National Numbering Plan, are regulated by the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA). Due to the small geographical size of Singapore, there are no area or trunk codes; all numbers belong to one numbering area, and thus come in the same 8-digit format. Numbers are categorised based on the first digit, thus providing ten possible categories, of which six are currently in use and the remaining four reserved for future usage.

History

Until 1985, subscribers' telephone numbers in Singapore were five and six digits. Five digits were introduced in 1960s, whereas 5-digit and 6-digit phone numbers were introduced in 1960s as fixed lines grew, but in that year, these changed to seven digits as the introduction of new towns arose (Tampines, Jurong East, Bukit Batok, Yishun and Hougang) and a large number of new numbers were required. Rationalisation was based on geographical locale over the 12 years.

On 1 September 1995, the digit '9' was added to the front of mobile and pager numbers, making numbers eight digits, and on 1 March 2002, the digit '6' was added to the front of existing fixed line telephone numbers. The migration to the 8-digit numbering plan was planned to be on 2002, ahead of 2004 deadline. Full telecommunication liberalisation in April 2000 led to rapid growth in the market, resulting in increased demand in numbers. The implementation of 8-digit numbering plan, ensured that there would be a sufficient number resource pool to cater to the expanded telecommunication services. Preparation work started in 1999, as an effective approach had to be worked out for the implementation, with minimum service disruption and inconvenience to customers. The public telecommunication service providers - SingTel and StarHub, implemented the 8-digit numbering plan and ensure smooth service continuity for their customers after the migration. There was a parallel run of 7-digit and 8-digit numbers from 1 March 2002 to 31 March 2002. From 1 April 2002 to 30 June 2002, those calling the 7-digit numbers would hear the number change announced, prompting them to add the digit "6" to the old number, after which the call would be disconnected. After 30 June, callers would hear the announcement that the number was unavailable.

In March 2004, in response to the growing mobile phone numbering in Singapore, 8-digit mobile phone numbers starting with the digit "8" were introduced.

In 2005, Infocomm Development Authority, the regulating authority at that time, introduced a policy framework which would govern IP telephony services, while introducing 8-digit phone numbers starting with the digit '3' for such services at the same time.^[1]^[2]

Calls to Malaysia and Indonesian border towns

Until 1995, calls to Malaysia from Singapore were direct and similar to domestic phone calls, with only the area code for fixed line or Malaysian mobile phone code and number being required, hence 03 for Kuala Lumpur fixed line or 019 for Celcom mobile carrier were dialed instead of +60 3 and +60 19. In 1995, owing to the divergence of the two countries' numbering plans, the Subscriber Trunk Dialling prefix 020 was adopted.^[3] For example, in order to call a number in Kuala Lumpur, 020 is dialled first, followed by the area code 3 (excluding the leading zero), then the subscriber number.^[4]

Similarly, calls to Batam, Samarinda, Pekanbaru and Tanjung Pinang in Indonesia require only the code 011, followed by the area code (minus '0') and the subscriber's number, hence to call a number in Batam from Singapore, a subscriber would dial 011 778 xxx xxx, instead of the international code +62 778. Calls to the rest of Indonesia, including those to mobile phones, require international dialling.

Following the liberalization of the telecommunications industry, new carriers are assigned new carrier-specific codes for international and regional trunk call services. The codes 020 and 011 are assigned to the incumbent carrier SingTel. The other two major carriers, M1 and StarHub, do not offer any special dialling arrangements for calling to Malaysia and Indonesia, instead requiring full international dialling, the same as calling other countries.

Numbering scheme and format

x denotes 0 to 9
y denotes 0 to 8 only

Number ranges

3xxx xxxx - Business and Corporate IP Telephony Services or VOIP line numbers.

6xxx xxxx - Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Residential IP Telephony Services

8xxx xxxx - Mobile, Data Services, New Numbers and Prepaid Numbers

9yxx xxxx - Mobile, Data Services and Prepaid Numbers (Pagers Until May 2012)

Special service numbers

800 xxx xxxx - Toll-free international services

1800 xxx xxxx - Toll-free domestic services (Free if calling from a landline. Airtime charges apply if calling from a mobile line. '1800' is alias for '6'; as such these services can be reached as toll numbers, including from outside of Singapore, by replacing '1800 xxx xxxx' with '+65 6xxx xxxx'.)

1900 xxx xxxx - Premium rate services

Short codes

0xx - International access codes

13xx - Voicemails

16xx - Service providers' customer services

1777 - Non-emergency ambulance

18xx - International calling card access numbers

993 - Ministry of Health's special ambulance service - previously used for suspected cases of H1N1 and SARS and currently used for cases of COVID-19

995 - Singapore Civil Defence Force - Fire or Emergency Ambulance

999 - Police

Telephone exchanges

This is the list of telephone exchanges in Singapore. They also share the telephone exchanges with OpenNet locations, cable TV and '6'-regoed phone lines (each from SingTel and StarHub).

Ang Mo Kio Telephone Exchange
Ayer Rajah Telephone Exchange - August 1977
Bedok Telephone Exchange - 20 February 1973
Bukit Panjang Telephone Exchange
Central Telephone Exchange - 14 July 1980
Changi Telephone Exchange
Geylang Telephone Exchange
Hougang Telephone Exchange
Jurong Telephone Exchange
Jurong East Telephone Exchange
Jurong West Telephone Exchange
Lavender Telephone Exchange - 13 March 1973
Orchard Telephone exchange
Pasir Ris Telephone Exchange - 14 October 1991
Paya Lebar Telephone Exchange - 8 October 1960
Queenstown Telephone Exchange - 7 July 1957
Seletar Telephone Exchange
Tampines Telephone Exchange
Tanjong Katong Telephone Exchange - 11 July 1957
Tanjong Pagar Telephone Exchange
Telok Blangah Telephone Exchange
Tuas Telephone Exchange
Woodlands Telephone Exchange
Woodlands East Telephone Exchange (Under review due to the new HDB Estates in Woodlands/Sembawang and Yishun).

Satellite stations

Bukit Timah Satellite Station
Seletar Satellite Station
Sentosa Satellite Station

Former telephone exchanges

Changi (Upper Changi Road)
Built in October 1958
City (George Street)
Built in July 1959
Clementi
Fort Canning
Lim Chu Kang (Lorong Tukol)
Nee Soon (Upper Thomson Road)
Old Central (built in 1917)
Sembawang (Jalan Ulu Sembawang, demolished in 2005)
Tiong Bahru

International direct dialing

The generic international call prefix when making an international call is 000, which all telecommunications service providers are required to share. However, the code is not well known as carrier-specific access codes are generally used, such as 001 for SingTel, 002 for M1 and 008 for StarHub. On a mobile phone, a plus sign (+) can be keyed in as a substitute for the prefix.

VoIP services

VoIP services, such as Zone 1511, use prefixes in the 15xx range. For example, to call a number in London using Zone 1511, a subscriber would dial 1511 44 20 xxxx xxxx. Access codes in the 0xx range (for example, 018 - StarHub's VoIP services or 019 - SingTel's VoIP services) indicate a Tier 1 VoIP provider. Access codes like 1xxx (for example, 1511) are indicative of a Tier 2 VoIP provider.

Related Research Articles

A toll-free telephone number or freephone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls. For the calling party, a call to a toll-free number from a landline is free of charge. A toll-free number is identified by a dialing prefix similar to an area code. The specific service access varies by country.

A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, reachable by a system of destination code routing. Telephone numbering plans are defined in each of the administrative regions of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and in private telephone networks.

In the United Kingdom, telephone numbers are administered by the Office of Communications (Ofcom). For this purpose, Ofcom established a telephone numbering plan, known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, which is the system for assigning telephone numbers to subscriber stations.

The Australian telephone numbering plan governs the allocation of telephone numbers in Australia. It has changed many times, the most recent major reorganisation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority taking place between 1994 and 1998.

The French telephone numbering plan is used in Metropolitan France, French overseas departments and some overseas collectivities.

Telephone numbers in Japan consist of an area code, an exchange number, and a subscriber number.

In Argentina, area codes are two, three, or four digits long. Local customer numbers are six to eight digits long. The total number of digits is ten, for example, phone number (11) 1234-5678 for Buenos Aires is made up of a 2-digit area code number and an 8-digit subscriber's number, while (383) 123-4567 would be an example of a Catamarca number.

Telephone numbers in Hong Kong are mostly eight-digit. Fixed land line numbers start with 2 or 3, mobile (cellular) phone numbers with 4, 5, 6, 7 or 9, pager numbers with 7 and forwarding service with 8. Since the end of 1989, there have been no area codes within Hong Kong.

Numbers on the Irish telephone numbering plan are regulated and assigned to operators by ComReg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telephone numbers in Romania</span>

The dialling plan for mobile networks and new landline operators is closed; all subscriber numbers must be dialled in full. For landline numbers starting with 02, the dialling plan used to be open; the trunk digit and area code could be omitted if the caller was in the same area code as the callee. However, starting May 3, 2008, all landline numbers must be dialled in full.

Telephone numbers in Malaysia are regulated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

The format of telephone numbers in Australia has changed over time to allow for the expansion of the subscriber base as technology has improved.

The following telephone numbers in Chile are geographic area codes for all national and international calls terminating in Chile.

Telephone numbers in Israel consist of an area code and a subscriber number. The dial plan type in Israel is closed, and "0" is the internal trunk prefix in Israel. Israel's country calling code is +972.

The regulation of telephone numbers in Germany is the responsibility of the Federal Network Agency of the German government. The agency has a mandate to telecommunications in Germany and other infrastructure systems..

The following are the telephone codes in Tanzania.

National conventions for writing telephone numbers vary by country. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) publishes a recommendation entitled Notation for national and international telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and Web addresses. Recommendation E.123 specifies the format of telephone numbers assigned to telephones and similar communication endpoints in national telephone numbering plans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telephone number</span> Sequence of digits assigned to a telephone subscription

A telephone number is a sequence of digits assigned to a landline telephone subscriber station connected to a telephone line or to a wireless electronic telephony device, such as a radio telephone or a mobile telephone, or to other devices for data transmission via the public switched telephone network (PSTN), or other public and private networks. Modern smart phones have added a built-in layer of abstraction whereby individuals or businesses are saved into a contacts application and the numbers no longer have to be written down or memorized.

Telephone numbers in Georgia consist of 9 digits and follow a closed numbering plan in which the initial 2 or 3 digits indicate the service or area code and the remaining 6 or 7 digits identify the subscriber.

References

↑ "IDA Launches New Policy Framework for Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony". Infocomm Media Development Authority. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
↑ Yu, Eileen. "S'pore opens up IP telephony market". ZDNet. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
↑ Indonesia, Malaysia & Singapore Handbook Archived 2020-09-14 at the Wayback Machine , Joshua Eliot, Jane Bickersteth, Sebastian Ballard, Trade & Trade & Travel Publications; New York, NY, 1996, page 542
↑ Doing Business and Investing in Singapore Archived 2021-06-24 at the Wayback Machine , PricewaterhouseCoopers, 1999, page 238

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