Tens of millions of 11-digit subscribers will be switched to a 10-digit format, starting from September 15.

The Ministry of Information and Communications and Vietnamese mobile operators have created a mobile phone prefix division, online newspaper ICTnews reported.

Specifically, the 11-digit mobile phone numbers of VinaPhone will be converted to a 10-digit mobile number with the prefix “08,” while the 11-digit numbers of MobiFone and Viettel will use the prefix “03” and “07,” respectively.

Mobile service providers are required to send notifications through mass media to their subscribers 60 days ahead of the transition, allowing calls on both the old and new numbers for 60 days.

During the transition period, the network operator must ensure that the customers’ communications are not affected.

Currently, Viettel has the largest number of 11-digit subscribers, at 70 million subscribers. VinaPhone and MobiFone have some 50 million subscribers of 11-digit mobile phone numbers.

When the Ministry of Posts and Telematics (now the Ministry of Information and Communications) officially issued the 11-digit number for mobile networks in 2007, the market did not show much interest in it.

Many 10-digit subscribers have shared that they do not want to answer calls from 11-digit numbers because these tend to be marketing and advertising calls. In addition, 11-digit subscribers are often used for spreading spam.

Reports from the mobile operators indicate that the number of 10-digit mobile numbers leaving their networks is lower than that of 11-digit mobile numbers.

The Ministry of Information and Communications issued a new plan for mobile phone numbers in 2014. One of the ministry’s primary goals is to meet the need of the mobile development boom in the coming years. — VNS