VietNamNet Bridge – Fixed phone numbers in 55 provinces and cities will be prefixed by “3″ from October 5, 2008, announced the Viet Nam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT).

To minimise confusion, callers will be able to get through on the old telephone numbers for two weeks after the changeover.

VNPT had originally planned to change fixed-phone numbers in 2010. However, due to demand for new numbers from telecoms companies and customers the move was brought forward, said Pham Hong Hai, director of the Telecommunication Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

To minimise confusion, callers will be able to get through on the old telephone numbers for two weeks after the changeover. The change applies to fax numbers as well.

Tran Vinh Phuc, deputy head of VNPT’s Telecommunications Department, said fixed line users would initially be inconvenienced by the change but the move was necessary if the telecoms group was to meet its 2012 development goals. He added that he hoped callers would understand that the change was necessary.

VNPT added that the phone number change was more complicated because Hanoi had been enlarged to include Ha Tay Province and some districts and communes in Hoa Binh and Vinh Phuc. While fixed lines in Hanoi and the former Ha Tay Province had seven digits, fixed phone number in Hoa Binh and Vinh Phuc had six, the company said.

The 55 provinces and cities affected by the change are: Hanoi, HCM City, An Giang, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Bac Lieu, Bac Giang, Bac Can, Bac Ninh, Ben Tre, Binh Duong, Binh Dinh, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Cao Bang, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Ha Nam, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kon Tum, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lam Dong, Long An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thua thien - Hue city, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Dac Lac, Dac Nong, Can Tho and Hau Giang.

(Source: Viet Nam News)