Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (Act No. 36 of 2005)

Regulations

Numbering Plan Amendment Regulations, 2020

Reasons Document

9. Short codes beginning with "1"
Purchase cart Previous page Return to chapter overview Next page

 

9.1One respondents mentioned that lack of transitional arrangement for the allocation of short codes, especially the service codes for Provincial and Government services is adversely affecting its business growth.

 

9.2To provide transitional arrangement will require an amendment to the Numbering Plan, followed by a consultation process. This is the same process we have followed but to provide a long term framework for the allocation and use of short codes. With the finalisation of the Regulations, any provider appointed as the electronic communications service provider by any provincial office (s) can apply for the allocation of the service codes as per Schedule 1.

 

9.3Some respondents requested that the Authority withdraws access code '18' from the designated codes for Carrier Pre-Selection (CPS) as the code has been deployed in their internal networks for many years prior to the Regulations. They further remarked that provisioning 300 access codes for CPS is inefficient given that since the CPS Regulations came into force, there has been no request for CPS services.

 

9.4The Authority has acceded to the request to withdraw access code '18' CPS Regulations were promulgated in 2010 and the CPS Phase 1 Code of Conduct in 2012 we have allocated 11 CPS access codes to interested licensees. The code has now been reclassified as a service code and is released.

 

9.5Several respondents requested the Authority to adopt 3-digit short code for harmonisation instead of the proposed 4-digit. The request emanates from the current practice by licensees where the services to be harmonised use 3-digit short codes and that end-users are accustomed to such services using 3-digit codes.

 

9.6It is the Authority’s intention to avoid inconvenience when introducing changes. As a result, short codes for harmonisation have now been reduced to 3-digit short codes.

 

9.7Some respondents expressed concerns on the adoption of short code '1023' for harmonised directory services. The concern was raised because the code '1023' is currently used for directory services by one provider.

 

9.8Upon further consultations, it was found that many licensees were routing directory enquiries to the provider using '1023'. The adoption was meant to minimise disruptions to network changes. It has been established that the routing of '1023' is a commercial arrangement and therefore the adoption discriminates against other licensees.

 

9.9The Authority has committed during the consultations that in the adoption of short codes for harmonisation, it will avoid discrimination in favour or against any provider. As a result, directory services have been withdrawn from the harmonised services as it did not meet a common description.

 

9.10Service codes for on-net services and internal network routing have been reduced from a total capacity of 5 000 to 3 000. Service codes 101 xxx and 102 xxx have been withdrawn. The analysis of the Number Audit submissions has shown that the 3 000 capacity will be enough to cater for such services.

 

9.11Service codes for off-net services have been withdrawn from the short code strategy. At the moment there are no clearly defined off-net services that specifically require the use of short codes. The Authority’s intention is to promote the use of 10-digit numbers until there are clearly defined off-net services.

 

9.12Service codes for emergency services and non-profit organisations have been withdrawn. The demand for such services cannot be sustained and as a result pose a risk to the scarce national numbering resources. Such services are and can be adequately catered for in the 10-digit numbers.

 

9.13The implementation of the short code strategy should be completed within 24 months from the date including migration of services from old to new codes.