Experience about the change to eight-digit numbering in the Republic of Guatemala

Introduction

The Administration of Guatemala wants to share through this document, the experiences relevant to the change to the National Plan Numbering carried out on September 18th in our country. In this manner, considers that Administrations with common qualities that are working to carry out similar changes could have more ideas about details involved in this process.

Background and history

Based on the service demand and growth of mobile phone service in the country, and realized the demand to expand the mobile numeration capacity, the Telecommunications Superintendence, SIT, launched on May 2003, a process of public consultation for operators to consider different options to expand the mobile numeric space.

At that time, the resource availability gave the following result for the seven-digit numbering of the eight million numbers available to identify the subscribers national numbers, 60% of the resource was set aside for fixed telephone services and only 40% for Mobile Telephone service. Besides, on May 2003, the mobile numeric space was allotted on a 65% to the operators.

Among the activities involved on the consulting process, there was the implementation of a virtual forum with local network operators, on which opinions were exchanged about different options presented on the referenced document.

The options presented to expand the mobile numeric space were the following:

1. Introduction of an scape code to access mobile telephone service subscribers

2. Introduction of two-digit area codes

3. Introduction of three-digit codes

4. Eight-digit subscriber national numbering

Once the consulting process was finished, the Telecommunications Superintendence based on the received feedback, launched a procedure that according to the General Legislation of Telecommunications, must be followed when there was a need in Guatemala of implementing changes on the Numbering National Plan.

The legislation process has four stages and was performed according to the following:

The published change proposal was to perform the change process in two stages, the first one by introduce an additional digit to the mobile numbering, and the fixed numbering remained the same. Subsequently, and according to the markets needs, perform the 2nd stage, expanding a digit to the fixed numbering.

Among the received feedback from the operators, there was a great support regarding that the change should be made on a single step, and should be added an additional digit both on fixed telephone service numbers and the mobile numbering.

Thereby, the change date was established on September 18th 2004 at zero hours, the numbering change consisted on changing the subscriber national number from seven to eight digits according to the following:

• Mobile numbering: Prefix digit 5

• Metropolitan area fixed numbering: Prefix digit 2

• Suburban area fixed numbering: Prefix digit 6

• Interurban area fixed numbering: Prefix digit 7

This change allowed the growth of the numbering universe to eight million numbers to be used according to the telecommunications market requirements on the next twenty years.

Implementation

The communication strategy planning about national and international change and to the technical coordination with the telephone service companies in Guatemala was launched on June 2004, and two commissions were created integrated by Telecommunications Superintendence and operator companies’ personnel.

Communication activity sequence performed on the change execution

The Telecommunications Superintendence wanted to implement information campaign and standard education, which accomplish the subscribers to learn the new dialing way that would be used in Guatemala as of September 18th 2004.

In order to achieve its objective, SIT along with the Telephone Service Operators in Guatemala, accomplished the following activities:

1. Campaign theme definition. The chosen theme was “Guatemala is growing”.
    

2. Communication strategy definition.
    

3. Definition of the media to be used (radio, press, television, hoardings, muppies, internet, etc.).
    

4. Definition of materials and graphic designs to be used.
    

5. Focus groups investigation to determine the conversion table from seven to eight digits to be used by the subscriber.
    

6. Contracted advertising monitoring and replacements schedule.
    

7. Press conference release.
    

8. Official Notices editing.
    

9. Door to door informative campaign through which the population became acquainted of the change in a personal way throughout the Republic of Guatemala.
    

10. Communicate international entities, regulatory organizations, embassies and consulates of Guatemala regarding the change.
     

11. Creation of a toll-free number for subscribers’ assistance to get information about the 8-digit change.
     

12. Definition of messages to be used by the Operators when the subscriber dials mistakenly only with seven digits.

All advertising campaign expenses were covered by the Telephone Service Operators. It is important to denote that the collaboration shown by them made the communication campaign a success.

Technical activities sequence during the change execution

When there are changes to the numbering plans in a multi-operators scenario as the one in Guatemala, it is a must that all operators accomplish their activities, both previously, during and after the change in a coordinate way. It is important to set the deadline for the execution of each one of the stages of the change according to a work plan previously established.

The change to the NNP to 8 digits, which took place in Guatemala, with a total of 19 operators, began by informing operators of the new numbering scheme. From this moment, activities started according a General Work Plan both on the technical part and communication. The general activities (technical part) were as follows:

1. Conformation of the technical commission by the designation of technical delegates of each of the operators and a technical coordinator designed by the SIT.
    

2. Review of each of the telecommunication networks, identifying the necessary changes on a software and hardware level, equipment for the implementation of recorded messages for the subscriber, calling treatment on the 7 and 8 digits scheme (necessary for the transitory coexistence of both plans), etc. This evaluation was performed by each operator.
    

3. Elaboration of a specific work plan on each of the networks (operator), indicating the steps and activities to perform the network adequacy to the new Numbering Plan, both for local and international communication.
    

4. Prevision and evaluation of risk factors and alternatives review to preserve the communication to emergency services. From this issue a General Contingency Plan is derived.
    

5. Outline internally the trial protocol content on each network and agree to the trial protocol between networks by defining before the way the proof numbering will be used.
    

6. Change implementation logistic proposal and prevision of human and technical resources and alternate ways of communication for the change coordination.
    

7. Simulate the change on a date previous to the final change between networks on which it was technically feasible to do it.
    

8. Time frame for failure adjustment (two weeks previous to the change).
    

9. Accomplishment of 8-digit change completed at zero hours on September 18th 2004.
    

10. Monitoring of completion index in 7 and 8 digits. This was necessary to measure the subscribers’ behavior regarding the 7 and 8 digit dialing, which allowed establishing the date to eliminate the coexistence of both numbering schemes and the mandatory recorded messages.

APPENDIX

Graph 1

Calls report to 1508, toll-free number for subscriber assistance, during September

Graph 2

Calls report to 1508, toll-free number for subscriber assistance, during October

Graph 3

Dialing percentage on 7 and 8 digits