Paris, 14 February 2006
The introduction of the new 118XYZ numbers includes a five-month long transition period, from 2 November 2005 to 3 April 2006, during which the old directory services numbers will continue to function. On 3 April 2006, all the old numbers will stop working and a voice message will be played on these numbers explaining the new numbering format to be used.
In monitoring this transition, ARCEP has collected figures on call volumes to the old and new directory services.
In November and December 2005, the new 118XYZ numbers received 9.02% of calls to directory services, whereas the old numbers (12, 222, 3200, 3211, 3912, 612 and 712) received 90.98%. Approximately 37.5 million calls were made to all directory services during this two-month period.
Figures show the initial effects of communication campaigns on the new numbering format launched on 2 November 2005. In March, ARCEP will publish figures for January-February 2006.