Numbering Plan

In 2018, Arcep began the process of modernising the national numbering plan, to take operators’ evolving requirements and changing user behaviours into account. The Decision being published today, which factors in the responses received to a public consultation on the draft decision introducing these reforms – which ran from 7 December 2021 to 22 February 2022 (45 contributions received) – brings changes to the national numbering plan and the management policies for those numbers. This includes introducing measures to better protect users against fraud and abuse, and to foster innovation and support new uses. It also helps improve the management of scarce numbering resources, and reflects the transposition into French Law of the latest European Electronic Communications Code[1].

Encouraging innovation and supporting new uses

To take the development of new mobile uses into account, but without creating a shortage of mobile 10-digit numbers, Arcep has reserved a new category of numbers starting with 09 to provide market players with the ability to introduce innovative solutions for communications between mobile subscribers and a “technical platform”. These numbers could, for instance, be used to establish text-based conversations between a retail company and its customers, or for the very brief use of telephone numbers for one-time contacts via a platform (parcel delivery person, ride-sharing drivers, etc.).

At the same time, and to give subscribers clarity, Arcep is also confining the use of mobile numbers starting with 06 or 07 – which in everyone’s mind are attached to a specific individual – exclusively for interpersonal communication services. Operators are thus obligated to provide these numbers with at least a calling and texting service. As a result, the non-interpersonal use of these mobile numbers will be switched over to other number categories, such as the new 09 category mentioned above, or to that of longer mobile numbers.

Better protecting users against fraud and abuse

To limit the nuisance that end users experience when receiving unsolicited (spam) calls and messages, the Act of 15 November 2021 on reducing the digital environmental footprint in France[2] gives Arcep the power to specify the number categories that can be displayed as the caller ID to the recipients of calls or messages generated by automated systems.

Arcep therefore decided to adopt measures that provide end users with increased protection against the large volume of calls and messages that these systems are capable of generating, and which can be a nuisance. Except in special cases, the Authority forbids automated systems from using mobile numbers and most geographic and multi-purpose numbers as their caller ID numbers. It is nevertheless reserving a sequence of geographic and multi-purpose numbers that can continue to be used by such automated systems, provided the operators that assign these numbers verify and guarantee that their display as the caller ID has been authorised by the party to which they have been assigned.

Achieve more efficient number management, to avoid their exhaustion and satisfy French businesses’ growing needs

Requests for numbering resources are soaring, especially in a bid to keep pace with new uses. To support French businesses, Arcep is introducing a series of measures designed to manage these numbering resources more efficiently, by further streamlining:

• resources assigned by the Authority: starting on 1 July 2023, Arcep will assign new numbering resources with a minimum granularity of 1,000 numbers instead of the existing 10,000 numbers;
• number management: assigned numbers must be used for a minimum 72-hour period, and the period during which an operator may not reassign the number to another end user has been reduced.

Associated documents

• Decision No. 2022-1583 amending the Decision establishing the national numbering plan and its management policies
• Contributions to the public consultation

[1] Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and Council, of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code

[2] Article 24 of Act No. 2021-1485 of 15 November 2021

ANNEX – National numbering plan categories

Below is a simplified summary of how national numbering plan telephone numbers are organised: