Since the area codes for landline numbers changed to a three-digit number, many applications for changing prefix phone numbers have been introduced to Android and iPhone devices.

Previously, several applications have already been launched to help smartphone users to convert their contact lists from 11 to 10-digit numbers. Recently, VinaPhone has introduced an app for updating prefix phone numbers named “VNPT update contact”.

“VNPT update contact” was developed by VNPT-Media, a corporation under VNPT. The app is now available on both Google Play and App Store.

According to VNPT-Media, this app can change landline telephone area codes in line with the telecommunication repository plan (Circular 22 issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications - MIC). The app will automatically check contacts and display a list of phone numbers requiring update in accordance with  area code change periods (e.g: phase 1 starts from 11^th  February). Subsequently, the app will show the changed area codes of provinces according to different phases. Users can choose some or all phone numbers to update, filter prefix numbers in oneprovince, or apply changes for selected prefix numbers.

 

Smartphone producers and software developers usually introduce applications with useful utilities
such as changing prefix phone numbers or duplicating contact lists for smartphones users.

 

In addition, on app stores for iPhone and Android devices, there are applications that allows editing prefix numbers such as Backup Duplicate Delete Export; Change prefix numbers, etc. To use these apps, users will enter an old prefix number to search for all phone numbers with this prefix. After that, they will enter the new prefix to update this prefix to all required numbers.

Compared with changing prefixes manually for each phone number, this method is definitely more convenient for smartphone users. With the new method, users only need to search phone numbers and press “change” to update corresponding prefixes.

According to the telecommunication repository plan, after MIC have completed landline area code change from  February 11^th to August 31^st, all current area codes with prefixes “2” to “8” will start with a “2”, while those starting with prefixes “3” to “8” will be used for mobile phone codes. Network providers are expected to change mobile phone codes from 11-digit numbers to 10-digit numbers by maintaining subscription numbers and replacing network prefixes with landline codes.

The Telecommunications Authority has also announced that they would change 11-digit mobile numbers of Viettel, MobiFone, VinaPhone, Vietnamobile, Gtel, which are using prefixes such as 016, 012, 019, 018, etc. to mobile numbers having prefixes from “3” to “8”. All 11-digit numbers will be transformed to 10-digit numbers such as 03xx.xxx.xxx, 04xx.xxx.xxx. 05xx.xxx.xxx, 07xx.xxx.xxx, 08xx.xxx.xxx.