The Director General of the National Agency for Digital Infrastructure and Frequencies (Aninf), Alberto Wenceslas Mounguengui Moudoki, announced in a press release on February 29, 2024, the definitive cessation of the operation of 8-digit numbers on all present telephone networks. in Gabon.
Nine-digit numbering will be operational on the national territory, from April 6, 2024. The Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts (Arcep), responsible for establishing a legal and regulatory framework for digital development in the country, will put end of 8-digit operation. So, “to call a Gabon telecom landline number locally, instead of the current 01, you will need to dial 011. To reach a Libertis or Moov mobile number, you will need to dial 066, 062, or 065. Concerning the operator Airtel holder of the prefixes 04 and 07, you will now have to dial 074, 077. Concerning international calls to Gabon, partners will have to dial the code “+241” followed by the eight digits located after the zero”, explains the CEO of Aninf.
According to Arcep, this changeover will allow Gabon to align with international standards and allow operators to avoid saturation. Because, with more than 3 million subscribers to the mobile and fixed telephone networks in 2019, the numbering plan risked reaching saturation. Also, the old numbering only offered a million possibilities per operator. However, the 9-digit plan allows 10 million number possibilities for each operator and nearly one hundred million numbers across this plan.
Remember that the switch from 8 to 9 digits has been operational in Gabon since 2019. But was not really effective because 8-digit numbers are still in service. Hence the decision of Aninf to proceed with its definitive shutdown.
