In compliance with the directive of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), all telephone numbers of Globe customers in Greater Metro Manila with 02 area code will move to an 8-digit format on March 18, 2019. This directive is to ensure there will be sufficient resource pool to cater to the rapid growth of landline customers in major cities.
NTC issued Memorandum Order No. 10-10-2017 on October 27, 2017, directing all telecommunications companies in the Philippines to migrate all customers within the area code 02 to 8-digit telephone numbers, from the existing 7 digits, not later than March 31, 2019.
The commission assigned a public telecommunications entity (PTE) identifier for telecom operators as an additional prefix in expanding from 7-digit to 8-digit landline number. The assigned PTE identifier for Globe and its subsidiary Innove is “7.” For instance, a Globe customer with existing landline or DUO number of (02)576-4567 will have to change his or her number to (02)7576-4567 come March 18, 2019. Meanwhile, Bayan Telecommunications customers will follow the numbering format (02)3000-XXXX to (02)3499-XXXX effective March 18, 2019.
Globe is exhausting all means to ensure smooth service continuity for all affected customers. “We are working closely with the NTC and other telcos to assist affected customers before, during and after the migration. We would like to see all our customers being aware of this change before it comes into effect,” said Globe General Counsel Froilan Castelo.
For a period of three months after the migration (March 18, 2019 to June 17, 2019), customers who will still incorrectly dial the old 7-digit number will hear a special announcement, saying the format has been changed to 8-digit. Globe will also remind its customers three months before the migration through all available channels, including SMS, email, and social media.
NTC and local telcos scheduled the migration on March 18, 2019 from 12 am to 5 am. During the migration, affected customers may experience downtime as telcos utilize this period to update their system to an 8-digit numbering format.
Globe and Bayan customers may visit www.globe.com.ph/help/eight-digit-number-for-landlines-and-duo.html for more information on the migration.