{"id":7992,"date":"2013-02-08T09:02:16","date_gmt":"2013-02-08T14:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=7992"},"modified":"2013-02-08T09:28:03","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T14:28:03","slug":"jamaica-new-country-code-what-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2013\/02\/jamaica-new-country-code-what-means\/","title":{"rendered":"Jamaica to get new country code: what does that mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In addition to 876, Jamaica will soon activate a second country code. This post outlines how country codes are used, what could have contributed to exhaustion of the current allocation, and what changes can be expected when the second code is introduced.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"<\/a>Earlier this week, the Gleaner newspaper<\/a> in Jamaica reported that the local regulator, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), had begun the process of acquiring an additional country code for Jamaica. According the organisation\u2019s 2011\u20142012 Annual Report<\/a>, it had reserved a new country code with the North American Number Plan Administration, the regional body responsible for the coordination and administration of the North American Numbering\/Dialling Plans, and was in the process of preparing the implementation plan.<\/p>\n

The new country code will be overlaid over the same geographic area that the current code covers. Hence both codes will cover Jamaica, and it would be possible for next-door neighbours to have different country codes.<\/p>\n

Having said this, and recognising that numbers are considered a valuable national resource, how can a country of less than 2.7 million people exhaust a whole country code? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n

Country codes 101<\/h3>\n

The Northern American Numbering Plan (NANP) is the basic numbering scheme for telecommunications networks in the United States, Canada and approximately 15 other Caribbean countries, including Jamaica.\u00a0 The NANP uses three-digit country codes that direct telephone calls to particular countries or regions, where they are further routed on the local networks to the desired receiver.\u00a0 Figure 1 shows the format or dialling plan used in Jamaica and other NANP countries.<\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/a>

Figure 1: Dialling Format Used in NANP Countries (Source: ICT Pulse)<\/p><\/div>\n

Currently, for calls within Jamaica, similar to other Caribbean countries , a seven-digit number is dialled: a Central Office Code (CO Code) plus a Line Number. However, when calling internationally to countries covered by NANP, the dialling format comprises 10 digits:<\/p>\n

1\u00a0 + (country code) + (CO Code) + line number <\/b><\/p>\n

Referring back to Figure 1, country codes and CO Codes are each three-digit numbers that can have combinations ranging from 200 to 999, which means that they can each generate up to 800 different codes combinations. On the other hand, Line Numbers can generate up to 10,000 different number combinations, ranging from 0000, to 9999.<\/p>\n

Although there can be up to 800 different country codes, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) stringently manages their assignment to countries, and the case of Jamaica, only one, 876, was initially assigned. However,<\/p>\n