SOUTH Africa’s current system of phone numbers and other communication dialling codes faces over-subscription, and will therefore undergo major transformation and expansion. The South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Satra) has been charged by government with the task of working out a new system and recently published a comprehensive discussion document on the topic. According to Satra’s discussion document, one possibility is to make existing numbers transferable when an individual or company relocates to another area, while another is to divide Gauteng into three regions, each with its own pre-dialling code. Longer numbers could also be used. The demand for new phone numbers and connecting codes has grown dramatically over the past four years and expectations are that the next four years will see some areas reaching the point where all available numbers have been taken.