Area codes will have to be dialled before all Telkom numbers from January 16 next year, the phone company said on Friday.
This would apply even if the caller and person being called were in the same area, said Telkom spokesperson Lulu Letlape.
The international dialling prefix of 09 would become 00.
The changes meant customers would have to reprogramme any pre-programmed numbers — and re-programme their systems if they wanted to bar international calls, she said.
Letlape said the number one would also go before all existing telephone numbers for operator-assisted services.
From January 16, a voice-prompted announcement will remind phone-users to dial their area codes, she said.
However, this would be replaced by a ”number unavailable” tone from mid-March.
Letlape said the changes were being made in line with procedures stipulated by the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa. — Sapa