Despite the fact that the old intercity code will remain in effect until next year, the project manager for Telia Rima’s number change initiative, Roma Pakalnite, says not to wait for the deactivation date and urges people to make the necessary changes to their contact lists now.
«According to the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) plan, the activation of the new code should happen on March 1st, so we have decided to give our customers a little more time to adapt to the new system and provide them with the opportunity to test the zero-starting numbers earlier. This will not affect those who are not yet familiar with the new order, but those who want to prepare in advance for the deactivation of the old phone numbers starting with eight can do so starting today,» said the company representative in a press release.
The change of code was mandated twenty years ago upon Lithuania’s entry into the European Union. According to Pakalnite, the process was delayed due to emergency hotline numbers — some of them used zero in the beginning of the number. After their deactivation in the previous year and the transition to the unified number 112, there were no more technical obstacles to fulfilling the commitments made.