Mobile-numbers to have 13 digits now: What does it mean?
What's the story
The Department of Telecom (DoT), in a bid to improve security, has issued a notification wherein it has asked the telecom players to issue mobile numbers carrying 13 digits. The notification has sent people into tizzy, who are asking the necessity of this step. However, the notification is not for P2P (People to People) numbers, but M2M (Machine to Machine). Here's more.
Twitter Post
A journalist tried to clear the air
Unnecessary confusion about #M2M numbers.
— @TTVDhinakaran not (@dinakaran) February 21, 2018
I don't think the #M2M thing is going to change your mobile numbers. Your number will have the same 10 digits. the 13 digit number linked to your number is only for M2M.
Don't create panic or confusion
Details
Numbers to be ported from October to December
A BSNL official said that the 13-digit numbering scheme will be implemented by July 1 this year. "Migration of existing 10-digit M2M numbers will start latest by 1 October 2018 and shall be completed by 31 December 2018," he added. Notably, M2M SIMs are used just for industrial purposes. Many organizations use them because of higher storage capacity compared to the smartphone SIM cards.
Comparison
India will be the 1st country to have longest mobile-numbers
India will have the longest mobile numbers if this regulation is implemented, with Indonesia, Turkey and China at a close second where citizens use 11 digits cellphone numbers. Some areas in France like Guadelope, Reunion too have citizens using long mobile numbers. Italy has 13 digits but for GSM/UMTS routing numbers.