Jamaica almost out of 876 numbers

Five years after getting a new area code - 658 - Jamaica is finally set to put into into use as all blocks of the customary 876 numbers have almost been used up.

The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), which oversees the telecoms sector, said it recently assigned a 658 number block to telecommunications service providers. The OUR said the assignment became necessary as it has run out of codes to assign under the 876 area code.

Digicel, one of the telecoms firms operating in Jamaica, said the assignment of the 658 number block is a natural step toward the expansion of numbering options for mobile and other digital services. The company also said that the number of customers joining its network is growing daily, and thus "we could easily see the first user of the 658 prefix coming from Digicel".

With the recent development, 658 telephone numbers will become available to the public, once telecommunications providers have fully allocated the numbers available to them under the 876 area code. The regulator noted that the last seven digits of those telephone numbers may match the last seven digits of numbers previously assigned by operators under the '876' area code.

"The OUR is reminding everyone, including business operators and advertisers, to ensure that the 10-digit format is used in the publishing and displaying of all local mobile and landline numbers using the correct area code for each number, that is, '876' or '658'. Persons are also urged to adjust the way they record or store phone numbers, to make it clear which area code is applicable to their telephone numbers," the regulator said.