TelcoTroll

The digits that define you!

A prefix is the first three numbers (excluding the first one, the “0”) of a mobile number and in the Philippines it will always start with the number “9”. In the early years of local telco operations, there were only three prefixes:

• Globe’s “917”

• Smart’s “918”

• Express Telecom’s “973”

With the astronomical growth of the industry in the early 90’s, coupled with the addition of new players and sub brands such as Talk n Text and Touch Mobile, more prefixes were created. Now it’s one big mess of numbers (would have been nice if a prefix was bound to a specific brand so as to make it easier for consumers to identify numbers. But no. Some prefixes share two to three brands).

Also, note that the NTC has allocated only one hundred network access codes from 0900 to 0999. Of this, Smart has 18+, Globe has 10+. Currently, only 44 access codes are being utilized.

Voila:

Globe Family

Prepaid Numbers

0905    Globe or Touch Mobile
0906    Globe or Touch Mobile
0915    Globe or Touch Mobile
0916    Globe or Touch Mobile
0917    Globe
0926    Globe or Touch Mobile
0927    Globe or Touch Mobile
0935    Globe or Touch Mobile
0936    Globe or Touch Mobile
0937    Globe or Touch Mobile
0996    Globe or Touch Mobile
0997    Globe or Touch Mobile

Postpaid Numbers

0917    Globe Postpaid

Smart Family

Prepaid Numbers

0907    Smart or Talk N Text
0908    Smart or Talk N Text
0909    Smart or Talk N Text
0910    Smart or Talk N Text
0912    Smart or Talk n Text
0918    Smart
0919    Smart or Talk n Text
0920    Smart, Talk N Text, Addict Mobile*
0921    Smart or Talk N Text
0928    Smart or Talk N Text
0929    Smart or Talk N Text
0930    Smart, Talk N Text, Red Mobile**
0938    Smart, Talk N Text, Red Mobile
0939    Smart, Talk N Text, Red Mobile
0948    Smart or Talk N Text
0949    Smart or Talk N Text
0989    Smart or Talk N Text
0905    Smart / Talk n Text / Red
0999    Smart (Umobile)***

*    Yes, Addict Mobile is still alive, on postpaid I think.
**    Red Mobile will soon be killed and sold off as a requirement the PLDT-Digitel deal
***    This is the same number series for Red I think

Sun Family

0922    Sun Cellular
0923    Sun Cellular
0932    Sun Cellular
0933    Sun Cellular
0942    Sun Cellular
0943    Sun Cellular

Others

0973    Extelcom
0974    Extelcom
0979    Next Mobile