The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Sunday issued a clarification stating that it had not recommended having 11-digit mobile numbers, but only adding a ‘0’ as a prefix when a mobile number is dialled from a landline.

“Trai has not recommended 11-digit numbering scheme for mobile services,” the Telecom regulator said in a statement.

It further said that it had “categorically rejected” having an 11-digit mobile number. The statement follows media reports stating that the regulator had suggested having 11-digit mobile numbers as part of its ‘Recommendations on Ensuring Adequate Numbering Resources for Fixed Line and Mobile Services’ report.

“Presently, inter-service area mobile calls from basic/fixed phone can be accessed with a dialling prefix ‘0’. However, mobile phones are accessed from a fixed-line phone, within a service area, without dialling prefix ‘0’.

This puts the limitation that any digit which has been used as a first digit for fixed network (for local calls) cannot be used for mobile numbers. By making it mandatory to access mobile numbers in a service area from fixed network by dialling prefix ‘0’, all the free sub-levels in levels ‘2’,’3’,’4’, and ‘6’, can also be used for mobile numbers,” the report said.

This can help generate an additional 2,544 million numbering resources for mobile services to cater to future requirements as per TRAI. “The introduction of a dialling prefix for a particular type of call is not akin to increasing the number of digits in the telephone number,” TRAI clarified.

It further added that a prefix is mandatory for SDCA (Short Distance Charging Area) calls and while making a call form mobile number to fixed landline stating that it had only suggested “minor changes” in the dialling pattern.