New phone rates come into force

By Rita Kyriakides

THE CYPRUS Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) is officially introducing eight-digit phone numbers on Saturday as part of its new national numbering plan.

As part of the new plan, all calls from fixed telephones will be charged at the same rate of two cents per two minutes during peak hours and two cents per four minutes off-peak. For mobile phones, all calls will be charged at six cents per minute during peak times and three cents per minute during off peak hours on the normal package.

The existing and new numbers have been in operation since November 1 and will operate in parallel until June 1, 2002, after which all calls to the old numbers will be forwarded to recorded announcements for a further period of six months.

Area codes — 02, 05, 04 etc — are being replaced by two digits, which are to be added to all phone numbers according to district, with all numbers starting with the digit 2. Nicosia numbers, for example, will start with 22, and Limassol numbers will start with 25. All eight numbers have to be dialled, wherever you are calling from.

Mobile phone number prefixes have also been changed from 09 to 99.

People calling from overseas must dial the international code +357 followed by the new eight-digit number.

The national numbering plan is being implemented so the authority can prepare for competition when other service providers enter the market under European Union liberalisation rules.

For more information about the number changes, customers can call the toll- free help line on 0800 2001 or visit the CyTA website at www.cyta.com.cy/tesa/

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.