Airtel Kenya will be the first teleco to roll out the new prefix number series 0100, 0101 and 0102 to customers after the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) announced the release of a new SIM prefix 01xxxx in addition to the prefix 07xxxxxxxx that is currently in use earlier this year.
The telcos customers, new or existing, will have the option of selecting their preferred numbers which are available at all Airtel customer service and SIM selling outlets throughout the country. Airtel Kenya was offered three million of the new numbers while Safaricom was allocated two million lines with the prefixes 0110 and 0111, which it applied for.
According to Prasanta Das Sarma, Airtel Kenya CEO, Kenyans should take the advantage to be the first ones to have access to the new numbers by registering with the telco.
The new Airtel numbers will be 4G enabled thus allowing customers to continue enjoying data products and services
“We are glad to be the first telco to roll out the new prefix numbers and we urge Kenyans looking for new connections to visit any of our SIM selling outlets or Airtel shops and get their new numbers. The new Airtel numbers will be 4G enabled thus allowing customers to continue enjoying the wide array of data products and services,” Mr Sarma said.
According to the CA, the new prefix was necessitated by the increased demand for SIM cards, mobile data and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. The authority said that the introduction of the new mobile numbering prefix 01 is in line with National Numbering Plan it developed in 2002, in consultation with ICT industry operators and other stakeholders.
