World Telephone Numbering Guide

Egypt +20

Number Format

Area Code:            1-2 digits
Subscriber Number:    6-7 digits
Trunk Prefix:         0
International Prefix: 00

Area code information

• TRA via ITU
• Telecom Egypt
• DCCL

2011 - mobile renumbering

At some unknown date, expected in 2011, mobile numbers will be expanded in most cases by inserting one digit before the subscriber number. Generally, new mobile numbers will be structured according to carrier: +20 10xxxxxxxx for Vodafone, +20 11xxxxxxxx for Etisalat, +20 12xxxxxxxx for Mobinil.

Number migrations are as follows:

Old range        New range         Service
---------        ---------         -------
+20 10 xxxxxxx   +20 100 xxxxxxx   Vodafone
+20 11 xxxxxxx   +20 111 xxxxxxx   Etisalat
+20 12 xxxxxxx   +20 122 xxxxxxx   Mobinil
+20 14 xxxxxxx   +20 114 xxxxxxx   Etisalat
+20 150 xxxxxxx  +20 120 xxxxxxx   Mobinil
+20 151 xxxxxxx  +20 101 xxxxxxx   Vodafone
+20 152 xxxxxxx  +20 112 xxxxxxx   Etisalat
+20 16 xxxxxxx   +20 106 xxxxxxx   Vodafone
+20 17 xxxxxxx   +20 127 xxxxxxx   Mobinil
+20 18 xxxxxxx   +20 128 xxxxxxx   Mobinil
+20 19 xxxxxxx   +20 109 xxxxxxx   Vodafone

Within Egypt, '0' trunk code applies e.g. +20 1xx xxxxxxx would be dialled domestically as 01xx xxxxxxx.

References:

NTRA announcement (11 November 2010, via ITU)

(with reports courtesy Sergiu Rosenzweig)

2007 - Cairo subscriber numbers from 7 to 8 digits

Digit '2', '3', or '4' was prepended to existing Cairo subscriber numbers (+20 2) in four phases from March to July 2007.

Source/details: NTRA announcement (3 June 2007, via ITU).

(Tip courtesy Sergiu Rosenzweig).

March 2007 - new national numbering plan

A new telephone numbering plan in Egypt will expand many subscriber numbers. A significant feature is that mobile/wireless services are consolidated under the +20 1 range.

According to Al-Ahram weekly, the number change timetable in Cairo region is as follows:

2 March 2007: 10 exchanges in Cairo and Qalyoubiya are affected.

3 May 2007: 32 more exchanges in Cairo and Qalyoubiya are affected.

1 June 2007: all remaining Cairo exchanges converted.

1 July 2007: all 79 exchanges in Giza are converted.

Al-Ahram indicated that conversion in the Alexandria region would begin after mid-2007 to avoid disruption to tourism. Nationally, the conversion is expected to continue through late-2008.

Number range    Place/Service
------------    -------------
+20 10 xxxxxxx  mobile, Vodafone
+20 11 xxxxxxx  mobile, Etisalat
+20 12 xxxxxxx  mobile, Mobinil
+20 16 xxxxxxx  mobile, Vodafone
+20 18 xxxxxxx  mobile, Mobinil
+20 2 cxxxxxxx  Cairo (c = 2 or 3)
+20 3 cxxxxxxx  Alexandria (c = 2 or 3)
+20 13 cxxxxxx  Benha (c = 2 or 3)
+20 15 cxxxxxx  10th of Ramadan City (c = 2 or 3)
+20 40 cxxxxxx  Tanta and Mahala (c = 2, 3 or 4)
+20 45 xxxxxxx  Damanhour (c = 2 or 3)
+20 46 4xxxxxx  Mersa Matrouh
+20 47 xxxxxxx  Kafr Elsheikh (c = 2 or 3)
+20 48 xxxxxxx  Shebin Elkoom (c = 2 or 3)
+20 50 xxxxxxx  Mansoura (c = 2, 3 or 4)
+20 55 xxxxxxx  Zagazig (c = 2 or 3)
+20 57 xxxxxxx  Dammietta (c = 2 or 3)
+20 62 3xxxxxx  Suez
+20 64 3xxxxxx  Ismalia
+20 65 3xxxxxx  Hurghada
+20 66 3xxxxxx  Port Said
+20 68 3xxxxxx  Elarish
+20 69 3xxxxxx  Eltour
+20 82 xxxxxxx  Beni Suef (c = 2, 3 or 4)
+20 84 2xxxxxx  Fayoum
+20 86 xxxxxxx  Minia (c = 2 or 3)
+20 88 xxxxxxx  Assiut (c = 2, 3 or 4)
+20 92 2xxxxxx  Oases
+20 93 xxxxxxx  Suhag (c = 2 or 4)
+20 95 2xxxxxx  Luxor
+20 96 xxxxxxx  Quena (c = 2, 3)
+20 97 xxxxxxx  Aswan (c = 2, 3, 4)

In the new plan, the leading digit subscriber numbers within each area code conform to the following:

Lead digit   Service/Carrier
----------   ---------------
2            fixed/wireline, Telecom Egypt
3            fixed/wireline, Telecom Egypt
4            fixed/wireline, Telecom Egypt
5            reserved, new services (proposed for Nomadic VoIP)
6            reserved, new services
7            reserved, new fixed/wireline carriers
8            reserved, new services.
9            protected

The significant change is the conversion of Telecom Egypt subscriber numbers to begin with '2', '3' or '4'. The area codes generally remained unchanged in this process.

(with news courtesy Sergiu Rosenzweig)

Sources: TRA announcement (1 February 2007, via ITU).

"Then there were eight", Al-Ahram weekly, 29 March - 4 April 2007.

2003-2004? - Menouf subscriber number expansion

Digit '3' was prepended to existing subscriber numbers in Menouf +20 48. No formal details are available, but it was reported that this change was in effect late 2003 / early 2004. This was apparently a conversion from 6-digit to 7-digit format, based on known Menouf numbers.

(report courtesy William Stubbs)

2002? - some code changes, new GSM code

+20 11 is planned for mobile GSM service. Implementation date is not known.

+20 15 (10th of Ramadan) and +20 16 (Salheya) are indicated to be changed, although the new codes were not known, nor were the dates of implementation.

+20 49 Sadat was changed to +20 48 at an unknown date.

Reference: TRA notice via ITU.

date unknown (2001?) - some area code changes

Numbers in 6 October (+20 11), Badrashin (+20 18), Shaikh Zayed (+20 ??) and Ossim (+20 ??) changed area codes to become part of Cairo's code (+20 2). These centres are now absorbed into Cairo's local calling area.

For the town of 6 October, numbers of the form +20 11 xxxxxx became +20 2 8xxxxxx (8 prepended to existing subscriber number).

For Badrashin numbers, +20 18 xxxxxx changed to +20 2 81xxxxx (the first digit of subscriber number being replaced with '81').

Numbers in El Wahat, El Bahareya changed from +20 11 to +20 18.

Source: Telecom Egypt news release (no longer online), with further details submitted by Andrew Owens.

Other information

Egypt numbering plan announcements are available via ITU national numbering plan page (MS Word format).

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) (English information available).

Regulator: NTRA (English and Arabic information) (National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority).