ISLAMABAD, June 24 The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has directed the PTCL to shift its fixed line numbering plan from seven-digit to eight-digit series and the initial migration from seven to eight series would take place in Lahore and Karachi.

According to sources, the digit “3” will be added to all the existing seven-digit telephone numbers of Karachi and Lahore except the numbers starting from “9”, while the digit “9” will be added to all the existing numbers starting from “9”.

The PTCL has said that the digits being added to the existing numbers are not area codes, with the exemption of army exchanges which would remain unchanged.

“For the customers' awareness and facilitation, the new series plan will run parallel to old one for a period of three months from July 1 to Sept 30,” a PTCL spokesman said, adding that the period from October till the end of 2009 would be covered by announcements which would be made in order to facilitate customers.

Meanwhile, the PTA has reported that the teledensity in the country reached 61.5 per cent in May this year, which was five per cent higher than in May last year.

According to the PTA, the highest contributor remained the cellular industry with 57.9 per cent penetration, while landline penetration slightly declined to two per cent. The wireless local loop (WLL) penetration witnessed an increase in penetration to 1.6 per cent.