Important Change to the Philippines Local Numbering Plan

At Twilio, it’s important for us to share when there are changes to phone numbers that may affect you. There is an upcoming change for all Philippines local numbers in Metro Manila and neighboring areas bearing the 02 area code. If you have provisioned phone numbers in the 02 area code, you will receive email communications about this change.

Starting October 6, 2019, between 12:01 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. Philippine Standard Time (PST) / October 5, 4:01 to 9:00 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), all Philippines local numbers in the Metro Manila neighboring areas bearing the 02 area code will change from 7 to 8 digits in length (or from 10 to 11 digits if you count the country code of +63).

The new 8-digit local numbering plan is the result of new regulations implemented by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in the Philippines.

Every Twilio +632 phone number will have an additional “8”, thereby changing from its current format of +632XXXXXXX to +6328XXXXXXX when dialing internationally or 02XXXXXXX to 028XXXXXXX when dialing from the Philipinnes.

Frequently asked questions about this change

In this blog post, we wanted to address a few questions we’re seeing around the change.

What do I need to do?

• If any of your customers are using local numbers in the Metro Manila and neighboring areas bearing the 02 area code, inform them of the numbering plan change and the date of implementation (October 6 at 5:00 a.m. PST)
• If you need to make a configuration change after September 23 to any of these phone numbers, please make that change to both your current 7-digit phone number and the new 8-digit phone number added to your account.
• Modify your Twilio application as necessary to use the newly formatted number by no later than October 6, midnight PST.

How do I view the phone numbers I have in this area code?

You can view your phone numbers in the 02 area code via Console or our API. Information on both follows.

Via Console

Access the Phone Numbers section in the Twilio Console. Use the filter options to search Numbers starting by a specific prefix, then enter “+632” (see red boxes below) and click “Filter.”

Via API

To query via API:

Does this change apply to all Philippines phone numbers?

No, this only applies to Philippines local numbers in the Metro Manila and neighboring areas bearing the 02 area code). This only affects numbers that start with +632 when dialing international or 02 when dialing from the Philippines,

The 02 area code covers Metro Manila and neighboring areas of (Rizal Province, San Pedro, Laguna, and Bacoor, Cavite).

How does this change affect the numbers already in my account?

Your existing 7-digit local phone numbers in the 02 area code will stop working on October 6. Before that happens, Twilio will provision newly formatted number(s) to your Twilio account and you need to ensure you make all required changes to ensure your applications continue to run smoothly.

What is Twilio doing to assist the transition?

By September 25, Twilio will provision the newly formatted number(s) to your Twilio account and configure each new number with existing phone number configurations (including SIP trunks). These numbers will not be operational until the cutover date of October 6. Please continue using your current number until that time. You may be invoiced for two numbers at the end of your next billing cycle, but we will automatically credit your account for any double billing.

On October 6, 2019, between 12:01 - 05:00 a.m. (PST) / October 5, 4:01 to 9:00 p.m. (UTC), the phone numbers will be migrated from 7 to 8 digits. The migration will be flash-cut and each number should experience a maximum of 10 seconds downtime. Then, at 5:00 a.m. PST time on October 6, the 7-digit version will either play a message informing the caller to use the 8-digit phone number or ring fast busy; and the 8-digit version will start working.

We will remove the 7-digit version of the phone number from your account within 72 hours after these numbers stop working.

Why is this happening?

This change is mandated [PDF] by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the telecommunications national regulatory authority of the Philippines. The numbering change is designed to support the long-term projected growth of the Philippines telecommunications market.

If I port my number away from Twilio, can I avoid the format change and keep my current phone number as is?

This update impacts all Philippines phone numbers in the 02 area code whether held with Twilio or elsewhere. Porting the existing number away from Twilio will not avoid the format change. All numbers in the 02 area code will be changed in compliance with the order issued by the NTC.

Will this cause any service disruptions?

Customers can expect some disruption when the switch over occurs between 12:01 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. Philippine Standard Time (PST).

Have I heard about this before?

This change was originally scheduled to occur on March 18. 2019. The NTC delayed the format change of these phone numbers from March 18, 2019 until October 6, 2019 at 5 am.

What happens if I want to provision numbers in the 02 area code?

We will make numbers in the 02 area code unavailable starting September 23 in order to prepare for the migration. After the migration occurs, 8 digit numbers will be available to provision on October 7.

Does this affect incoming calls in the Philippines?

Yes, this change affects all numbers in the 02 area code. There is no planned co-existence of 7-digit and 8-digit numbers.

Incoming calls dialed to a 7-digit number will receive a notification from the carrier that the 8-digit needs to be added to this phone number for several months after the change or the number will ring fast busy.

What do I need to know if I am a developer?

Twilio will copy the configuration from the 7-digit number to 8-digit number on September 23. If you make any changes to 7-digit number after September 23, you will need to update the 8-digit phone number as well. When you look at your 8-digit number(s) in your account (available September 25 or later), please look at the new Phone Number SID and determine if you need to update the configuration.

If your application has a 7-digit phone number hardcoded, you will need to update the code to include the new 8-digit phone number. If your application does any validation on the length of Philippine local number, then you will have to update your application to accept the new 8 digit numbers. If your database limits the size of the number to 7 digits then you will have to update the database to allow storing 8 digit numbers.

What do I need to know if I dial phone numbers in the impacted area code?

After the migration on October 6, the 7-digit version will either play a message informing the caller to use the 8-digit phone number or ring fast busy. The eighth digit that is added will depend on the phone number’s carrier. You can use the following table to determine the carrier for the phone number you are dialing.

What should I do if I still have questions?

We’re happy to help you with this change. If you can’t find the information you need, feel free to reach out to support through the site or at help [at] twilio.com.