07 mobile numbers to launch in may

ORANGE, BOUYGUES AND SFR WILL OFFER 07 NUMBERS TO NEW CUSTOMERS AS THE 06 COMBINATIONS ARE STARTING TO RUN OUT MOBILE operators are to begin handing out phone numbers beginning with 07 from

next month to cope with growing demand. Orange and Bouygues Telecom will start offering the new numbers from May 3, followed by SFR in mid-July. There are more than 60 million active mobile

phone numbers in France beginning with 06. Another three million have been reserved for Free, which is soon to become the country's fourth big mobile operator. Other numbers starting in

06 are used by 3G modems and other devices - meaning there are only 10 million still going spare out of the 100 million combinations available. Bouygues estimates that an extra 72 million

mobile numbers will be needed between now and 2020 - not just for mobile phones but for all devices that communicate using mobile technology. No other phone lines will be able to use the 07

code, to avoid any possible confusion. A publicity campaign to make customers aware of the change is due to launch soon.