Soon, a new order will come into force throughout Lithuania: 8 numbers will be replaced by 0. Already in the spring, it will be possible to write numbers according to the new order.
Until 2025 it is planned to abandon the beginning of telephone numbers in Lithuania. Instead of the number 8 in Lithuanian numbers, you will need to use 0 or the country code +370. This means that the numbers in the address book that start with eight will be unavailable. The new order will gradually come into effect in March of next year.
"As of March next year, users will be able to change the 8 in front of their phone number to a 0. Phone numbers with an 8 in front will stop working on March 2025, 1, but users will still receive notifications until December 1 of that year that this number is invalid and needs to be used." adjust. Later, this notification function will also be disabled", says Kristina Mikoliūnienė, a member of the RRT council.
This does not at all mean that all the numbers will need to be changed manually. Android and iPhone owners can download special applications that will automatically change numbers that start not with +370, but with 8. More information about these applications can be found here. Those who write numbers with the country code in their phone books will not need to do anything additional.
"We want to emphasize that these changes will not be felt at all by those who are already using the +370 code assigned to Lithuania, keeping contact numbers in their notebooks. So what users can start doing right now is to change the 8 in front of the numbers to the international code +370. Currently, there are already working mobile apps that allow you to easily adjust phone numbers," comments the specialist.
From March, new numbers can be written with 0 in front.
These steps will bring to life a process that has taken more than 20 years, which was hampered by the use of emergency service short numbers that used the 0 part as the start of the contact number: 01, 02, 03, 101, 102, 103, 011, 022, 033.
Back in 2002, when Lithuania was preparing to join the European Union, the change of telephone numbering plan was started. Legal documents then established the national prefix 0, which was supposed to replace 8. The then recently established Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT) became responsible for the implementation of numbering.
