By Iqbal Manna Team Mangalorean Qatar

Doha Jul 27: All phone numbers in Qatar, landline and mobiles will switch to ict Qatar's new numbering plan after midnight today onwards.

With this, phone numbers will expand from seven to eight digits, addressing the increasing demand for both landlines and mobile phone numbers.

The new numbering plan will create an additional 36 million mobile and nine million fixed telephone numbers, surpassing the highest demand forecast for the next 15-20 years. The change to eight-digit phone numbers will happen automatically and seamlessly at 00.01am tomorrow for all customers.

For both fixed and mobile phone users, the first digit of the number will be repeated, so that numbers that currently begin with 3 will start with 33 while those starting with 7 will star with 77. The only affected numbers will be those starting with 3,4,5,6 and 7.

For example, if an existing mobile number reads as 5253904 then callers from India and other countries should dial 00974 55253904.

Emergency telephone numbers, including 999 and 112, will not be affected by the change.