By Fatou Sillah
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has extended the deadline for phasing out The Gambia’s seven-digit mobile numbers to Feb. 28, 2027, citing the country’s electoral period and the end-of-year holiday season.
The announcement means the existing seven-digit numbers will continue to work alongside the new nine-digit format during an extended transition period, giving consumers, businesses, and institutions more time to adjust to the new national numbering system.
Speaking at a news conference, PURA’s director general, Dr. Njogu Bah, said the decision followed consultations with key stakeholders.
“Having given due consideration to the electoral period and the end-of-year holiday season and following consultations with key stakeholders, the authority has decided to extend the hard cutoff date to February 28, 2027,” Bah said.
Bah also sought to clarify GAMCEL’s status, saying the state-owned telecommunications company had neither been excluded nor left behind in the migration to the new numbering plan.
GAMCEL is expected to join the transition in a second phase once it meets the technical, operational, and customer-readiness requirements necessary for the change, he said.
Under the new nine-digit system, PURA has reserved the 89 prefix for GAMCEL, providing the operator with dedicated numbering resources when it begins its migration.
Bah said the regulator would continue working with GAMCEL to test its systems, prepare its customers, and ensure that its eventual transition is carried out safely and smoothly.
PURA urged consumers to begin using the new nine-digit numbers as soon as possible, stressing that the continued operation of seven-digit numbers is only temporary.
The extension pushes the final cutoff to Feb. 28, 2027, after which customers will be expected to use the nine-digit format.
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