By Makutu Manneh
Africell Gambia has announced that the prefix 87 will be added to its customers’ existing phone numbers as The Gambia begins its transition from a seven-digit to a nine-digit national numbering system at midnight on Sept. 4, 2026.
The nationwide change, overseen by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, or PURA, is designed to expand the country’s numbering capacity from about 10 million possible numbers to as many as one billion, creating more room for the growth of telecommunications and digital services.
At a news conference ahead of the transition, Hussein Diab Ghanem, the chief executive of Africell Gambia, said the migration would be introduced in phases to limit disruptions for customers.
The first phase will begin at midnight, when a dual-numbering period takes effect. During that period, customers will be able to use both their existing seven-digit numbers and the new nine-digit format.
Ghanem said customers may notice the change most when registering accounts or activating services on new devices. From midnight, he said, platforms such as WhatsApp and other digital services are expected to send verification codes to users’ new nine-digit numbers.
The change could also initially affect international calls, he said, because telecommunications providers outside The Gambia must update their systems to recognize the new numbering format.
“This thing doesn’t only affect The Gambia because, as you know, the world is a global village; we are all interconnected,” Ghanem said. “So international calls will be slightly affected. This is why we have communicated to all our roaming partners outside the country.”
Africell has also developed a tool to help customers update Gambian phone numbers saved in their contacts. The feature, called Contact Updater, will be available through the company’s mobile application, with an updated version expected to reach app stores by Monday.
According to Ghanem, the tool will automatically convert locally stored Gambian contacts to the nine-digit format. He said the process would take place entirely on the customer’s device, meaning Africell would neither download nor collect users’ contact information.
Ghanem also addressed concerns about whether the public was sufficiently prepared for the change. He said he expected Gambians to adapt quickly, pointing to the country’s growing reliance on digital services and the role young people could play in helping families and communities understand the new system.
“It has come to a point that we don’t have a choice anymore,” he said. “If we don’t do it, we are going to be left behind.”
Both seven-digit and nine-digit numbers will remain operational during the transition period, which is scheduled to run until Dec. 1. After that, customers will be required to use the nine-digit format for calls and other telecommunications services.
For Africell customers, the change means existing seven-digit numbers will remain the same except for the addition of 87 at the beginning.
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