Telephone numbers in Uruguay
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Country | Uruguay |
| Continent | South America |
| Regulator | URSEC |
| Access codes | |
| Country calling code | +598 |
| International call prefix | 00 |
Uruguay's calling code is +598. Since 2010, national long distance calling were eliminated, thus there are no area codes in each city.
Landline telephony
ANTEL (Spanish abbreviation for National Administration of Telecommunications) is Uruguay's state-owned company for telecommunications.
Previously in Uruguay, phone numbers used to have between 4 and 7 digits. To make a local phone call, you only had to dial those digits. To make a call between two cities from different departments, you had to dial zero, plus area code, plus phone number.
As from August 29, 2010, all phone numbers have 8 digits, according to the new National Numbering Plan. Zero prior to area code was eliminated. Therefore, to make a call to any city in the country you have to dial 8 digits. This plan was implemented by URSEC (Spanish abbreviation for Regulator Unit of Services of Communications).
National Numbering Plan
Montevideo and metropolitan area
In the Metropolitan area of Montevideo, all national numbers begin with 2. This 8-digit number consists of the former area code (2), followed by the old 7-digit number.
Examples
| Area code | Former number | Current number |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 204 5199 | 2204 5199 |
| 2 | 628 8327 | 2628 8327 |
| 2 | 908 1350 | 2908 1350 |
Outside Montevideo
In the rest of the country, all national numbers begin with 4. This 8-digit number consists of the number 4, followed by the former area code, followed by the old phone number
Colonia Example
| Area code | Former number | Current number |
|---|---|---|
| 52 | 24999 | 4522 4999 |
There is one exception that occurs in the cities from the department of Maldonado that begin with 42, where the new 8-digit number consists of the former area code, followed by the old phone number (no 4 set before).
San Carlos Example
| Area code | Former number | Current number |
|---|---|---|
| 42 | 668350 | 4266 8350 |
Calling from other countries
For calls from outside the country to any city in Uruguay, you only have to add the country code (598) to the 8-digit national number.
Call to Montevideo Example
| Current number | Dialed from outside Uruguay |
|---|---|
| 2204 5199 | (598) 2204 5199 |
Call to Colonia Example
| Current number | Dialed from outside Uruguay |
|---|---|
| 4522 4999 | (598) 4522 4999 |
Call to San Carlos Example
| Current number | Dialed from outside Uruguay |
|---|---|
| 4266 8350 | (598) 4266 8350 |
Area codes
| City | Former area code | Current number |
|---|---|---|
| Canelones, Canelones | 33 | 433x xxxx |
| Maldonado, Maldonado | 42 | 42xx xxxx |
| Rocha, Rocha | 47 | 447x xxxx |
| Treinta y Tres, Treinta y Tres | 45 | 445x xxxx |
| Melo, Cerro Largo | 64 | 464x xxxx |
| Rivera, Rivera | 62 | 462x xxxx |
| Artigas, Artigas | 77 | 477x xxxx |
| Salto, Salto | 73 | 473x xxxx |
| Paysandú, Paysandú | 72 | 472x xxxx |
| Fray Bentos, Río Negro | 56 | 456x xxxx |
| Mercedes, Soriano | 53 | 453x xxxx |
| Colonia del Sacramento, Colonia | 52 | 452x xxxx |
| San José de Mayo, San José | 34 | 434x xxxx |
| Trinidad, Flores | 364 | 4364 xxxx |
| Florida, Florida | 35 | 435x xxxx |
| Minas, Lavalleja | 44 | 444x xxxx |
| Durazno, Durazno | 36 | 436x xxxx |
| Tacuarembó, Tacuarembó | 63 | 463x xxxx |
| Montevideo, Montevideo | 2 | 2xxx xxxx |
Mobile telephony
When mobile telephony arrived in Uruguay, the only company set up the country was Movicom BellSouth. Mobile phone numbers would begin with digits 09, followed by a unique number of 6 digits: 09xxxxxx.
In 1994, ANTEL decided to start its own mobile phone service, creating Ancel, which today is unified to Antel, using this brand to both services.. This meant a numbering change for mobile telephony. One number was assigned to each company to identify numbers of each one. This digit would go between 09 and the number. Movicom was assigned number 4, and Ancel number 9. Mobile phones until then (which were Movicom) went to 094xxxxxx, and new Ancel numbers began to be 099xxxxxx.
In 2003, Claro came to Uruguay (formerly as CTI Móvil). Numbers of this company were preceded by 096, like this: 096xxxxxx.
In 2004, Telefónica bought Movicom Bellsouth and changed its name to Movistar.
Since nowadays the numbers of units sold has grown so much, when the companies reached one million users, they had to be assigned with other digits.
- Antel (ADMINISTRACIÓN NACIONAL DE TELECOMUNICACIONES): 099, 098, 092 and 091.
- Movistar (TELEFONICA MOVILES DE URUGUAY S.A.): 094, 095 and 093.
- Claro (AM WIRELESS URUGUAY S.A.): 096 and 097.
URSEC has reserved 084, 089 and 086 for a possible future use.
External links
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