Telephone numbers in Switzerland are defined and assigned according to the Swiss telephone numbering plan administered by the Swiss Federal Office of Communications. The plan has been changed several times and the most recent reorganization was implemented in March 2002.
Plan of 2002 The Swiss telephone numbering plan implements the ITU-T recommendation E.164 and is designated E.164/2002, based on its last major revision in 2002. It is a closed numbering plan, which means that all telephone numbers, including the area code, have a fixed number of digits. Swiss area codes are officially termed national destination codes (NDC). A complete telephone number consists of ten digits: . Two formats are distinguished: three digits for the NDC and seven digits for the subscriber number, and four digits for the NDC and six digits for the subscriber number. However, a few exceptions exist.
The associated dial plan requires that all numbers, even for local calls, must be dialed with the assigned NDC, in contrast to previous plans. When dialing from within the country, a prefix 0 must be dialed.
The plan was amended a few times, e.g., the transition of numbering zone 01 into 044 and 043.
National destination code
The national destination code (NDC) is the area code for Swiss telephone numbers. Within Switzerland the trunk code 0 must be dialed before the NDC, while it is not needed from international locations.
Telephone numbers are portable between numbering zones (ZN) or between mobile operators, and therefore an NDC does not imply that a caller is actually located in a particular zone or is serviced by any particular mobile operator. For landlines it is now merely an indication of the region where the number was originally attributed to a subscriber.
The national destination codes are the following. 21 – ZN Lausanne 22 – ZN Geneva 24 – ZN Yverdon, Aigle 26 – ZN Fribourg 27 – ZN Valais/Wallis 31 – ZN Bern and surrounding areas. 32 – ZN Biel/Bienne, Neuchâtel, Solothurn, Jura 33 – ZN Berner Oberland 34 – ZN Region Bern-Emme 41 – ZN Central Switzerland (Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Zug) 43 – ZN Zurich 44 – ZN Zurich (formerly 1) 51 – rail telecommunication networks (SBB CFF FFS) 52 – ZN Winterthur, Schaffhausen 55 – ZN Rapperswil 56 – ZN Baden, Zurzach 58 – business telecommunication networks 61 – ZN Region Basel 62 – ZN Region Olten–Langenthal (Oberaargau)–Aargau-West 71 – ZN Region Eastern Switzerland (St. Gallen, Thurgau, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden) 74 – mobile services: paging services 75 – mobile services: GSM / UMTS - Swisscom 76 – mobile services: GSM / UMTS - Sunrise (with MVNOs: Yallo, TalkTalk, Lebara, MTV Mobile, Aldi) 77 – mobile services: GSM / UMTS - various MVNOs: M-Budget (774), Wingo (775), Mucho, Lycamobile (779), ok.-mobile, Tele2 78 – mobile services: GSM / UMTS - Salt (with MVNOs: CoopMobile till 2018-12-31, UPC till 2018-12-31) 79 – mobile services: GSM / UMTS - Swisscom 800 – freephone numbers 81 – ZN Chur 840 – shared-cost numbers 842 – shared-cost numbers 844 – shared-cost numbers 848 – shared-cost numbers 086 – voicemail access (+ 9 digits phone without the initial 0; e.g. +41 086 66 555 44 33 is the voice mail of +41 66 555 44 33) 868 – test numbers - Not accessible from abroad 869 – VPN access code (+ 3 – 10 digits) 878 – personal numbers (UPT) 900 – Premium rate service for business, marketing 901 – Premium rate service for entertainment, 906 – Premium rate service for adult entertainment 91 – ZN Ticino, Moesa 98 – Inter-network routing numbers - Not accessible from abroad - Non diallable 99 – Internal network numbers - Not accessible from abroad - Non diallable
Short codes Short dialing codes are assigned for special services or network features.
0 – Trunk prefix for calls within Switzerland 00 – International call prefix 1 – Short numbers, see table below (3, 4 or 5 digit length) 107xx – Carrier selection code (+ national or international number) 108xx – Carrier selection code (+ national or international number) 112 – Police 1145 – Directory enquiries for blind/partially sighted (Swisscom) 117 – Police 118 – Fire brigade 140 – Road assistance (TCS) 1414 – Air ambulance (REGA - outside Valais) 1415 – Air ambulance (Air Glaciers - Valais only) 143 – Psychological assistance ("the Helping Hand") 144 – Ambulance 145 – Poisoning/intoxication emergency 147 – Helpline for children 1600 – Regional announcement voice mail 161 – Speaking clock (Shutdown) 163 – Traffic report and travel information 164 – Sport news and lottery 166 – Railway information 176 – Feld Abfrage System 187 – Info about snow avalanches 188 – Info about exhibitions 1802 – Directory enquiries (Tele2, when dialled is rerouted to 1818) 1811 – Directory enquiries (Swisscom) 1818 – Directory enquiries (Sunrise) 1880 – Directory enquiries (Salt)
Alternate proposed plan Instead of E.164/2002, another more ambitious numbering plan was proposed. In this plan the prefix 0 was discarded, and the area codes were defined differently, with 20 to 49 for geographic areas, 50 to 59 reserved, 60-69 for nationwide numbering, 70-79 for mobile services, 80-89 for shared-cost and toll-free numbers, and 90 for premium-rate services. The plan was not implemented because it required too many phone number and prefix changes, with associated high costs.
Changes After 2002 The area code 01 was replaced with 044 (Zurich)
Between 1996 and 2002 (plan 2002) On 29 March 2002 the Swiss dialing plan changed to a closed dialing plan, i.e. the zone prefix become mandatory also for local calls.
058 - Corporate access (since 1 June 2000)
Until 1996 (plan 1996) The previous plan removed a lot of area prefixes and added the seventh digit in phone numbers (usually a phone number (0cc) yx xx xx became (0dd) zzx xx xx).
023 – Short prefix for some French regions 025 – Chablais, since 2 November 1996 in 024 026 – Martigny, since 2 November 1996 in 027 028 – high Valais, since 2 November 1996 in 027 029 – Greyerzerland/Pays d'Enhaut, since 2 November 1996 in 026 030 – Zweisimmen, since 9 November 1996 in 033 035 – Langnau im Emmental, since 9 November 1996 in 034 036 – Interlaken, since 9 November 1996 in 033 037 – Fribourg, since 2 November 1996 in 026(fr) Chronique 1996 p. 8 038 – Neuchâtel, since 9 November 1996 in 032 039 – La-Chaux-de-Fonds, since 9 November 1996 in 032 040 – Telepage Swiss (pager) 042 – Zug, since 23 March 1996 in 041 043 – Schwyz, since 23 March 1996 in 041 044 – Altdorf, since 23 March 1996 in 041 045 – Sursee, since 23 March 1996 in 041 046 – Toll free, moved into 155 and then into 0800 051 – Zürich, moved into 01+7 digits, then replaced with 044 053 – Schaffhausen, since 23 March 1996 in 052 054 – Frauenfeld, since 23 March 1996 in 052 057 – Wohlen, since 23 March 1996 in 056 058 – Glarus, since 23 March 1996 in 055 059 – Short prefix for German regions, also for parts of France surrounding Geneva and northern Italy 061 – Basel 062 – Olten 063 – Langenthal, withdrawn and integrated into 062 Region Langenthal Oberaargau 064 – Aarau withdrawn and integrated into 062 Region Aarau, Fricktal 065 – Solothurn, since 9 November 1996 integrated into 032 066 – Delémont, since 9 November 1996 integrated into 032 067 – Short prefix for German/French regions surrounding Basel and Alsace/South-Baden 068 – Short prefix for some German/French surrounding Basel and Alsace/South-Baden 069 – Short prefix for some German/French surrounding Basel and Alsace/South-Baden 071 – St. Gallen, 30 March 1996 072 – Weinfelden, withdrawn and integrated into 071 Region Weinfelden (Thurgau) since 30 March 1996 073 – Wil, withdrawn and integrated into 071 Region Wil since 30 March 1996 074 – Wattwil, withdrawn and integrated into 071 Region Wattwil (Toggenburg) since 30 March 1996 074 – Pager 075 – Mobile phone "Natel D" (Swisscom) / previously used for Liechtenstein (Telephone numbers in Liechtenstein) which used to be within the Swiss telephone numbering plan. 076 – Mobile phone Sunrise 077 – Mobile phone "Natel C" 078 – Mobile phone Salt (Orange (telecommunications)) 079 – Mobile phone "Natel D" (Swisscom) 092 – Bellinzona, Misox and Calanca Valley (GR), withdrawn and integrated into 091 (Ticino) 093 – Locarno, withdrawn and integrated into 091 (Ticino) 094 – Leventina Valley, withdrawn and integrated into 091 (Ticino)
International borders The German municipality of Büsingen am Hochrhein, an enclave within the canton of Schaffhausen, uses the Swiss telecom network, with numbers having the prefix 052, alongside that of Germany, from which numbers must be dialled in the international format as 004152.Übernachten
The Italian municipality of Campione d'Italia, an exclave within the Swiss canton of Ticino, uses the Swiss telephone network and is part of the Swiss numbering plan, although some Italian numbers are in use by the municipal council, which use the same +39 031 numbering range as the town of Como.
Liechtenstein previously used the Swiss telephone numbering plan with the area code 075.International Literary Market Place, R.R. Bowker Company, 1998, page 378 (This was dialled as +41 75 from outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein).Doing Business in Liechtenstein, Price, Waterhouse Center for Transnational Taxation, 1991, page 123 However, on 5 April 1999, it adopted its own international code +423.Legal Guide to Audiovisual Media in Europe: Recent Legal Developments in Broadcasting, Film, Telecommunications and Global Information Society in Europe and Neighbouring States, The Observatory, 1999, page 77 Consequently, calls from Switzerland now require international dialling, using the 00423 prefix and the seven-digit number.Wandermagazin Schweiz, Volume 72, Issues 5–8, page 25
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