Are the UAE phone numbers segmented by region or emirate?

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However, UAE phone numbers are not explicitly divided by region or emirate; rather, they are designed according to the service type and the service provider. The TDRA is tasked with the responsibility of managing the allocation of phone numbers in the country to ensure consistency and efficiency in the national telecommunication network. Numbers are allocated according to the category of service: mobile, landline, toll-free, or special numbers, rather than geographical location.

Mobile Numbers
Mobile phone numbers in the UAE are usually prefixed with UAE Phone Number Data the number that identifies the telecom operator: 050 and 056 for Etisalat, and 055 and 058 for du. These are not tied to a specific emirate or region but rather to the operator. Therefore, an individual in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, or Sharjah could have the same prefix, and the numbers are portable across regions.

Landline Numbers
Landline numbers, on the other hand, do offer some regional aspect. They are preceded by an area code that indicates which emirate. For example:

This division is mainly valid for fixed-line services, and thus it is easier to determine the emirate of origin for a given number.



Business and Special Numbers
Toll-free numbers (e.g., 800-XXXX) and premium-rate numbers are not linked to regions. They are assigned based on business needs and can be accessed from anywhere in the UAE. Similarly, short codes used for SMS or service inquiries are universal and not region-specific.

Impact of Number Portability
However, since mobile number portability allows users to change operators without losing their number, prefixes don't even guarantee affiliation to an operator, let alone a region.

In fact, landline numbers alone remain segmented by region, with all the rest, including the business number, being operator-based, which has no relation to particular emirates. This system ensures fluidity and flexibility in communication for a very connected region as in the UAE.