French phone numbers beginning with 06 and 07 will be saved for personal use from January 1, 2023, so that people are not caught off guard by an unsolicited commercial call.
Some cold calling firms currently use an 06 number, but the French telecommunications regulator Arcep has taken this new decision to “reinforce the protection” of users against “fraud and abuse”.
“Amid concerns over transparency for clients, the Authority is reserving the use of 06 and 07 mobile numbers [...] exclusively to interpersonal communication services.
“It is associating this type of number with the obligatory provision of at least a vocal call and message service by operators.”
“Non-interpersonal” usages of mobile numbers, such as business calls, should come under a different number, like 09.
“These numbers can be used, for example, to establish conversations via message between a company and its customers, or for very short communications allowing brief contact through a platform (parcel deliveries, taxi drivers etc.),” Arcep said.
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