---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Sat, Jul 16, 2011 at 3:57 AM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] Fw: South Sudan gets 211 as international dialling code To: Group <[email protected]>
South Sudan gets 211 as international dialing code Edris Kisambira 15.07.2011 kl 20:41 | Computerworld Uganda The International Telecommunication Union has assigned 211 as South Sudan's international dialing code. "ITU is pleased to announce that the world's newest nation, the Republic of South Sudan, has today been assigned the international dialing code 211, following the country's formal recognition as a United Nations (UN) member state," said a statement posted on the ITU website Thursday. In addition to the country code, the nation of 8 million people will be assigned a mobile country code (MCC) and a signaling area/network code (SANC). SANCs facilitate all telephone calls by indicating how calls should be routed. The code has "particular resonance for South Sudan's citizens as representing the year in which South Sudan gained independence (2011), the date of its referendum (which took place in the first day of the first month of 2011), and a symbol of good fortune," the ITU statement said. The dialing code was specifically requested following a special council of ministers resolution, the ITU said. The same council reportedly requested .ss as the country's top-level domain registration from ICANN. South Sudan, which is roughly the size of the U.S. state of Texas, became the newest country in the world at midnight local time on July 9. In a January referendum, nearly 99 percent of voters chose independence from Sudan. South Sudan had been semi-independent since a 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement aimed at ending the second Sudanese civil war, which started in 1983 and was a continuation of an earlier civil war that lasted from 1955 to 1972. The country code may seem like a small thing, but signifies sovereignty and independence, said Hamadoun Touré, the secretary general of the ITU, in the statement. "We join with the international community in congratulating the government and people of South Sudan on achieving full nationhood," he said. As a young country, South Sudan faces challenges, but the power of modern connectivity will bring a tremendous boost in areas such as commerce, health and education, he said. The ITU pledged to help South Sudan with advice on the necessary steps toward improved connectivity. For more than 12 months between 2008 and 2009, a South Sudan telco, GEMTEL, rented the Uganda country code, 256. While other telcos used the Sudan code, 249, GEMTEL rented the Uganda code for a while. Use of the Uganda code for that period resulted in court action where MTN Uganda took Uganda Telecom to court demanding unpaid interconnection fees of US$2.17 million from Uganda Telecom. At one point, MTN threatened to shut off calls of Uganda Telecom customers until the outstanding monies were paid. A court in Uganda in April ordered Uganda Telecom to pay the interconnect fees and damages for 2008 and 2009 when MTN carried traffic terminating to GEMTEL. Uganda Telecom has appealed the ruling, saying the calls were international and as such do not attract interconnect fees. http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=DBF01CAF-1A64-6A71-CEA06202796D0152 END ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.za/group/sudan-john-ashworth -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
