Starting from the 1st of June 2005 the Petersburg Telephone Network branch of OJSC North-West Telecom will switch over all telephone sets, whose numbers start with “1” to “7”, the six following digits of the number remaining.

The change of all telephone numbers starting from “1” will take place in the period from the 1st till the 17th of June. Besides, on the 15th of June, the telephone exchange index 177 will be switched over to 771, the 4 subsequent digits remaining the same.

The introduction of the seventh million numbering zone in St. Petersburg is caused by the need to bring the numbering system in line with the European system, where three-digit telephone numbers starting with “1” are used for emergency, information and help services .

The subscriber s’ telephone numbers are switched over in compliance with the Resolution of the RF Government dated 31.12.04 No. 894 for the purpose of subsequent ly introducing a single emergency service call number with the “112” index throughout Russia.

Today over 650,000 numbers are used in the first million zone of St. Petersburg:   the “1” index is occupied by number s of subscriber s of the Petersburg Telephone Network , alternative operators and Delta Telecom.

Formerly, the sixth and seventh million zones in the St. Petersburg code zone were occupied by Leningrad Oblast; however, not so long ago it received its independent code – 813, therefore , it became possible to free the “seven”.

After the emergency, information and help services are transferred to the 1st million zone, the “0” index, which is now used by the special services node, will be freed and used for access to the long-distance communication.