International telephone numbering plan was introduced by the ITU in the mid-20th century. Previously, international calls were rather complex and often required the assistance of operators. With the introduction of the numbering plan, each country was given a unique code, which facilitated direct dialing and reduced the complexity and cost of international communications.
Country calling codes are assigned depending on a number of factors, including geographical regions, population density, and telecommunications infrastructure. The world is divided into nine zones, each with a distinct prefix. For example:
Zone 1 covers North America, including the United States and Canada
Zone 2 is designated for Africa and some Atlantic islands
Zone 3 and Zone 4 are for Europe
Zone 5 includes South America
Zone 6 is for Oceania and Southeast Asia
Zone 7 is assigned to Russia and its neighboring countries
Zone 8 covers East Asia and special services
Zone 9 includes South and West Asia
Dividing into zones makes routing of international calls easier.
Uzbekistan’s country code +998
Uzbekistan is located in Zone 9 with the country calling code of +998. In the past, when Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union, it used the +7 code, but after gaining independence, the republic was assigned a new code.
In order to make an international call to Uzbekistan, one should follow these steps:
1. Dial the international access code (00 or +).
2. Enter Uzbekistan’s country code (998).
3. Dial the local phone number (9 digits).
For example, if you are calling someone in Tashkent, the format would look like this: +998 71 xxx xxxx. 71 is the area code for Tashkent.
Currently, there are a number of telecom operators in Uzbekistan, such as Ucell, Beeline, UzMobile and others. Each of them has a unique company code and offer a wide range of services from mobile telephony to high-speed internet.
Doniyor Tukhsinov
