Don’t forget: the new area codes for Saudi landlines are mandatory starting tomorrow!
The Saudi telecommunications regulatory authority has instituted a change in assigned national telephone area codes, which is currently effective. Landline numbers that are prefixed by area codes 0 (2, 3, 4, 6, and 7) must now be prefixed by 01 (2, 3, 4, 6, and 7).
Both area codes will work today, but starting tomorrow, September 10, 2013, you must dial 01 with any of the area codes (2, 3, 4, 6, and 7) to make a successful call. If you attempt to use only the area code 0 (2, 3, 4, 6, and 7) on or after September 10, the call will fail. For example, if you used to dial 03 849 5000, you must dial 013 849 5000.
Please note that for any incoming calls to KAUST to be successful from other regions or from out of Kingdom, the area code 02 has to be replaced with 012. For example, a caller from outside Jeddah area shall dial 012 808 0000 or a caller from out of Kingdom shall dial +966 12 808 0000 to make a successful call. Please correct your email signatures, any emergency contact cards, and advise your contacts accordingly.
The Saudi telecommunications authority has made two applications freely available to conveniently update your contacts; as with any such apps, use with caution, and there is no guarantee that all affected numbers on your smart phones will be updated by the app. You may download the app for your platform using the link below (the app description is in Arabic, but the app opens in English):
Phone number updater for iOS
Phone number updater for Android
