Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) defines Short Codes as “telephone numbers with fewer digits than the standard national significant and are dialed without a national destination code.”
Short Code telephone numbers are commonly used to access specific services, for instance, 999 for police.
The Uganda National Numbering Plan stipulates that Short Codes can either be three (3) or four (4) digits long.
Below we shall show you how to apply for short codes, their different categories and where they are used, according to UCC.
1. 110 – 119: used in Emergency & Safety Services; the number must be common to all networks. (And UCC doesn’t charge authorisation fees)
2. 120 – 129: used in Customer Service; selected numbers have to be common to all networks. (Authorisation fees are charged only when the Service provider charges for the service).
3. 130 – 139: used in Billing related inquiries; selected numbers have to be common to all networks. (Authorisation fees are charged only when the Service provider charges for the service).
4. 140 – 189: Used in other Network Services; caters for unique network services; (Authorisation fees are charged only when the Service provider charges for the service).
5. 190 – 198: Used for specially-defined UCC applications; intended for services specially defined by UCC. (Authorisation fees are charged only when the Service provider charges for the service).
6. 200 – 298: used by Application/Information Service Providers; For USSD based services and applications by various service providers (Authorisation fee is US $ 10,000 p.a excluding VAT).
7. 900 – 999: Used in Emergency and Safety Services (e.g. 999); the number has to be common to all networks. (Authorisation fees are charged only when the Service provider charges for the service).
PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS FOR SHORT CODES https://t.co/EMZ7KaBYPe pic.twitter.com/6nzxNPBR8v
— UCC (@UCC_Official) April 15, 2019
For SMSs
8. 6000 – 8999: used by Application/Information Service Providers; meant for SMS and MMS based services. (Authorisation fee is US $ 2,000 p. a, excluding VAT)
Requirements to apply for short codes
UCC says the application should submit a duly completed application form to the Executive Director, UCC.
These requirements include the application processing fee of US $250 excluding VAT. (All legal documents should be certified).
After applying, officials will review your documents and if found to be eligible for the code applied for, you’ll be assigned the requested code based on a first come, first serve basis.
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