South African Phone Number Prefixes: Networks and Area Codes

A South African phone prefix can identify a type of service or a familiar network association. It cannot guarantee the current mobile network of an individual number. Mobile number portability lets a person keep the same number when changing networks. Use this reference to understand the prefix, then check the full number before choosing airtime or data.

Find a South African prefix, network or area

Search with a three-digit prefix such as 071, a network name or a place such as Pretoria. For four-digit detail, use the subrange section below. Enter only the prefix here: this search filters a reference table and does not perform a carrier lookup.

Phone prefixes from 060 to 089

The first column covers the entire 060–089 span so that mobile ranges are not confused with other services. Read each row's qualification. “Reference” is not a claim that every number in that range currently uses the named provider. Missing operator detail is left unverified, rather than guessed.

Sources for this table are LogicSMS's provider-published coverage list, Vodacom's December 2011 prefix notice and the 2016 ICASA numbering plan hosted by the ITU. The coverage list is undated and retains legacy names such as 8ta and Neotel; it is a secondary reference for a numbering decision, not the regulator's allocation register. These sources were checked on 1 November 2026.

For the table above, 8ta is retained as the provider source's legacy label rather than presented as a new network. Some references are incomplete or old. Their role is to explain why an association is repeated, not to approve a recharge. The live network result and the product's eligibility rules matter when money is involved.

Why a table can give different answers to the same prefix

Three-digit tables compress smaller numbering blocks into one label. Another table may use four digits, a particular provider's routing list or the network observed when somebody checked the number. Those are different sources answering different questions. A disagreement does not automatically mean that someone ported.

The practical response is to check what the table claims: an original allocation, a provider reference or a current result. If the source and date are absent, do not turn the row into an instruction to buy a particular network's bundle. Keep uncertainty visible until the full number has been checked.

Why the fourth digit matters: 060, 064 and 071

Compare 0710 with 0711. They share 071, but the checked provider reference lists the first under MTN and the second under Vodacom. This is a subrange distinction, before considering any later port. Reading only three digits throws that detail away.

The linked guides explain the distinct issues in each family. These tables intentionally show gaps. Filling a missing range from memory would create a confident answer without a matching source. For a recharge, a prefix table with a gap is still useful if it sends you to the correct full-number check.

What about 065, 068 and 081?

These queries deserve the same care. A three-digit network label is insufficient where the underlying subranges differ. The main reference table records what was supported by the checked source and leaves other subranges unverified. A percentage for a whole prefix cannot fill the missing allocation detail for its fourth digit.

For 081, the provider reference itself lists more than one network label. For 065, this edition verifies only a subset of the commonly repeated mappings. Do not interpret that subset as an exclusive allocation. A dedicated page should add a defensible answer, rather than repeat an incomplete list with a different heading.

Check a full number's current network

Use a complete South African mobile number. This form submits to the existing SIMcloud Network Confirmation Tool, where the result is displayed. The normal name/email validation, hCaptcha and public daily limit still apply. A prefix search above does not use this form or submit a lookup.

Name Email South African cell number Find network

This lookup checks the network, not the owner's identity. See the terms for personal information before submitting contact details.

For number formatting, validation errors or recurring workflows, use the step-by-step network lookup guide. No airtime or data purchase is placed by this form. Check the returned result before selecting a product in your account.

Allocation, current network and porting are different facts

Allocation concerns the number range made available to a licensee. A network lookup concerns the network reported for a supplied number at the time of checking. Porting is the process that lets the subscriber keep the number while changing provider. A useful reference needs to distinguish all three.

The Number Portability Company explains that mobile portability began in South Africa in November 2006 and describes the central reference database used to support porting and routing updates. The original prefix does not follow the customer to become a different set of digits when that customer moves.

Suppose a number begins with a range associated with one network in a provider document, while a fresh lookup reports another. For the purchase decision, use the fresh result and check the recipient's product eligibility. Do not automatically describe the difference as proof of a port: source age, subrange detail and the quality of the recorded response still need consideration.

Can this page tell whether a particular number was ported?

No. The page supplies reference information and an entry point to a network check. Establishing an individual porting history requires appropriate evidence of the original assignment and subsequent moves. A comparison between one broad prefix label and one network result is not a complete history.

Nor does a network answer identify the owner, locate the handset or establish that a caller is trustworthy. If you are checking an unexpected call, use the result only for the fact it supplies. Confirm any payment or account request through a contact channel you already trust, rather than treating the caller's number as authentication.

What SIMcloud's percentages show

The percentages in the main table are a fixed extract of recorded successful lookup responses. The reporting window is 1 November 2025 through 31 October 2026, with qualifying published observations between 17 July and 31 October 2026. Repeated checks of a number are reduced to its latest successful observation in that window.

Each percentage answers one narrow question: which network appeared most often for that prefix in this lookup sample, and what share did it represent? For example, the largest observed share for 064 is below half. “Most often” therefore does not necessarily mean “a majority”, and neither means “every number”.

The sample reflects people choosing to use SIMcloud's tool. It is affected by customer mix, the available logging period and supplier responses. It is not a national random survey, an operator market-share report or an official allocation schedule. We do not describe the remainder of a row as its porting rate.

Sample counts, total activity and exact publication thresholds are not disclosed. Rows must pass internal quality checks before a percentage is published. An omitted percentage does not mean that nobody uses that range or that its allocation is invalid. No subscriber numbers, contact details or individual histories appear in this reference.

The special case of 075

The 2016 numbering plan marks 075 as protected. The recorded lookup sample contains results associated with Telkom for that prefix. Those statements have different provenance and dates. Neither should be silently rewritten to make them appear consistent.

This edition therefore flags the allocation as unresolved. It does not announce that the regulator has allocated 075 to Telkom, declare every 075 number invalid or claim that every possible 075 number must return the same network. Use a current lookup for the specific number and obtain authoritative confirmation for an allocation claim. The earlier recharge-evidence article also needs to be read with its historical-sample qualification.

South African landline area codes: 010 to 058

Geographic codes refer to a numbering area, not a cellphone network. The table below condenses the released geographic ranges in Table 3 of the 2016 numbering plan. It is a regional reference; it does not identify a person's street address or the physical location of someone making a call.

The source marks other numbers in this span as protected, including 019, 020, 024–026, 029–030, 037–038, 050, 052 and 055. A date-specific plan is not a promise that no later notice could change a range. For an operational numbering decision, use the regulator's current records.

A code such as 010 should not be entered into a mobile-prefix table and treated as a Vodacom or MTN allocation. The NPC portability FAQ also distinguishes geographic and mobile numbers. Keep those service categories separate when selecting a tool.

Investigating an unfamiliar call? Use the unknown-caller decision guide to distinguish network information from identity and find the right reporting route.

080, 086, 0860, 0861 and 087: service numbers

Some familiar “08” numbers identify a service category rather than a mobile network. This is why a request such as “087 network” needs a different answer from “083 network”. The existence of the same first two digits is not enough to make the services interchangeable.

For the price of calling a service number, check your calling provider's current tariff and the organisation's published contact information. A network-reference guide cannot quote every plan's call charge. If a business offers an alternative geographic or mobile contact, compare the applicable terms before calling.

A fraudster can also claim to represent a legitimate organisation regardless of what the prefix suggests. If a caller asks for banking credentials, payment or a one-time password, end the call and use the institution's established contact route. The prefix is a classification clue, not a security check.

Local format and +27: read the same number correctly

In a normal South African national-format number, the leading 0 is the national prefix. In international format the country code is +27 and that leading 0 is omitted. A masked illustration is 071 xxx xxxx locally and +27 71 xxx xxxx internationally. The change of notation does not indicate that the SIM changed network.

Do not add both prefixes to create +27 071…. When comparing a saved contact with a local prefix table, first recognise which notation you have. For the SIMcloud public lookup, follow its requested complete local format instead of submitting only a prefix.

Spreadsheets need particular care: storing a phone number as a numeric quantity can discard its leading zero. Set the column to text when preparing a list, and recover missing digits from the original record rather than guessing. A correctly formatted number can still be inactive, entered for the wrong person or ineligible for a chosen bundle.

Use the result before buying airtime or data

1. Confirm the intended recipient and complete number.
2. Run a current network check when the network is uncertain.
3. Confirm that the retail SIM and tariff can receive the selected product.
4. Compare the bundle's allowance, validity, restrictions and total price.
5. Review the order details before confirming payment, and keep the returned record.

The dynamic data-price comparison helps compare products after the network is established. It keeps night, app-specific and split-allowance descriptions visible, because the cheapest arithmetic price per GB may not buy the data you need.

For a staff or customer list, do not copy one network answer across every number sharing the same prefix. Store a last-checked date with the result and recheck when the workflow calls for it. Follow the bulk-data workflow and network lookup API guide if confirmation belongs inside a recurring process.

Sources, dates and how this reference is maintained

• ICASA numbering overview: authority, number categories and source notices.
• ICASA Numbering Plan Regulations, March 2016, via ITU: geographic and service categories in Tables 3 and 4.
• LogicSMS coverage reference: the provider's listed prefix associations; undated, incomplete and retaining legacy labels.
• Vodacom notice, December 2011: documented use of several established prefixes.
• NPC: portability context and the distinction between number digits and routing.

References checked on 1 November 2026. A check date describes this review, not the age of the underlying document. The public ICASA portal did not supply a complete accessible current four-digit allocation register during this review. This page consequently avoids claiming a fully certified current allocation table.

ICASA's October 2026 proposed amendment invites representations. A proposal is not treated here as a new rule already in force. Later final notices and fresh operator records should be checked when updating the reference.

Frequently asked questions

Detailed guides and next steps

• Which Network Is 065? South African Prefix and Portability Guide
• Which Network Is 072? South African Prefix and Portability Guide
• Which Network Is 073? South African Prefix and Portability Guide
• Which Network Is 081? South African Prefix and Portability Guide
• Which Network Is 082? South African Prefix and Portability Guide
• Which Network Is 083? South African Prefix and Portability Guide
• Which Network Is 084? South African Prefix and Portability Guide