Telephone Numbers in Germany - History

History

"+37" redirects here. For current country dialling codes starting with +37, see List of country dialling codes#+37.

Before the German reunification, West Germany (including West Berlin) used country code +49 and East Germany used country code +37, each with its separate area codes and telephone networks. In 1992, two years after reunification, the phone networks were merged under country code +49.

Geographic numbers in the New States were assigned area codes starting with 03, followed by the former East German area code (without the initial 0). Thus, Leipzig, for example, which had used East German area code 041, was assigned the new area code 0341. Area code 030, formerly used by West Berlin, was assigned to the entire reunified Berlin.

The released country code +37 was later reused as the initial digits of several new codes for European countries that became sovereign nations at the time (e.g.: +370 for Lithuania, +375 for Belarus, etc.), as well as some microstates whose telephone networks had formerly been integrated to those of surrounding larger countries (e.g. +377 for Monaco, +378 for San Marino).

The German phone network became fully digitised in 1997, allowing more flexible use of the numbering space.

On 1 January 1998, the Federal Network Agency (named the Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Postal Services at the time) became the numbering authority for phone numbers in Germany.