Telecommunication and entertainment giants Flow became the first to offer Jamaican mobile customers the new 658 area code on Friday (September 22) following approval from the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).

The company is also the first in the English-speaking Caribbean to offer a second area code.

Jodi-Ann Richards, 34, was feted at Flow’s Cartlon Crescent branch for becoming the first Flow customer to be designated the 658 area code.

Flow has been experiencing year-on-year growth of its mobile customer base and said it welcomed the opportunity to expand its mobile products and services to more Jamaicans and visitors to the island.

“We are excited about our growth in the mobile space which is indicative of the confidence consumers have in the products and value that we offer. We look forward to continuing to deliver exceptional benefits to even more customers with the roll out of this new area code,” said Dwight Williams, commercial director of mobile.

“We have been investing significantly in our mobile LTE network coverage and capacity across the island to provide best-in-class mobile voice and data services, so we expect to continue growing our market share and the allocation of the 658 area code will pave the way for that growth.”

Williams added that “this additional provision of numbers also provides the opportunity for new and existing customers to easily add a second mobile number on one device using a regular SIM card or our recently introduced eSIM technology.”

The OUR has stated that the new 658 area code will work in conjunction with and does not replace the 876 code. The additional area code became necessary as the growth in mobile subscribers contributed to the exhaustion of the 876 code that has become synonymous with Jamaica.

As mobile devices become more sophisticated, capable and integral to everyday life, subscriptions are
expected to continue growing.

In 2018, when the OUR first announced the 658 area code, data from the regulator indicated that the new code will provide an additional seven million numbers, providing the platform for expansive growth in the local mobile industry.

Meanwhile, Williams said he was confident customers will easily adapt to the new area code and offered some advice to help with the adoption of the code.

“Customers can rest assured that when they visit a Flow store, the process of allocating the 658 area code will be the same as for the 876 code. However, we encourage all customers to be very specific and include their area code when sharing their phone number to avoid any confusion. If customers have any queries or concerns, they can reach out to our Contact Centre by dialling 100 on their Flow mobile phone,” he advised.