Does anyone have experience recovering expired phone numbers?
Backstory: I left Switzerland in 2017 and set my CH number to a prepay with Swisscom. I tried to be diligent about using it every 6m with a text or short call to keep it active, but due to life events and Swisscom changing their policy to 4m of inactivity, my SIM was deactivated in March 2022 unbeknownst to me.
I have been trying to reactivate the number since it is not in use by anyone at the moment and I am unsuccessful. Swisscom claims the number is no longer in their system because it was originally a Salt number. Salt says it left their system in 2017 and they advise that if it was a prepay and expired, this number enters a "dead pool" of numbers and no one can ever use it again.
I've always understood that if your number expires, it goes back to a pool and anyone can sign up for a phone plan and take the number. Otherwise, there is a "great number shortage" since Switzerland is still using limited area codes.
Can it be that a number is really dead forever? Or is it inactive for a certain period of time before entering the pool for everyone to use again? Otherwise I just don't understand why they make them inactive forever and then nobody can use it... how is that helpful?
Signed, very upset I've managed to lose my CH number of 15y.
Each area code block supports roughly 8 Million numbers. The following mobile area codes exists .
073, 075, 076, 077, 078, 079 (074 is absent as it is used for pagers)
That is a total of up to 48 million mobile phone numbers.
Traditionally the original issuer of those numbers blocks are:
079 - Swisscom
078 - Salt and UPC
077 - Resellers
076 - Sunrise
075 - Swisscom
Subblocks might be assigned to sub-providers.
079 is exhausted. And if you get a new Swisscom number you will most likely get one from the 075 block. 075 was formerly assigned to Liechtenstein . Since 1999 they have there own country code and numbering scheme. The 077 block was formerly used for the 1G analog mobile network a.k.a Natel C.
To avoid a number shortage, a provider must disable a number after 24 months of non-use and must free the number for new customers after an additional 12 month waiting period, but not sooner than 6 months. https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1…9_2879_2879/de