Phone Numbers in the British Virgin Islands (BVI)

Quick Reference

• Country: British Virgin Islands
• Country Code: +1 284
• International Prefix: 011
• National Prefix: 1

Overview

Discover the comprehensive telephone numbering plan for the British Virgin Islands (BVI). This guide covers phone number structures, dialing procedures, and essential details for telecom professionals, developers, and businesses operating in or with BVI.

Numbering Plan Structure

Country Code

The British Virgin Islands is part of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) and uses the country code +1, followed by the area code 284.

Number Structure

Phone numbers in the BVI adhere to the standard NANP format:

• NPA-NXX-XXXX
  • NPA: Numbering Plan Area (Area Code) - 284
  • NXX: Central Office Code (Exchange Code)
  • XXXX: Subscriber Number

Number Lengths

• Total Length: 10 digits (excluding country code)
• Subscriber Number: 7 digits

Special Prefixes

• Toll-Free Numbers: Start with 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, 888
• Premium Rate Numbers: Start with 900

Number Formats

Geographic Numbers

Type	Format	Example
Landline	284 NXX XXXX	284 494 1234
Mobile	284 NXX XXXX	284 541 5678
Toll-Free	800 NXX XXXX	800 234 5678
Premium Rate	900 NXX XXXX	900 876 5432

Regular Expressions

• General Number Format:
  ^1?(\+1)?284[2-9]\d{6}$
  

• Toll-Free Numbers:
  ^1?(\+1)?(800|833|844|855|866|877|888)[2-9]\d{6}$
  

• Premium Rate Numbers:
  ^1?(\+1)?900[2-9]\d{6}$
  

Dialing Procedures

Domestic Calls

• Landline to Landline: Dial 1 + 284 + NXX XXXX
• Landline to Mobile: Dial 1 + 284 + NXX XXXX
• Mobile to Mobile: Dial 1 + 284 + NXX XXXX
• Mobile to Landline: Dial 1 + 284 + NXX XXXX

International Calls

• Outgoing: Dial 011 + Country Code + Area Code + Local Number
• Incoming: Dial +1 284 + NXX XXXX

Number Portability

Mobile Number Portability (MNP): Mobile number portability is available in the BVI, allowing subscribers to retain their mobile numbers when switching between service providers.

Major Telecom Operators

The major telecom operators in the British Virgin Islands include:

• Flow BVI
• Digicel BVI
• CCT Global Communications

These operators manage various number ranges under the 284 area code.

ITU-T Recommendations

The telephone numbering system in the British Virgin Islands adheres to the ITU-T Recommendation E.164, which standardizes the format for international telephone numbers.

Number Allocation and Management

Regulatory Body

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) of the British Virgin Islands is responsible for managing and allocating phone numbers within the territory. The TRC ensures compliance with international standards and oversees number portability and other regulatory matters.

Number Allocation

The TRC allocates number blocks to telecom operators based on demand and availability. Numbers are assigned in blocks of 10,000 to ensure efficient utilization of the numbering resources.

Technical Considerations

For Developers and Systems Administrators

• Validation: Use the provided regular expressions to validate BVI phone numbers in software applications.
• Formatting: Ensure that phone numbers are formatted according to the NANP standards when displaying or storing them.
• Portability: Implement support for mobile number portability if your systems interact with telecom services in the BVI.