European harmonised numbers

The then Commission of the European Communities adopted on 15 February 2007 the decision on the reservation in all Member States of the 116 telephone numbering range for the provision of harmonised services of social interest. Pursuant to this Decision, the Secretariat of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society issued the Resolution of 25 October 2007 reserving these numbers at the national level.

Calls to numbers starting with 116 followed by three digits will be free for the caller from any telephone network. Harmonised European services of social interest will be provided by these numbers, which means that the same six-digit number will be used in all European Union countries to access a particular service, similar to the European emergency number 112.

The list of harmonised services is set out in the Annex to that Decision, which is updated as new applications arise. The steps to be taken for inclusion in the Annex of a new harmonized service are the following:

• Referral to the European Commission of a request from an interested organisation. The referral will be made through the corresponding National Regulatory Authority (in the case of Spain, the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures).
• Submission to the European Commission of written evidence on the intention to provide the service in at least fourteen countries.
• Evaluation of the application at an “ad hoc” preparatory meeting of the European Union Communications Committee (CoCom) with experts and the Commission. The following minimum requirements are required for services that are candidates for inclusion in the Annex:
  • That it is accessible to all citizens;
  • That responds to a specific social need;
  • Which may be useful for visitors from other countries;
  • It is not similar to another existing service 116;
  • That there are demonstrations of interest in providing the service in at least 5 Member States;
  • That these demonstrations of interest come from entities with proven ability to provide the service.
• Approval by CoCom of the conclusions of the “ad hoc” meeting.
• Adoption by the Commission of an amendment to the 116 Decision to include the service and its corresponding number in the Annex.

Each time the Annex is updated, this Secretary of State will announce through its inclusion in the table shown below, that the number is available for attribution to the harmonized service of social value in question, being able to present demonstrations of interest to provide it in Spain, according to the conditions of use of the number and the procedure of selection of the service providers listed in the Annex. Next link.

Finally, the national allocation provisions for each harmonised number shall specify the entities designated for the provision of European harmonised services in Spain. These entities shall agree, with at least one publicly available telephone service operator, to terminate calls directed to the assigned numbers.

The current list of harmonized European numbers of social interest, rank 116, and their status, is detailed below:

(*) Basque Country: 10/06/2010, Andalusia: 01/02/2012, Catalonia: 01/05/2012, Galicia: 01/06/2012 and ANAR Foundation (Aragon, Asturias, Baleares, Canarias, Cantabria, Castilla - La Mancha, Castilla y León, Valencian Community, Extremadura, Ceuta, Madrid, Melilla, Murcia, Navarra and La Rioja).