How to call Mozambique

• 011 - US exit code; have to be dialed first for all international calls made from the US/Canada number plan
• 258 - international country code for Mozambique
• US to Mozambique international dialing format : 011 + 258 + area code + individual phone number

Malawi | South Africa | Swaziland | Tanzania | Zambia | Zimbabwe

Mozambique, officially named the Republic of Mozambique, is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. It was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonized by Portugal in 1505. By 1510, the Portuguese had control of all of the former Arab sultanates on the east African coast. From about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts became regular ports of call on the new route to the east. The country was one of the first in the region to reform its telecommunications landscape, immediately after a long civil war ended in 1992. The mobile sub-sector has experienced excellent growth rates following the introduction of competition in 2003 between Vodacom Mozambique and mCel, the incumbent mobile subsidiary of the national telco, TDM. However, market penetration is still well below the African average. The licensing of a third mobile network in 2010 is expected to deliver a boost to subscriber growth in the sector but also drive the average revenue per user lower again which had already stabilised following the introduction of mobile broadband services and higher tariffs. The government is intent on introducing competition to the fixed-line sector as well, but it is hesitating to privatise TDM. All other services are open to competition, subject to licensing by the industry regulator, INCM. Internet usage in the country has been hampered by the inadequate fixed-line infrastructure and the high cost of international bandwidth, but this market sector has started to accelerate following the introduction of various kinds of broadband services including ADSL, cable modems, WiMAX wireless broadband and mobile data services, and then the landing of the first international submarine fibre optic cable in the country (Seacom) in 2009. Further improvements can be expected from the ongoing rollout of 3G mobile services and a national fibre backbone network as well as the landing of the second international fibre (EASSy) in 2010. The lower cost of bandwidth has already started to trickle down to lower consumer prices in some service segments, while others have remained unchanged.