The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates call sign prefixes for radio and television stations of all types.[1] They also form the basis for, but may not exactly match, aircraft registration identifiers. These prefixes are agreed upon internationally, and are a form of country code. A call sign can be any number of letters and numerals but each country must only use call signs that begin with the characters allocated for use in that country.
With regard to the second and/or third letters in the prefixes in the list below, if the country in question is allocated all callsigns with A to Z in that position, then that country can also use call signs with the digits 0 to 9 in that position. For example, the United States is assigned KA–KZ, and therefore can also use prefixes like K1 or K9.
While ITU prefix rules are adhered to in the context of international broadcasting, including amateur radio, it is rarer for countries to assign broadcast call signs to conventional AM, FM, and television stations with purely domestic reach; the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines are among those that do. Canada presents one notable exception to the ITU prefix rules: Since 1936, it has used CB for its own Canadian Broadcasting Corporation stations, whereas Chile is officially assigned the CB prefix. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's broadcasting rules indicate this is through a "special arrangement", without elaborating.[2] In any case, the two countries are geographically separate enough to prevent confusion; Canada's shortwave broadcasters and amateur radio stations have always used one of its assigned ITU prefixes.
^GLAD (7 December 2020). "Table of International Call Sign Series (Appendix 42 to the RR)". International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
^"Broadcasting Procedures and Rules". Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. 19 January 2021.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates call sign prefixes for radio and television stations of all types. They also form the basis...
sign instead. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates call sign prefixes for radio and television stations of all types. Since 1927...
defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in ITU-T standards E.123 and E.164. The prefixes enable international direct dialing (IDD). Country...
provides the access codes automatically. 0 Samoa 00 – the recommended ITUprefix Africa: all countries except Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda Asia:...
the ITUprefix, ITU letter codes for member-countries, ITUprefix - amateur and experimental stations - The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) assigns...
mobile prefix towards the total number of digits. "ITU-T - National Numbering Plans - Afghanistan" (PDF). 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2018-12-18. "ITU-T - National...
companies in multiple nations required an international standard; an ITUprefix would be used to identify a country, and the rest of the call sign an...
ITU letter codes International Telecommunication Union ITUprefix Country code This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title ITU country...
Australian callsigns omit the ITUprefix VL when said on-air, leaving just the district number and suffix. The VL prefix is listed here to keep the stations...
registration is made up of a prefix selected from the country's callsign prefix allocated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (making the registration...
call prefix is defined in the telephone numbering plan of every country or telephone administration. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recommendation...
classification symbol: Drone aircraft catapult control craft (YV) Venezuela (ITUprefix YV, used in amateur radio call signs and aircraft registration numbers)...
"o'clock".: 5–7 The ITU and IMO, however, specify a different set of code words. These are compounds of the ICAO words with a Latinesque prefix. The IMO's GMDSS...
area, you must dial the trunk prefix followed by the area code. Below is a list of New Zealand local calling areas. ITU allocations list Official NZ Numbering...
signs are restricted; countries can be issued unused Q-Codes as their ITUprefix e.g. Qatar is QAT. Codes in the range QAA–QNZ are reserved for aeronautical...
prefix. If calls are made from outside Taiwan, the "0" of the area code prefix is omitted. The following table of area codes includes this "0" prefix...
call signs, the ITU further has divided all countries assigned amateur radio prefixes into three regions; the Middle East is located in ITU Region 1. It...
Atlético do 9° Regimento; see Grêmio Atlético Farroupilha 9O–9T, the ITUprefix codes for Democratic Republic of the Congo 9O, squadron code for No. 44...
(founded 2002; IATA: ZL) ZL, an unused aircraft registration prefix for New Zealand ZL, ITUprefix for New Zealand, in radio and television Zorn's lemma, a...
(former IATA code: ZQ), a 1980–2020 regional airline United Kingdom (ITUprefix: ZQ), in broadcasting Search for "zq" on Wikipedia. ZQGame, Chinese videogame...
rally racing series XE variant of SARS-CoV-2, a subvariant of Omicron The ITUprefix for Mexican A.M. & shortwave radio stations’ call signs. Search for "xe"...
Committee on the January 6 Attack Justice for J6 rally, related event J6, the ITUprefix for the island country of Saint Lucia J06, one of the ICD-10 upper respiratory...
such as amateur radio. Call sign prefixes are coordinated internationally by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and Canada has been assigned...
Liechtenstein does not have its own ITUprefix. Conventionally, amateurs are issued call signs with the Swiss prefix "HB", followed by "0" or "L". Liechtenstein...
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