Area Code 571 – Shijak, Durrës

Overview of Albania's +355 571 Geographic Code

The +355 571 prefix is a geographic area code assigned to the city of Shijak, located within the Durrës County of Albania. Shijak is a small municipality situated approximately 11 kilometers east of the Adriatic coast and about 15 kilometers from the port city of Durrës. This code is part of the national numbering plan administered by the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) of Albania, following ITU-T E.164 recommendations.

Dialing Formats and Usage

When calling a landline in Shijak from within Albania, subscribers must dial the national trunk prefix 0 followed by the area code 571 and the subscriber's 5-digit local number. The complete national format is: 0 571 XXX XX (where X represents the local digits). For example, a local number might be dialed as 0 571 234 56.

For international callers, the country code +355 replaces the trunk prefix, and the area code is used without the leading zero. Thus, the international format becomes +355 571 XXX XX. For instance, to call the same number from abroad, you would dial +355 571 234 56.

It is important to note that Albania has implemented a closed numbering plan for geographic numbers, meaning the national significant number (NSN) is fixed at 8 digits after the country code. The area code 571 is part of the Durrës numbering area, which also includes the larger city of Durrës (code 52) and other surrounding towns. However, each city retains its own distinct prefix, and calls between different geographic areas require the trunk prefix 0.

Regulatory and Technical Considerations

The 571 prefix is exclusively allocated to fixed-line services, typically provided by incumbent operator Albtelecom and alternative fixed-line operators. These numbers are not portable to mobile networks, as mobile numbers in Albania use separate non-geographic prefixes (e.g., 66, 67, 68, 69). However, fixed number portability within the same geographic area is possible, allowing subscribers to retain their 571 number when switching between fixed-line operators.

For callers, it is essential to verify the correct local number length, as some older numbers may have fewer digits. The current standard is 5 digits for the subscriber portion, making the total length of the national number 8 digits (0 571 + 5 digits).

From a technical standpoint, calls to 571 numbers are routed over the PSTN, and VoIP providers must ensure proper termination to Albanian fixed networks. International call rates to Albania vary by carrier, but calls to geographic numbers are typically billed at standard international rates.