Direct telephone connections between Gibraltar and Spain were severed in 1969, when land communications between both territories were halted by the Spanish leader Francisco Franco, and were not restored until 1986.
[1] However, Gibraltar experienced restrictions after that date causing problems with its telecommunications system, as a direct result of the Spanish sovereignty claim.
Following the signing of the Córdoba Accord between the Governments of Gibraltar, the United Kingdom and Spain in September 2006, these restrictions were removed with effect from 10 February 2007.
With a population of approximately 28,000,[2] this caused a shortage of new numbers that could be allocated to new telecom operators, thereby preventing deregulation of the industry as required by the European Union.
Owing to the demand for mobile phones, Gibraltar introduced new number ranges consisting of eight digits, but these could not be dialled directly from Spain.