Big Number Change

Last updated

The Big Number Change addressed various issues with the telephone dialling plan in the United Kingdom, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the country was running short of new telephone numbers. [1]

Contents

Overview

The first was an update to a small number of geographic dialling codes in response to the rapid late-1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of local numbers in several cities. The change greatly expanded the pool of available numbers within those places while retaining 'local dialling' (the ability to dial local numbers directly, without needing to dial an area code first). The change affected the dialling codes assigned to Cardiff, Coventry, London, Northern Ireland, Portsmouth and Southampton. The new numbers launched on 1 June 1999 and ran in parallel with the old numbers for a period until culminating in the large switch on 22 April 2000. [2] All of these places moved to eight-digit local numbers ensuring sufficient local capacity for many decades (London saw a five-fold increase in capacity, for example). No other geographic area codes were affected.

The other set of changes affected mobile, non-geographic and premium rate numbers, completing a series of steps first detailed almost a decade earlier. In the early-1990s, mobile, non-geographic and premium rate services had used nine-digit numbers with various codes such as 0402, 0645, and 0898 scattered among the similar-looking geographic area codes such as 0384, 0562 and 0949. The number of available codes for new services was quickly dwindling. In 1995, PhONEday partially addressed this by altering all geographic area codes to begin 01, freeing up hundreds of codes beginning 02 to 09 for other uses. Existing mobile, non-geographic and premium rate services continued as before, using various codes from 02 to 09 and with nine-digit numbers.

In 1997 and 1998, mobile, non-geographic and premium rate numbers started to be issued with ten digits and using only specific new prefixes: 070 for personal numbers, 076 for pagers, 077xx, 078xx and 079xx for mobiles, 0800 and 0808 for freephone, 0845 and 0870 for non-geographic revenue-share numbers and 090x for premium rate numbers. Within each of these groups some smaller number blocks were held aside for the older 9-digit mobile, non-geographic and premium rate services to move into at a later date. The Big Number Change put those final parts into place. Mobile, pager and personal numbers that had not yet been moved to the 07 range were done so on 30 September 1999, and the old numbers remained in parallel until 28 April 2001. [1]

At the end of the process, there were no numbers in the UK beginning 03, 04 or 06. Additionally, the 02, 05, 07, 08 and 09 ranges were only lightly used. With PhONEday in 1995 and the Big Number Change, the UK had achieved huge spare capacity for new services and simple to understand prefix groupings: 01 and 02 for geographic numbers, 070 for personal numbers, 076 for pagers, 07624, 077, 078 and 079 for mobiles, 0500 and 080 for freephone, 084 and 087 for non-geographic and 090 for premium rate. Further new allocations would initially conform only to those groupings. Over the following decade, the 030, 033, 034, 037, 055, 056, 074, 075, 091 and 098 ranges would also come into use for new services or for further expansion of old services.

Geographic number changes

These changes set the following areas to use 02 area codes and eight-digit subscriber numbers.

Great Britain

AreaBefore BNCAfter BNC
Inner London(0171) xxx xxxx(020) 7xxx xxxx
Outer London(0181) xxx xxxx(020) 8xxx xxxx
Portsmouth(01705) xxxxxx(023) 92xx xxxx
Southampton(01703) xxxxxx(023) 80xx xxxx
Coventry(01203) xxxxxx(024) 76xx xxxx
Cardiff(01222) xxxxxx(029) 20xx xxxx

Note Under the change, the two London areas were reunified under the single (020) code. [3] New numbers beginning with 7, 8 or (later) 3, 4 were allocated regardless of location.

All of the above areas now have an eight-digit local number, in place of their previous six or seven-digit local number. For a short while, you could use either number for local dialling, but local access to the old, shorter numbers was switched off after a few months of parallel running.

Within London, new 70xx xxxx, 71xx xxxx, 80xx xxxx and 81xx xxxx numbers became available for general use. These began to be allocated anywhere in London, with no regard for the 1990-2000 inner/outer London geographical split.

In all of the other areas, new BC0x xxxx and BC1x xxxx numbers became available for general use at the same time (where 'BC' stands for '76' in Coventry, '20' in Cardiff, etc.).

Northern Ireland

AreaBefore BNCAfter BNCActual county (if different)

County Antrim

Ballycastle (012657) xxxxx(028) 207x xxxx
Martinstown (012667) xxxxx(028) 217x xxxx
Ballymena (5-digit)(01266) xxxxx(028) 256x xxxx
Ballymena (6-digit)(01266) xxxxxx(028) 25xx xxxx
Ballymoney (012656) xxxxx(028) 276x xxxx
Larne (01574) xxxxxx(028) 28xx xxxx
Kilrea (012665) xxxxx(028) 295x xxxxLondonderry

County Armagh

Newry (5-digit)(01693) xxxxx(028) 302x xxxxPartially in Down
Newry (6-digit)(01693) xxxxxx(028) 30xx xxxxPartially in Down
Armagh (01861) xxxxxx(028) 37xx xxxx
Portadown (01762) xxxxxx(028) 38xx xxxxPartially in Down

County Down

Banbridge (018206) xxxxx(028) 406x xxxx
Rostrevor (016937) xxxxx(028) 417x xxxx
Kircubbin (012477) xxxxx(028) 427x xxxx
Newcastle (013967) xxxxx(028) 437x xxxx
Downpatrick (01396) xxxxxx(028) 44xx xxxx

County Fermanagh

Enniskillen (01365) xxxxxx(028) 66xx xxxx
Lisnaskea (013657) xxxxx(028) 677x xxxx
Kesh (013656) xxxxx(028) 686x xxxx

County Londonderry

Coleraine (6-digit)(01265) xxxxxx(028) 70xx xxxx
Coleraine (5-digit)(01265) xxxxx(028) 703x xxxx
Derry (01504) xxxxxx(028) 71xx xxxx
Limavady (015047) xxxxx(028) 777x xxxx
Magherafelt (6-digit)(01648) xxxxxx(028) 79xx xxxx
Magherafelt (5-digit)(01648) xxxxx(028) 796x xxxx

County Tyrone

Carrickmore (016627) xxxxx(028) 807x xxxx
Newtownstewart (016626) xxxxx(028) 816x xxxx
Omagh (01662) xxxxxx(028) 82xx xxxx
Ballygawley (016625) xxxxx(028) 855x xxxx
Cookstown (016487) xxxxx(028) 867x xxxx
Dungannon (01868) xxxxxx(028) 87xx xxxx
Fivemiletown (013655) xxxxx(028) 895x xxxx

Belfast area

Belfast (01232) xxxxxx(028) 90xx xxxxAntrim and Down
Bangor (01247) xxxxxx(028) 91xx xxxxDown
Lisburn (01846) xxxxxx(028) 92xx xxxxAntrim and Down
Ballyclare (01960) xxxxxx(028) 93xx xxxxAntrim
Antrim (01849) xxxxxx(028) 94xx xxxxAntrim
Saintfield (01238) xxxxxx(028) 97xx xxxxDown

In Northern Ireland, the situation was more complicated. While the primary reason for the changes was the lack of numbering capacity in Belfast (01232), this was not the only reason. When STD codes were introduced in the 1950s, Northern Ireland was allocated only 14 area codes for 34 charging groups. Normal practice in Great Britain was to allocate one area code per charging group but, as calls to Northern Ireland were national rate from anywhere in GB, it was not seen to be necessary to differentiate between all of them. So, area codes covering multiple charge groups ("mixed" areas) were created; in practice this meant that some areas had longer area codes. For example, while Enniskillen was allocated the area code 0365 (0EK5), Kesh was allocated 03656 and Lisnaskea 03657. As a result, numbers in Enniskillen could not begin with 6 or 7, as this would conflict with those of Kesh or Lisnaskea.

All this meant that while Enniskillen's numbers could be six digits long, Kesh's and Lisnaskea's (and those of other dependent exchanges) could only be five digits, due to the 9-digit limit of the length of a phone number at the time. This severely restricted capacity in these areas. As a result, at the Big Number Change, all these dependent exchanges were migrated to different numbers than their parent exchanges; in this instance while Enniskillen's 01365 (the 1 coming from PhONEday) was migrated to 028 66, Kesh went from 013656 to 028 686 and Lisnaskea from 013657 to 028 677. This meant that Kesh could expand into the rest of the 028 68xx range.

Note that the new numbering scheme groups numbers together such that the first digit identifies the county in alphabetical order. The exception is the Greater Belfast area where all numbers begin with 9, regardless of the county. The full list of changes for Northern Ireland [4] is as in the table above.

National dialling only ranges

In London, old National Dialling Only 0xx xxxx and 1xx xxxx numbers were migrated to new 0axx xxxx and 1axx xxxx numbers (where 'a' is mostly 0 or 1, so far).

In all of the other areas, old National Dialling Only 0xxxxx and 1xxxxx numbers were migrated to new 0aax xxxx and 1aax xxxx numbers.

The migration from old to new numbers was as follows: [4]

AreaOld range [Notes 1] New range
Coventry 01203 0xxxxx024 010x xxxx
01203 1xxxxx024 111x xxxx
Cardiff 01222 0xxxxx029 010x xxxx
01222 1xxxxx029 111x xxxx
Belfast 01232 0xxxxx028 010x xxxx
01232 1xxxxx028 101x xxxx
Southampton 01703 0xxxxx023 010x xxxx
01703 1xxxxx023 111x xxxx
Portsmouth 01705 0xxxxx023 010x xxxx
01705 1xxxxx023 101x xxxx
London 0171-0xx xxxx020 01xx xxxx
0171-1xx xxxx020 11xx xxxx
0181-0xx xxxx020 00xx xxxx
0181-1xx xxxx020 10xx xxxx

Non-geographic number changes

Special services and freephone

The following changes were made to non-geographic numbering ranges to bring them in the 08xx special services range.

CodeCharging rateBefore BNCAfter BNC
0345Local rate (BT Lo-Call)0345 xxxxxx0845 7xx xxxx
0645Local rate (Mercury LocalCall)0645 xxxxxx0845 9xx xxxx
0374 5National rate0374 5xxxxx0870 45x xxxx
0541 5National rate (Mercury AreaCall)0541 5xxxxx0870 15x xxxx
0990National rate (BT NationalCall)0990 xxxxxx0870 5xx xxxx
0321Vodafone Freephone0321 xxxxxx0808 0xx xxxx
0500Mercury Freephone0500 xxxxxxno change
0800BT Freephone0800 xxxxxxno change

The 0500 (Mercury FreeCall) code remained in use after The Big Number Change, but no new numbers were allocated after 28 April 2001. The 0500 range was eventually ceased on 3 June 2017, with numbers transferred to 0808 5xx xxxx equivalents during a three year transition period prior to that date.

The 0800 (BT Freefone) code has remained, but no new nine-digit numbers have been allocated since 1997. Instead, all 0800 numbers issued since that time have ten digits after the leading 0 or +44.

Premium rate

The following changes were made to non-geographic numbering ranges to bring them in the 090x premium rate range.

CodeCharging rateBefore BNCAfter BNC
0331VoData premium rate0331Unknown
0336 0VoData premium rate0336 0xxxxxUnknown
0336 1VoData premium rate0336 1xxxxxUnknown
0336 2VoData premium rate0336 2xxxxxUnknown
0336 3VoData premium rate0336 3xxxxxUnknown
0336 4VoData premium rate0336 4xxxxxUnknown
0336 5VoData premium rate0336 5xxxxxUnknown
0336 6VoData premium rate0336 6xxxxxUnknown
0336 8VoData premium rate0336 8xxxxxUnknown
0336 9VoData premium rate0336 9xxxxxUnknown
0338Mercury premium rate0338Unknown
0632Premium rate0632 xxxxxx090x
0640Mercury premium rate0640090x
0660Mercury premium rate0660 xxxxxx090x
0696Premium rate0696 xxxxxx090x
0696 6Jersey Telecoms premium rate0696 6xxxxx090x
0696 8Manx Telecoms premium rate0696 8xxxxx090x
0696 9Guernsey Telecoms premium rate0696 9xxxxx090x
0836premium rate?0836
0839Mercury premium rate?0839 xxxxxxUnknown
0853Premium rate0853090x
0881 1Mercury premium rate0881 1xxxxx090x
0881 2Mercury premium rate0881 2xxxxx090x
0881 3Mercury premium rate0881 3xxxxx090x
0881 5Mercury premium rate0881 5xxxxx090x
0881 6Mercury premium rate0881 6xxxxx090x
0881 7Mercury premium rate0881 7xxxxx090x
0881 9Mercury premium rate0881 9xxxxx090x
0890Premium rate0890 xxxxxx090x
0891BT ValueCall0891 xxxxxx090x
0894BT premium rate0894090x
0895premium rate?0895
0896Premium rate0896090x
0897BT premium rate0897090x
0898BT premium rate0898 xxxxxx090x
0930 0Premium rate0930 0xxxxx090x
0930 1Premium rate0930 1xxxxx090x
0930 2Premium rate0930 2xxxxx090x
0930 3Premium rate0930 3xxxxx090x
0930 4Premium rate0930 4xxxxx090x
0930 5Premium rate0930 5xxxxx090x
0930 6Premium rate0930 6xxxxx090x
0930 8Premium rate0930 8xxxxx090x
0930 9Premium rate0930 9xxxxx090x
0991Mercury premium rate0991090x

Mobile, pager and personal number changes

Personal numbers

Personal numbers moved to the 070 range.

CodeCharging rateBefore BNCAfter BNC
0956 7FleXtel Personal Numbering0956 7xxxxx070 107x xxxx

Mobile numbers

The following changes were made to mobile phone numbering ranges to bring them in the 07xxx mobile numbers range.

CodeOperatorBefore BNCAfter BNC
0370Vodafone0370 xxxxxx07770 xxxxxx
0374 0Vodafone0374 0xxxxx07774 0xxxxx
0374 1Vodafone0374 1xxxxx07774 1xxxxx
0374 2Vodafone0374 2xxxxx07774 2xxxxx
0374 3Vodafone0374 3xxxxx07774 3xxxxx
0374 4Vodafone0374 4xxxxx07774 4xxxxx
0374 6Vodafone0374 6xxxxx07774 6xxxxx
0374 7Vodafone0374 7xxxxx07774 7xxxxx
0374 8Vodafone0374 8xxxxx07774 8xxxxx
0374 9Vodafone0374 9xxxxx07774 9xxxxx
0378Vodafone0378 xxxxxx07778 xxxxxx
0385 0Vodafone0385 0xxxxx07785 0xxxxx
0385 1Vodafone0385 1xxxxx07785 1xxxxx
0385 2Vodafone0385 2xxxxx07785 2xxxxx
0385 3Vodafone0385 3xxxxx07785 3xxxxx
0385 5Vodafone0385 5xxxxx07785 5xxxxx
0385 7Vodafone0385 7xxxxx07785 7xxxxx
0385 8Vodafone0385 8xxxxx07785 8xxxxx
0385 9Vodafone0385 9xxxxx07785 9xxxxx
0390Orange0390 xxxxxx07790 xxxxxx
0401BT Cellnet0401 xxxxxx07701 xxxxxx
0402BT Cellnet0402 xxxxxx07702 xxxxxx
0403BT Cellnet0403 xxxxxx07703 xxxxxx
0408BT Cellnet Personal Assistant0408 xxxxxxDiscontinued
by 28 April 2001
0410BT Cellnet0410 xxxxxx07710 xxxxxx
0411BT Cellnet0411 xxxxxx07711 xxxxxx
0421Vodafone0421 xxxxxx07721 xxxxxx
0441Vodafone0441 xxxxxx07741 xxxxxx
04481Guernsey Telecom04481 xxxxxx07781 xxxxxx
0456 0Orange0456 0xxxxxUnknown
0456 1Orange0456 1xxxxxUnknown
04624Isle of Man04624 xxxxxx07624 xxxxxx
0467Vodafone0467 xxxxxx07767 xxxxxx
0468Vodafone0468 xxxxxx07768 xxxxxx
0498Vodafone0498 xxxxxx07798 xxxxxx
0585BT Cellnet0585 xxxxxx07885 xxxxxx
0589BT Cellnet0589 xxxxxx07889 xxxxxx
0802BT Cellnet0802 xxxxxx07802 xxxxxx
0831Vodafone0831 xxxxxx07831 xxxxxx
0836Vodafone0836 xxxxxx07836 xxxxxx
0839Vodafone0839 xxxxxx07839 xxxxxx
0850BT Cellnet0850 xxxxxx07850 xxxxxx
0860BT Cellnet0860 xxxxxx07860 xxxxxx
0930 7
(0961 7)
One-to-One0930 7xxxxx
(0961 7xxxxx)
07930 7xxxxx
0956 1One-to-One0956 1xxxxx07956 1xxxxx
0956 2One-to-One0956 2xxxxx07956 2xxxxx
0956 3One-to-One0956 3xxxxx07956 3xxxxx
0956 4One-to-One0956 4xxxxx07956 4xxxxx
0956 5One-to-One0956 5xxxxx07956 5xxxxx
0956 6One-to-One0956 6xxxxx07956 6xxxxx
0956 8One-to-One0956 8xxxxx07956 8xxxxx
0956 9One-to-One0956 9xxxxx07956 9xxxxx
0958 0One-to-One Freephone0958 0xxxxxDiscontinued
by 28 April 2001
0958 1One-to-One Local Rate0958 1xxxxxDiscontinued
by 28 April 2001
0958 2One-to-One0958 2xxxxx07958 2xxxxx
0958 3One-to-One0958 3xxxxx07958 3xxxxx
0958 4One-to-One0958 4xxxxx07958 4xxxxx
0958 5One-to-One0958 5xxxxx07958 5xxxxx
0958 6One-to-One0958 6xxxxx07958 6xxxxx
0958 7One-to-One0958 7xxxxx07958 7xxxxx
0958 8One-to-One0958 8xxxxx07958 8xxxxx
0958 9One-to-One0958 9xxxxx07958 9xxxxx
0961 0One-to-One0961 0xxxxx07961 0xxxxx
0961 1One-to-One0961 1xxxxx07961 1xxxxx
0961 2One-to-One0961 2xxxxx07961 2xxxxx
0961 3One-to-One0961 3xxxxx07961 3xxxxx
0961 4One-to-One0961 4xxxxx07961 4xxxxx
0961 5One-to-One0961 5xxxxx07961 5xxxxx
0961 6One-to-One0961 6xxxxx07961 6xxxxx
0961 8One-to-One0961 8xxxxx07961 8xxxxx
0961 9One-to-One0961 9xxxxx07961 9xxxxx
0966Orange0966 xxxxxx07966 xxxxxx
0973Orange0973 xxxxxx07973 xxxxxx
0976Orange0976 xxxxxx07976 xxxxxx
0979 7Jersey Telecom0979 7xxxxx07797 7xxxxx

Pager numbers

The following codes for pager numbers were also changed, so that all are in the 076 range:

CodeOperatorBefore BNCAfter BNC
0399 0 
01399 0
VodaPage0399 0xxxxx 
01399 0xxxxx
Discontinued
by 28 April 2001
0399 1 →
01399 1
VodaPage0399 1xxxxx →
01399 1xxxxx
076 991x xxxx
0399 2 →
01399 2
VodaPage0399 2xxxxx →
01399 2xxxxx
076 992x xxxx
0399 3 →
01399 3
VodaPage0399 3xxxxx →
01399 3xxxxx
076 993x xxxx
0399 4 →
01399 4
VodaPage0399 4xxxxx →
01399 4xxxxx
076 994x xxxx
0399 5 →
01399 5
VodaPage0399 5xxxxx →
01399 5xxxxx
076 995x xxxx
0399 6 →
01399 6
VodaPage0399 6xxxxx →
01399 6xxxxx
076 996x xxxx
0399 7 →
01399 7
VodaPage0399 7xxxxx →
01399 7xxxxx
076 997x xxxx
0399 8 →
01399 8
VodaPage0399 8xxxxx →
01399 8xxxxx
076 998x xxxx
0399 9 →
01399 9
VodaPage0399 9xxxxx →
01399 9xxxxx
076 999x xxxx
0426 →
01426 [5]
BT Paging0426 xxxxxx →
01426 xxxxxx
076 26xx xxxx
0459 2→
01459 2
PageOne/Mercury0459 2xxxxx →
01459 2xxxxx
076 592x xxxx
0459 3→
01459 3
VodaPage0459 3xxxxx →
01459 3xxxxx
076 593x xxxx
0459 4→
01459 4
VodaPage0459 4xxxxx →
01459 4xxxxx
076 594x xxxx
0459 5→
01459 5
VodaPage0459 5xxxxx →
01459 5xxxxx
076 595x xxxx
0459 6→
01459 6
VodaPage0459 6xxxxx →
01459 6xxxxx
076 596x xxxx
0459 8→
01459 8
VodaPage0459 8xxxxx →
01459 8xxxxx
076 598x xxxx
0459 9→
01459 9
PageOne/Mercury0459 9xxxxx →
01459 9xxxxx
076 599x xxxx
01523 [5] PageOne01523 xxxxxx076 23xx xxxx
01893BT Paging01893 xxxxxx076 93xx xxxx
0336 7Vodafone0336 7xxxxx076 637x xxxx
0385 4Vodata?0385 4xxxxxUnknown
0385 6Vodata0385 6xxxxxUnknown
04325BT Paging04325 xxxxxx076 25xx xxxx
04624Isle of Man?04624 xxxxxx076 24xx xxxx
0660 [Notes 2] PageOne0660 xxxxxx076 61xx xxxx
0839 [Notes 2] PageOne0839 xxxxxx076 61xx xxxx
0881 0PageOne0881 0xxxxx076 810x xxxx
0881 4PageOne0881 4xxxxx076 814x xxxx
0881 8PageOne0881 8xxxxx076 818x xxxx
0941Orange (HPL)0941 xxxxxx076 41xx xxxx
0941 1Orange (HPL)0941 1xxxxx076 411x xxxx

Non-standard pager prefixes beginning 01 [5] were moved to their new 076 allocation.

Some of these codes, as indicated by the arrow "→", had already been changed during PhONEday to add a "1" after the initial zero, and now they have been changed again.

Numbers for drama

These fictional numbers were originally made available by Oftel for dramatic purposes; for example, for quoting in TV, radio and film programmes. [6] Ofcom revised the list some years after the Big Number Change, and explained: "Telephone Numbers recommended for drama purposes cannot be allocated to Communications Providers for their customers because of the potential influx of calls that customers may receive should their Telephone Numbers be shown in a drama." [7]

Number range typeCode areaBefore PhONEdayBefore BNCAfter BNC
CodeNumber rangeCodeNumber rangeCodeNumber range
GeographicLeeds0113496 0000 to 496 00090113496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicSheffield 0114 496 0000 to 496 00090114496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicNottingham0115496 0000 to 496 00090115496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicLeicester0116496 0000 to 496 00090116496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicBristol0117496 0000 to 496 00090117496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicReading0118496 0000 to 496 00090118496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicBirmingham021496 0000 to 496 00090121496 0000 to 496 00090121496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicEdinburgh031496 0000 to 496 00090131496 0000 to 496 00090131496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicGlasgow041496 0000 to 496 00090141496 0000 to 496 00090141496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicLiverpool051496 00090151496 0000 to 496 00090151496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicManchester061496 00090161496 0000 to 496 00090161496 0000 to 496 0999
GeographicTyneside/Durham/Wearside091498 0000 to 498 0009 0191 498 0000 to 498 00090191498 0000 to 498 0999
GeographicLondon071946 0000 to 946 00090171946 0000 to 946 0009 020 7946 0000 to 7946 0999
GeographicNorthern Ireland  0289018 0000 to 9018 0999
GeographicCardiff  0292018 0000 to 2018 0999
GeographicNo area0632960000 to 96000901632960000 to 96000901632960000 to 960999
Mobilen/a07700900000 to 90000907700900000 to 900999
UK-widen/a  0306999 0000 to 999 0999
Freephone n/a0808157 0980 to 157 09890808157 0000 to 157 0999
Premium rate services n/a0909879 0980 to 879 09890909879 0000 to 879 0999

Although not directly connected with the official Big Number changes, these number allocations were updated with the new prefixes and with additional areas, as well as changing from 10 to 1000 numbers allocated per block, around the same time as the other Big Number changes occurred. [7] [6]

Misunderstandings

Some widespread misunderstandings about area codes came about with the Big Number Change, most notably with London area codes. There is a widespread but erroneous assumption that London has several area codes – 0203, 0204, 0207 and 0208 – whereas, in fact, it has just one: 020. Similar misunderstandings came about with a few other area codes.

See also

Notes

  1. These areas had added a '1' to the area code at PhONEday. Previous to that, these codes were 0xxx with six-figure local numbers, except London and parts of NI. London codes were previously 0x1 with seven-figure local numbers. NI codes added a '1' at PhONEday but some areas previously had longer codes than shown, paired with shorter numbers that were often only four or five digits long.
  2. 1 2 Page One numbers only. Oftel didn't publish details of PRS migration and asked people to instead refer directly to C&W.

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0191 is the UK telephone dialling code used by Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham, Sunderland and other nearby areas in the north east of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PhONEday</span> 1995 day in which UK telephones were renumbered

PhONEday was a change to telephone numbering in the United Kingdom on Sunday 16 April 1995. A shortage of unique telephone numbers in the old dialling system meant that it was becoming increasingly difficult in certain areas of the country to assign unique numbers to new subscribers. To counteract this, dialling codes starting with 0 were changed to start with 01. In Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield, the existing area codes, which were 5 digits in length, were instead entirely replaced with new codes comprising 4 digits, to increase the amount of possible numbers by a factor of ten. The changes made possible the ability to provision new numbers in each of these five cities. It also had the effect of assigning all geographic landline telephone numbers into one range of numbers starting with 01, allowing for further changes to be made at the Big Number Change in 2000. A £16m advertising campaign, and an eight-month parallel period during which both old and new codes were active, preceded the change. PhONEday followed a change made in May 1990, when the old London area code 01 was released from use, permitting all United Kingdom geographic numbers to begin with this prefix. Originally planned in 1991 to take place in 1994, in 1992 the change was postponed until the Easter Sunday bank holiday in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telephone numbers in Israel</span>

Telephone numbers in Israel consist of an area code and a subscriber number. The dial plan type in Israel is closed, and "0" is the internal trunk prefix in Israel. Israel's country calling code is +972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telephone numbers in Germany</span>

The regulation of telephone numbers in Germany is the responsibility of the Federal Network Agency of the German government. The agency has a mandate to telecommunications in Germany and other infrastructure systems..

Telephone numbers in Canada follow the fixed-length format of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) of a three-digit area code, a three-digit central office code, and a four-digit station or line code. This is represented as NPA NXX XXXX.

0114 is the national dialling code for Sheffield in the United Kingdom. The area it serves includes almost all of the City of Sheffield and some adjacent areas. When STD codes were first introduced, Sheffield was assigned the mnemonic 0SH2, later changing to the corresponding numbers upon the introduction of All-Figure Dialling in the area. Instead of the expected 01742 code, Sheffield's area code changed to the current 0114 code on 16 April 1995, along with 4 other cities in England, as part of PhONEday. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of seven digits. The code is used at several telephone exchanges as part of a linked numbering scheme. In common with all other British area codes the initial '0' is a trunk prefix that is not required when dialling Sheffield from abroad.

Ranges for fictitious telephone numbers are common in most telephone numbering plans. One of the main reasons these ranges exist is to avoid accidentally using real phone numbers in movies and television programs because of viewers frequently calling the numbers used. In North America, the area served by the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) system of area codes, fictitious telephone numbers are usually of the form (XXX) 555-xxxx. The use of 555 numbers in fiction, however, led a desire to assign some of them in the real world, and some of them are no longer suitable for use in fiction. Other areas have different fictitious telephone numbers.

01708 is the national dialling code for Romford in the United Kingdom. The area it serves includes almost all of the London Borough of Havering and some adjacent areas. When STD codes were first introduced, Romford was assigned 0708 and 0402 was used for the rest of the current code area. After a sequence of changes in the early 1990s, culminating with PhONEday, the current 01708 code became active on 16 April 1995. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of six digits. The code is used at eight telephone exchanges as part a linked numbering scheme. In common with all other British area codes the initial '0' is a trunk prefix that is not required when dialling Romford from abroad.

Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom have a flexible structure that reflects their historical demands, starting from many independent companies through a nationalised near-monopoly, to a system that supports many different services, including cellular phones, which were not envisaged when the system was first built. Numbers evolved in a piecemeal fashion, with numbers initially allocated on an exchange-by-exchange basis for calls connected by manual operators. Subscriber numbers reflected demand in each area, with single digit telephone numbers in very rural areas and longer numbers in cities.

References

  1. 1 2 "II THE NATIONAL NUMBERING SCHEME" . Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  2. https://www.theregister.com/1999/03/04/uk_phone_changes_to_go/ [ bare URL ]
  3. Ofcom (2009-08-20). "Telephone numbers – the facts and figures : (Boxout) Is it (020) 7 or 0207?". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
  4. 1 2 Ofcom (2001-03-20). "National Code & Number Change Framework Document" (DOC). Office of Communications. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  5. 1 2 3 Pritchard, Stephen (1997-01-19). "We're talking telephone numbers". The Independent . London: Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  6. 1 2 Oftel (1999-06-01). "Numbers Used For Drama. ca. 1999". Oftel Numbering Bulletin 38. Office of Telecommunications. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  7. 1 2 Ofcom (2004-10-26). "Telephone Numbers for drama purposes (TV, Radio etc) revised 2004". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-16.