Example of a 0800 number translation service
In the UK 08XXX numbers are non-geographic numbers – that is, the number does not refer to a telephone number in any particular region of the UK. To route a call to such an 08XXX number, the number must be translated into a geographic number (e.g. 0121 XXX XXXX for Birmingham numbers).
Birmingham is the second-most populous city in the United Kingdom, after London, and the most populous city in the English Midlands. With an estimated population of 1,137,100 as of 2017, Birmingham is the cultural, social, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands. It is the main centre of the West Midlands conurbation, which is the third most populated urban area in the United Kingdom, with a population in 2011 of 2,440,986. The wider Birmingham metropolitan area is the second largest in the United Kingdom with a population of over 3.7 million. Birmingham is frequently referred to as the United Kingdom's "second city".
An SSP telephone exchange receives a call to an 0800 number. This causes a trigger within the SSP that causes an SCP (Service Control Point) to be queried using SS7 protocols (INAP, TCAP). The SCP responds with a geographic number, e.g. 0121 XXX XXXX, and the call is actually routed to a phone.
INAP stands for Intelligent Network Application Protocol or Intelligent Network Application Part. It is the signalling protocol used in Intelligent Networking (IN). It is part of the Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) protocol suite, typically layered on top of the Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP). It can also be termed as logic for controlling telecommunication services migrated from traditional switching points to computer based service independent platform.
Transaction Capabilities Application Part, from ITU-T recommendations Q.771-Q.775 or ANSI T1.114 is a protocol for Signalling System 7 networks. Its primary purpose is to facilitate multiple concurrent dialogs between the same sub-systems on the same machines, using Transaction IDs to differentiate these, similar to the way TCP ports facilitate multiplexing connections between the same IP addresses on the Internet.
By this architecture:
- 08XXX (non-geographic numbers) can be set up in a few SCP nodes rather than having to be set up in every telephone exchange in the country.
- geographic numbers can be hidden
- revenue can be generated by non-telecoms companies from people making telephone calls to services – e.g. telephone voting
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Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) is a set of telephony signaling protocols developed in 1975, which is used to set up and tear down telephone calls in most parts of the world-wide public switched telephone network (PSTN). The protocol also performs number translation, local number portability, prepaid billing, Short Message Service (SMS), and other services.
In telephony, common-channel signaling (CCS), in the US also common-channel interoffice signaling (CCIS), is the transmission of signaling information on a separate channel than the data, and, more specifically, where that signaling channel controls multiple data channels.
A toll-free telephone number or freephone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls instead of incurring charges to the originating telephone subscriber. For the calling party, a call to a toll-free number from a landline is free of charge.
A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, reachable by a system of destination code routing. Telephone numbering plans are defined in each of administrative regions of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and they are also present in private telephone networks. For public number systems, geographic location plays a role in the sequence of numbers assigned to each telephone subscriber.
Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom are administered by the UK government's Office of Communications (Ofcom). For this purpose Ofcom established a telephone numbering plan, known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, which is the system for assigning telephone numbers to subscriber stations.
The Australian telephone numbering plan describes the allocation of phone numbers in Australia. It has changed many times, the most recent major reorganisation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority taking place between 1994 and 1998.
Telephone numbers in Japan consist of an area code, an exchange number, and a subscriber number.
The Big Number Change addressed various issues with the telephone dialing plan in the United Kingdom, during the late-1990s and early-2000s.
Numbers on the Irish Telephone Numbering Plan are regulated and assigned to operators by ComReg.
Telephone numbers in Singapore, also known as the National Numbering Plan, are regulated by the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA). Due to the small geographical size of Singapore, there are no area or trunk codes; all numbers belong to one numbering area, and thus come in the same 8-digit format. Numbers are categorised based on the first digit, thus providing ten possible categories, of which six are currently in use and the remaining four reserved for future usage.
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.
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.
A Location Routing Number is a unique number that uses the format of a telephone number, but actually represents an entire telephone switch through which multiple telephone numbers are routed. The assignment of a location routing number to telephone numbers allows for local number portability.
The national conventions for writing telephone numbers vary by country. While international standards exist in the form of the International Telecommunication Union sector ITU-T issued recommendation E.123, national telephone numbering plans define the format and length of telephone numbers assigned to telephones.
In the United States of America, Canada, and other countries participating in the North American Numbering Plan, a toll-free telephone number has one of the area codes 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, and 888.
