A toll-free telephone number or freephone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls. For the calling party, a call to a toll-free number from a landline is free of charge. A toll-free number is identified by a dialing prefix similar to an area code. The specific service access varies by country.
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 the administrative regions of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and in private telephone networks.
Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom are administered by the 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 & Media Authority taking place between 1994 and 1998.
Telephone numbers in China are organized according to the Chinese Telephone Code Plan. The numerical formats of landlines and mobile phones are different: landlines have area codes, whereas mobile phones do not. In major cities, landline numbers consist of a two-digit area code followed by an eight-digit inner number. In other places, landline numbers consist of a three-digit area code followed by a seven- or eight-digit internal number. The numbers of mobile phones consist of eleven digits.
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.
The dialling plan for mobile networks and new landline operators is closed; all subscriber numbers must be dialled in full. For landline numbers starting with 02, the dialling plan used to be open; the trunk digit and area code could be omitted if the caller was in the same area code as the callee. However, starting May 3, 2008, all landline numbers must be dialled in full.
The Hong Kong Strategic Route and Exit Number System is a system adopted by the Transport Department of the Hong Kong Government to organise the major roads in the territory into routes 1 to 10 for the convenience of drivers. When the system was implemented in 2004, the government promoted it with a major public campaign, including the slogan "Remember the Numbers; Make Driving Easier".
Telephone numbers in Malaysia are regulated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
The format of telephone numbers in Australia has changed over time to allow for the expansion of the subscriber base as technology has improved.
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 Pakistan are ten digits long. Landline numbers and mobile numbers have different structures. Geographically fixed landline are prefixed by an area code which varies in length depending on the significance of the place. Mobile numbers are prefixed (03) followed by a code indicating the telephone operator. The international country code for Pakistan is '+92'.
Telephone numbers in Iceland are seven digits long and generally written in the form xxx xxxx or xxx-xxxx and the E.123 format specifies +354 xxx xxxx from abroad since the country code is +354.
National conventions for writing telephone numbers vary by country. While international standards exist in the form of recommendation E.123 by the sector ITU-T of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), national telephone numbering plans define the format of telephone numbers assigned to telephones and similar communication endpoints.
Telephone numbers in Georgia consist of 9 digits and follow a closed numbering plan in which the initial 2 or 3 digits indicate the service or area code and the remaining 6 or 7 digits identify the subscriber.
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.
