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EspañolTELEPHONE NUMBERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
(Redirected from UK telephone numbering plan)
:''+44 redirects here. For the band see +44 (band)''
The 'UK telephone numbering plan', also known as the 'National Numbering Plan', is regulated by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which replaced the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) in 2003.
'Country Code: 44'
'International Call Prefix: 00'
Since April 28, 2001, almost all normal geographic numbers and most non-geographic numbers are 9 or 10 digit (excluding the 0 prefix but including the rest of the area code) the overall structure of the UK's National Numbering Plan is:
A short list of examples, set out in the officially approved (Ofcom) number groups:
In the United Kingdom, area codes are — excluding the leading '0' which is dropped when calling UK numbers from overseas — two, three, four or five digits long, with larger towns and cities having shorter area codes permitting a larger number of telephone numbers in the ten or eleven digits used. The traditional UK term for American "area code" was 'STD (code)' (subscriber trunk dialling) code, however, the terms 'STD' — or more fully 'STD code' — are now dated, and have given way to the more commonplace term 'dialling code' in the UK.
It is very common to see the ''+'' notation being misused — +44 (0)xxx xxx xxxx is not an uncommon occurrence even in official documents. For international callers the number between the brackets is dropped. For callers within the United Kingdom the +44 is dropped and the number between the brackets used. Calling +44 0xxx xxx xxxx will not work from most operators, and the +44 (0)xxx notation is incorrect and should not be used. The correct usage of the + notation in this example of the three-digit geographic code is +44 xxx xxx xxxx.
The code allocated to the largest population is (020) for London. The code allocated to the largest area is (028) for all of Northern Ireland.
The UK Numbering Plan also applies to three British Crown dependencies - Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man even though they are not part of the UK itself.
Following the changes in 1995, 2000 and 2001, the numbering range in use is as follows. Note that the initial "0" of a telephone number (called the trunk prefix) is not properly considered part of the area code but is, rather, the national long distance calling prefix, and thus (for example) 023 is a "two-digit" area code.
★ 'Calls originating in the UK'
★
★ The leading "0" is only required for calls originating in the UK.
★
★ Likewise, "00" is the UK dialling prefix for international calls (to be followed by the international country code and number).
★ 'Calls originating from outside the UK'
★
★ 'Note:' The leading "0" should be omitted for all international calls and replaced with the international country code for the UK: +44.
★ '(01xxx)' xxxxxx — a four digit area code and up to six digit subscriber number. e.g:
★ '(01x1)' xxx xxxx — the geographical number format for the larger cities, a three digit area code, with a seven digit subscriber number where the first three digits identifies an area within the city.
★ '(011x)' xxx xxxx — the geographical number format for a second tier of large cities, a three digit area code, with a seven-digit subscriber number, e.g:
★ '(02x)' xxxx xxxx — the new geographical number format, a two digit area code with an 8-digit subscriber number. The short area code is known as a ''wide area code''. e.g:
★ '(01xxx)' xxxxx, '(01xxxx)' xxxxx, '(01xxxx)' xxxx — used for smaller towns where the subscriber number is either four or five digits long; note that the STD code and the subscriber number don't always total eleven digits, e.g:
On 27 July 2006 OFCOM announced that soon companies will be offered to use an '03' geographic number, as well as '0870' numbers. Callers would be charged at the same rate as existing area codes which start with 01 or 02. This means that customers benefiting from 'free' minutes on mobiles or landlines would also be able to call these numbers using their inclusive minutes. '087x', '084x' and '0800' numbers are not usually covered under such call plans.[1] On 13 February 2007 OFCOM released more details on their plans for the 03 range and announced that allocations of 03 numbers to providers would begin in March 2007. Two different ranges of numbers were announced; those beginning 0300/0303 are reserved for qualifying public bodies and non-profit organisations, and those beginning 0330/0333, which are available for allocation to anyone.
Some operators' 033 numbers are now live and are diallable from BT lines[1], but not diallable from mobile phones currently, as of 3 September 2007, since the datafill required has yet to be fully completed across all operators.
These ranges have subscriber numbers beginning with the digits '0' or '1', eg:
In order to avoid confusion with codes beginning with these digits, the area code must always be dialled, even from within the same geographic exchange. Traditionally these have not been used for inbound calls, although these are now being allocated to some Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. This has been problematic as some mobile phone operators in the UK do not allow access to these ranges, and there may also be difficulty accessing these numbers from outside the UK.
=== Non-geographic numbering ===
★ '03x' xxxx xxxx — 'UK-Wide' numbering.
The '03' range is non-geographic but charged at geographic rates from all lines. Unlike 05 numbers, Ofcom General Condition 17[2] requires all operators to charge the same tariff for calling these numbers as they would charge for calling a geographic number beginning 01/02, applying the same discounts and rules for "inclusive minutes".
★ '05x' xxxx xxxx — Reserved for corporate numbering.
The '0500' range is used for some freephone services which were originally provided by Mercury Communications Ltd (now Cable & Wireless). These numbers are different from the rest of the 05 range in that they are only 10 digits in length, e.g. 0500 123456, as they were allocated before the 05 range was assigned to corporate numbering. Note that unlike 03 numbers there is no uniform pricing for 05 numbers; BT charge a number of different rates depending on the number dialled.[3]. Some are charged at geographic rate, others not, and unlike 03 numbers, other operators are not required to charge the same rates as BT for calling 05 numbers
★ '07xxx' xxxxxx — mobile phones, pagers, personal numbering and WiFi numbers.
Individual mobile phone companies are allocated different ranges within the ""075xx"", '077xx', '078xx' and '079xx' area codes. Changes to mobile numbers were mostly straight replacements, such as Vodafone customers on the '03'78 block became '077'78.
Since the advent of Mobile number portability, mobile prefixes can no longer be relied on to determine the current operator of a particular mobile number - only the original operator.
★ '08xx' — Non-geographic fixed-rate, or special-rate services, e.g. Many UK businesses employ this type of number because of extra benefits 08xx numbers can provide, such as fax to email, virtual office applications, revenue, and also because they are totally portable - if your business moves, the 08xx number can move with you.
★ Guernsey
★ Jersey
★ Isle of Man
On the Isle of Man, both fixed and mobile phone numbers can be dialled locally in the six-digit format.
Although calls from UK landlines to landlines in the islands are charged at the same (long-distance) rate as those to geographic numbers in the UK, calls may be excluded from calling plans offering unlimited UK fixed line calls, and some mobile operators also charge more.
Ofcom has also reserved certain number ranges for use in television dramas and films, so as to avoid the risk of people having their telephone numbers displayed, and receiving unwanted calls. This is similar to the use of fictitious telephone numbers in the United States and Canada with the digits '555'. In most of the large cities with three-digit area codes a range of numbers is reserved, usually all the numbers starting with the digits '4960'. For fictitious numbers in other areas the area code '01632' is reserved; this code is not in use, although 0632 was used for Newcastle upon Tyne until the late 1980s (63 = NE). There are also reserved ranges for fictitious mobile, free and premium rate numbers.
★ A full list of fictitious numbers
Not all numbers used in TV Dramas come from the OFCOM recommended ranges. For instance the TV Soap ''Coronation Street'' set in the Manchester 0161 code area uses numbers in the unallocated 0161 715 XXXX range.
Short codes beginning with '1' are reserved for telecom service providers' own functionality; some of the most well-known are codes for use with Caller Display:
The UK has two free emergency numbers — the traditional '999', which is still widely used, and the EU standard '112', which can be used in all member states of the European Union. Both 999 and 112 are used to contact all emergency services: Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Mountain Rescue, Coastguard and Cave Rescue. The chargeable number '101' (10p per call) is being introduced in stages, with an aim to cover all of England and Wales by 2008, for "non-urgent emergencies". As of November 2006 however, it appears that owing to low take-up in trial areas this proposal is on indefinite hold.
The operator is obtained via '100', while directory enquiries, formerly ''192'', is now provided in the '118xxx' range, e.g. 118 212, 118 800, 118 500, 118 118, by different companies. International Operator assistance is reached through "155".
Fixed line telephone subscribers for BT[4] , Virgin Media[5] and Talk Talk have the opportunity to use an automated messaging service which takes messages when the called number is either engaged ("busy") or not answered within a given time. This can be accessed by calling '1571'.
Since the early 1990s speaking clock services have been available throughout Britain using the number 123 (before this exchanges in 'Director' areas (Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Glasgow) dialled 846 (TIM) and main exchanges in Non-Director areas originally used "952", later changing to "80" with the introduction of STD and eventually to "8081" as other recorded services were introduced on 80X1 codes). Some mobile operators allocate other services to 123 - such as customer services or voicemail etc.
The Post Office even produced dial centre labels for use in advertisements and film/TV with a mythical exchange called VINcent plus four digits. The numerical equivalent of VIN was 846 and all the caller got was the speaking clock in the big city 'Director' areas.
Two special telephone numbers within the regular code space have only eight digits, namely 0800 1111 the national ChildLine helpline, and 0845 4647 for NHS Direct medical advice.
The telephone service in the United Kingdom was originally provided by private companies and local councils. But by 1912–13 [2] all except the telephone service of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire and Guernsey had been bought out by the Post Office. The Post Office also operated telephone services in Jersey until 1923 and the Isle of Man until 1969 when the islands took over responsibility for their own postal and telephone services - although the Isle of Man remained part of British Telecom until 1987.
Post Office Telecommunications was reorganised in 1980–81 [3] as ''British Telecommunications'' (''British Telecom'', or ''BT''), and was the first major nationalised industry to be privatised by the Conservative government. The Hull Telephone Department was itself reconstituted as ''Kingston Communications'', in 1987; it was sold by Hull City Council in the late 1990s and celebrated its centenary in 2004.
Main articles: Director telephone system
In November 1922 the General Post Office decided to adopt the Strowger system from the various systems it had tried and it was to include 'Directors' in the exchanges in London. Demonstration models of the 'director' exchange were shown by manufacturer ATM of Liverpool as part of the Post Office exhibits at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 and 1925. However, it was not until 1927 that the first 'Director' telephone exchange was brought into service in Holborn, London and rolled out progressively across Greater London. A 3 digit code, represented by letters, identified the local exchange. Director schemes were gradually introduced in the other major cities of the UK — Birmingham, Edinburgh (although a relatively small city, it obtained all-figure dialling for political reasons), Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester.
Main articles: List of United Kingdom dialling codes
Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) was introduced in 1958 [4] to allow a caller to call another telephone directly instead of via a manual telephone exchange operator. Uniform exchange codes, usually called STD codes, were allocated for every exchange in the country, progressively as STD was rolled out. This process was not completed until 1979 [5].
The original concept was for STD to be a nationwide Director system, and in common with the Director system, the exchange codes were originally assigned based on two letters of the respective place's name and the corresponding numbers on a telephone dial. For example Aylesbury was given the STD code 0AY6, where the letter A can be found on the number 2 and the letter Y on the number 9. The letter O became a zero, such as for Bournemouth: 0BO2 where BO = 20. Originally, where a place's name began with the letter 'O' the code would begin with two zeros, such as Oxford: 0OX2 where OX = 09. These codes starting with '00' were later reallocated, freeing the prefix 00 for use by calls to the Republic of Ireland, to radiophones and to premium rate numbers.
For the Director areas a 2 or 3 digit code was used for the city. These were:
The codes '071', '081', and '091' were reserved for later expansion, with the former two eventually being allocated to London (see below), and 091 to Tyne and Wear and Durham.
Main articles: All figure dialling
The use of names was intended to provide a mnemonic for the exchange, but as more and more places were given STD codes the mnemonic link became more and more obscure, and this system became unworkable. The use of alphabetic exchange (area) codes was abandoned in 1966 in favour of all figure numbering. As such about 60% of current area codes are still based on the original alphabetic STD.
Until the late 1980s, calls to cities in the Republic of Ireland were made using short codes starting with '000':
Dublin '0001' (Dublin 01 Area)
Cork '0002' (Cork 021 Area)
Dundalk '0004' (Dundalk 042 Area)
Waterford '0005' (Waterford 051 Area)
Limerick '0006' (Limerick 061 Area)
Letterkenny'0007' (Letterkenny 074 Area)
Galway '0009' (Galway 091 Area)
As the network was upgraded, direct dialling became possible to the whole country, but this was not completed in the rural areas until 1988. Until then, some calls from the UK to Ireland were made through the operator and diverted to the "Irish Service".
This was discontinued in the late 1980s, so that all calls to the Republic of Ireland from the UK had to be dialled in the international format using the international access code (since 1995, '00') (actually, 010 for a while) and country code ('353').
Although full international dialling is now used, calls from Northern Ireland landlines to landlines in the Republic are charged at UK national or local rates, and calls from Great Britain to the Republic are charged at a special "Irish Republic" rate, higher than inland rates, but lower than those for elsewhere in Western Europe.
With growth in second phone lines, direct dial-in (DDI) lines, fax machines and multiple telecoms operators during the 1980s the demand for telephone numbers exceeded the available number ranges. A number of changes were made to the UK numbering plan.
The first major change was in May 1990, when the London 01 area code was replaced with 071 and 081. Exchanges in central London used the 071 code with the remaining exchanges using the 081 code and formed a ring around the 071 area. Although this effectively doubled the available numbers it was not the last change for the capital.
On "PhONE Day", 16 April 1995, which was also Easter Sunday in Western Christianity, the digit "1" was inserted into all UK geographic area codes. Promotion of this day included special Easter Eggs. Under the new changes, for example, central London's 071 became 0171. This was with a view to reorganising the numbering plan, so that the first two digits would indicate the type of service called:
The international access code also changed on 'PhONE Day', from '010' to '00'. Five new area codes were introduced for cities that were running low on phone numbers — and a digit was prepended to each existing local number.
Note that the first digit of the local numbers within these codes is no longer restricted to those shown: for example, while all pre-'PhONE Day' Leeds numbers migrated to 0113 2xx xxxx, this numbering range has since been exhausted, and local numbers of the form 0113 3xx xxxx are now assigned; similarly in Sheffield, the range 0114 2xx xxxx has also been exhausted and new numbers take the form 0114 3xx xxxx. This is also the case for Bristol, the range 0117 9xx xxxx has been exhausted. New numbers issued now take the form of 0117 3xx xxxx. Meanwhile in Nottingham, with the range 0115 9xx xxxx exhausted, new numbers issued take the form 0115 8xx xxxx.
Main articles: Big Number Change
On 22 April 2000 the second phase of the plan came into operation, dubbed the "Big Number Change". With 02
★ freed up by the previous reorganisation, it could be re-used.
Note that although Southampton and Portsmouth are one code from a code structure and local dialling point of view, as of January 2006 calls between them are not local calls and the "codes" 023 80 and 023 92 are treated as separate by the BT site for determining local call area.
It is planned that the new codes will eventually cover a larger area than at present. For example, although 029 presently covers just the Cardiff area, it may in the future cover all of Wales.
The code for Northern Ireland is 028. The transition codes for Northern Ireland are shown below. These can be accessed from the Republic of Ireland using either the domestic code '048', or the international code '+44 28'.
The prefixes for existing numbers in Northern Ireland are split up into 7 groups, roughly based upon the county in which the main exchange is based. The initial digit of each phone number is based on the designated county - for example, the first county alphabetically is County Antrim so numbers in this county start 2. The next county is County Armagh so numbers here start 3. One exception to this is the Greater Belfast area, initial digit 9, which is extended to include each adjacent former STD code area, including towns such as Antrim, Bangor and Saintfield.
In addition, mobile and pager numbers were all moved into the '07' range. Pagers moved into '076', while personal numbers moved to '070'. Mobile numbers moved into the '077', '078' and '079' ranges. The exception to this was Manx Telecom mobiles, where the code became '07624' in order to match the '01624' used for landlines. In addition, lo-call and national call numbers migrated to '08xxx' and premium rate numbers to '09xxx'.
The number change meant that London returned to a single area code again (as in the old 01 days), with no "inner/outer" split. Existing London numbers acquired the prefixes 7 or 8, but from that point on (020) 7xxx xxxx and (020) 8xxx xxxx numbers were assigned or reused anywhere in the London area covered by the single (city-wide) 020 code.
From June 2005 the regulator, Ofcom, ceased to allocate number blocks to suppliers in the 7xxx xxxx and 8xxx xxxx ranges. From this date onwards all number allocations were in the 3xxx xxxx range and can be used anywhere in the London 020 area. Although new blocks of 7xxx xxxx and 8xxx xxxx range numbers are no longer being allocated to suppliers, those that have not yet exhausted their existing blocks are able to continue to issue and re-issue them to their customers.
Numbers in the 020 0xxx xxxx and 020 1xxx xxxx number ranges have also been made available. However, these numbers cannot be dialled without the 020 code and are called "London National Dialling" numbers.
It is a common misconception that London still has more than one area code (i.e. "0207 & 0208"). This is incorrect in the sense that omitting the "020" area code will give a local number that can be dialled from any other "020" line, so the commonly seen spacing 020x xxx xxxx, does not conform to the normal practice of separating the area code by a space.[6]
This misconception of area code and number separation is also seen in other areas of the country where an area code reduction was seen due to the Big Number Change, such as Reading numbers still being written 01189 xxxxxx, whereas the correct number sequence is (0118) 9xx xxxx, Coventry being written as 02476 xxxxxx, whereas the correct number sequence is (024) 76xx xxxx, Cardiff 029 being written as 02920 xxxxxx whereas the correct number sequence is (029) 20xx xxxx.
This also occurs in some areas of Northern Ireland, that previously had 5-digit and 6-digit local numbers like in Banbridge (previously (018206) xxxxx), where numbers are still written as 028406 xxxxx instead of 028 406x xxxx. Locals still misquote the area code as 028406, seven years after the change. The same occurs in formerly six-digit code areas, such as Lisburn (previous (01846) xxxxxx) continues to frequently appear as 02892 xxxxxx.
Creating numbers beginning 06, to replace 070 numbers - sometimes confused with mobiles - is also being considered.
At the moment, companies such as Patientline use 070 numbers. There is no cap on caller charges.
Ofcom wants 070 and 06 numbers to have a price cap, and 07 numbers to be used exclusively for mobile phones.
Under plans, rates charged to people calling 08 phone lines would be made clearer by linking the cost of the call to the third digit. Numbers starting 080 would be free, while 082 would be cheaper than 089.
1. Andrews & Arnold Web Site: http://www.aaisp.net.uk/aa/voip/03.html (3 September 2007)
2. Ofcom General Conditions: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/ioi/g_a_regime/gce/cvogc150807.pdf
3. BT Price List: http://www.serviceview.bt.com/list/public/current/Call_Charges_boo/0025_d0e5.htm#0025-d0e5
4. BT to offer free voicemail from Monday
5. Other telephone features
6.
★ List of United Kingdom dialling codes
★ Telecommunications in the United Kingdom
★ Telephone numbering plan
★ Irish telephone numbering plan
★ 0207 and 0208
★ Telephone number
★ Number portability
★ UK Numbering Policy section of Ofcom's website
★ UK National Telephone Numbering Plan (in PDF format)
★ UK Future Numbering Plan from Ofcom's website
★ UK phone information
:''+44 redirects here. For the band see +44 (band)''
The 'UK telephone numbering plan', also known as the 'National Numbering Plan', is regulated by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which replaced the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) in 2003.
Overview
'Country Code: 44'
'International Call Prefix: 00'
Since April 28, 2001, almost all normal geographic numbers and most non-geographic numbers are 9 or 10 digit (excluding the 0 prefix but including the rest of the area code) the overall structure of the UK's National Numbering Plan is:
| '01' | Geographic area codes. |
| '02' | Geographic area codes (introduced in 2000). |
| '03' | Nationwide non-geographic code, charged to caller at geographic area code rates (introduced 2007). |
| '04' | Reserved. |
| '05' | Corporate numbering and VoIP services (note: some voip services use 08 or geographic numbers). |
| '06' | Reserved for possible use by Personal Numbering instead of 070 following consumer confusion with mobile phones. |
| '07' | Personal Numbering on 070, Pagers on 076, mobile phones on 075, 077, 078, and 079, WiFi numbers on 079112 and 079118. |
| '08' | Freephone (toll free) on 080, and Special Services (formerly local and national rate) on 084 and 087. |
| '09' | Premium Rate services. |
A short list of examples, set out in the officially approved (Ofcom) number groups:
| Number | Location |
|---|---|
| (029) xxxx xxxx | Cardiff |
| (0117) xxx xxxx | Bristol |
| (0131) xxx xxxx | Edinburgh |
| (01382) xxx xxx | Dundee |
| (015396) xxxxx | Sedbergh |
| (01386) xxxxxx | Evesham |
| (016977) xxxx | Brampton |
In the United Kingdom, area codes are — excluding the leading '0' which is dropped when calling UK numbers from overseas — two, three, four or five digits long, with larger towns and cities having shorter area codes permitting a larger number of telephone numbers in the ten or eleven digits used. The traditional UK term for American "area code" was 'STD (code)' (subscriber trunk dialling) code, however, the terms 'STD' — or more fully 'STD code' — are now dated, and have given way to the more commonplace term 'dialling code' in the UK.
It is very common to see the ''+'' notation being misused — +44 (0)xxx xxx xxxx is not an uncommon occurrence even in official documents. For international callers the number between the brackets is dropped. For callers within the United Kingdom the +44 is dropped and the number between the brackets used. Calling +44 0xxx xxx xxxx will not work from most operators, and the +44 (0)xxx notation is incorrect and should not be used. The correct usage of the + notation in this example of the three-digit geographic code is +44 xxx xxx xxxx.
The code allocated to the largest population is (020) for London. The code allocated to the largest area is (028) for all of Northern Ireland.
The UK Numbering Plan also applies to three British Crown dependencies - Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man even though they are not part of the UK itself.
Format
General format
Following the changes in 1995, 2000 and 2001, the numbering range in use is as follows. Note that the initial "0" of a telephone number (called the trunk prefix) is not properly considered part of the area code but is, rather, the national long distance calling prefix, and thus (for example) 023 is a "two-digit" area code.
★ 'Calls originating in the UK'
★
★ The leading "0" is only required for calls originating in the UK.
★
★ Likewise, "00" is the UK dialling prefix for international calls (to be followed by the international country code and number).
★ 'Calls originating from outside the UK'
★
★ 'Note:' The leading "0" should be omitted for all international calls and replaced with the international country code for the UK: +44.
Geographic numbering
★ '(01xxx)' xxxxxx — a four digit area code and up to six digit subscriber number. e.g:
| 01382 | Dundee | 38 = DU |
|---|---|---|
| 01482 | Hull | 48 = HU |
| 01582 | Luton | 58 = LU |
★ '(01x1)' xxx xxxx — the geographical number format for the larger cities, a three digit area code, with a seven digit subscriber number where the first three digits identifies an area within the city.
| 0121 | Birmingham | 2 = B |
|---|---|---|
| 0131 | Edinburgh | 3 = E |
| 0141 | Glasgow | 4 = G |
| 0151 | Liverpool | 5 = L |
| 0161 | Manchester | 6 = M |
| 0171 | ''Used for inner London until 2000'' | |
| 0181 | ''Used for outer London until 2000'' | |
| 0191 | Newcastle-upon-Tyne/Gateshead/Sunderland/Durham | |
★ '(011x)' xxx xxxx — the geographical number format for a second tier of large cities, a three digit area code, with a seven-digit subscriber number, e.g:
| 0113 | Leeds | formerly 0532 (53 = LE) |
|---|---|---|
| 0114 | Sheffield | formerly 0742 (74 = SH) |
| 0115 | Nottingham | formerly 0602 (60 = NO) |
| 0116 | Leicester | formerly 0533 (53 = LE) |
| 0117 | Bristol | formerly 0272 (27 = BR) |
| 0118 | Reading | ''Phased in between 1996 and 1998'' |
★ '(02x)' xxxx xxxx — the new geographical number format, a two digit area code with an 8-digit subscriber number. The short area code is known as a ''wide area code''. e.g:
| 020 | London |
|---|---|
| 023 | Southampton and Portsmouth |
| 024 | Coventry |
| 028 | Northern Ireland (e.g. Belfast (028) 90xx xxxx, Omagh (028) 82xx xxxx) |
| 029 | Cardiff |
★ '(01xxx)' xxxxx, '(01xxxx)' xxxxx, '(01xxxx)' xxxx — used for smaller towns where the subscriber number is either four or five digits long; note that the STD code and the subscriber number don't always total eleven digits, e.g:
| (01204) xxxxx | Bolton |
|---|---|
| (015396) xxxxx | Sedbergh |
| (016977) xxxx | Brampton |
New '03' UK-wide code
On 27 July 2006 OFCOM announced that soon companies will be offered to use an '03' geographic number, as well as '0870' numbers. Callers would be charged at the same rate as existing area codes which start with 01 or 02. This means that customers benefiting from 'free' minutes on mobiles or landlines would also be able to call these numbers using their inclusive minutes. '087x', '084x' and '0800' numbers are not usually covered under such call plans.[1] On 13 February 2007 OFCOM released more details on their plans for the 03 range and announced that allocations of 03 numbers to providers would begin in March 2007. Two different ranges of numbers were announced; those beginning 0300/0303 are reserved for qualifying public bodies and non-profit organisations, and those beginning 0330/0333, which are available for allocation to anyone.
Some operators' 033 numbers are now live and are diallable from BT lines[1], but not diallable from mobile phones currently, as of 3 September 2007, since the datafill required has yet to be fully completed across all operators.
National Dialing Only ranges
These ranges have subscriber numbers beginning with the digits '0' or '1', eg:
| 01332 050 xxx | Derby |
|---|---|
| 01382 006 xxx | Dundee |
| 0141 005 xxxx | Glasgow |
| 020 0003 xxxx | London |
In order to avoid confusion with codes beginning with these digits, the area code must always be dialled, even from within the same geographic exchange. Traditionally these have not been used for inbound calls, although these are now being allocated to some Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. This has been problematic as some mobile phone operators in the UK do not allow access to these ranges, and there may also be difficulty accessing these numbers from outside the UK.
=== Non-geographic numbering ===
★ '03x' xxxx xxxx — 'UK-Wide' numbering.
The '03' range is non-geographic but charged at geographic rates from all lines. Unlike 05 numbers, Ofcom General Condition 17[2] requires all operators to charge the same tariff for calling these numbers as they would charge for calling a geographic number beginning 01/02, applying the same discounts and rules for "inclusive minutes".
| '030' xxxx xxxx | UK-Wide numbering (for qualifying public bodies and non-profit organisations as defined by Ofcom) |
|---|---|
| '033' xxxx xxxx | UK-Wide numbering (for any end user) |
| '034' xxxx xxxx | UK-Wide numbering (migration range for operators who have 084 numbers) |
| '037' xxxx xxxx | UK-Wide numbering (migration range for operators who have 087 numbers) |
★ '05x' xxxx xxxx — Reserved for corporate numbering.
| '055' xxxx xxxx | Corporate Numbering (but also used by BT for its Broadband Voice service) |
|---|---|
| '056' xxxx xxxx | Allocated by Ofcom for LIECS (Location Indepdendent Electronic Communications Services), such as VoIP services |
The '0500' range is used for some freephone services which were originally provided by Mercury Communications Ltd (now Cable & Wireless). These numbers are different from the rest of the 05 range in that they are only 10 digits in length, e.g. 0500 123456, as they were allocated before the 05 range was assigned to corporate numbering. Note that unlike 03 numbers there is no uniform pricing for 05 numbers; BT charge a number of different rates depending on the number dialled.[3]. Some are charged at geographic rate, others not, and unlike 03 numbers, other operators are not required to charge the same rates as BT for calling 05 numbers
★ '07xxx' xxxxxx — mobile phones, pagers, personal numbering and WiFi numbers.
Individual mobile phone companies are allocated different ranges within the ""075xx"", '077xx', '078xx' and '079xx' area codes. Changes to mobile numbers were mostly straight replacements, such as Vodafone customers on the '03'78 block became '077'78.
| 070xx xxxxxx | Personal numbering (to be scrapped in 2008 to avoid confusion with mobile number - moving to 06 number range). |
|---|---|
| 075xx xxxxxx | Mobile phones (new number range in use 2007-May onwards) |
| 076xx xxxxxx | Pagers |
| 077xx xxxxxx | Mobile phones (former 03xx and 04xx — mostly Vodafone and O2 (formerly Cellnet) |
| 078xx xxxxxx | Mobile phones (former 05xx, 06xx and 08xx — mostly Vodafone and O2 (formerly Cellnet) |
| 079xx xxxxxx | Mobile phones (former 09xx — mostly Orange and T-Mobile (formerly one2one) |
| 079112 xxxxx 079118 xxxxx | WiFi numbers (Used by companies such as Tovo and Mobiboo) |
Since the advent of Mobile number portability, mobile prefixes can no longer be relied on to determine the current operator of a particular mobile number - only the original operator.
★ '08xx' — Non-geographic fixed-rate, or special-rate services, e.g. Many UK businesses employ this type of number because of extra benefits 08xx numbers can provide, such as fax to email, virtual office applications, revenue, and also because they are totally portable - if your business moves, the 08xx number can move with you.
| '0800' xxx xxxx '0800' xxx xxx '0808' xxx xxxx | "Freephone" (free to call from landline, up to 40p from mobile). | |
|---|---|---|
| 0845 xxx | Up to 5p a minute | |
| 0844 2xx to 0844 9xx | Up to 5p a minute | |
| 0870 xxx | Up to 8p a minute (reducing to geographic rates, and revenue sharing scrapping, from February 2008) | |
| 0871 2xx to 0871 9xx | Up to 10p a minute | |
| 0820 xxx | Internet for Schools. | |
Crown dependencies
★ Guernsey
| 01481 | Fixed line | 48 = GU |
|---|---|---|
| 07781 | Cable & Wireless Mobile phones and pagers | |
| 079111 079117 | Wave Telecom 2G and 3G Mobile phones |
★ Jersey
| 01534 | Fixed line | 53 = JE |
|---|---|---|
| 07797 07937 | Mobile phones and pagers (Jersey Telecom) | |
| 07700 | Cable & Wireless (Sure) Mobile Network |
★ Isle of Man
| 01624 | Fixed line | 62 = MA |
|---|---|---|
| 07624 | Mobile Phones and Paging Services | |
| 07924 | Mobile Phones additional capacity |
On the Isle of Man, both fixed and mobile phone numbers can be dialled locally in the six-digit format.
Although calls from UK landlines to landlines in the islands are charged at the same (long-distance) rate as those to geographic numbers in the UK, calls may be excluded from calling plans offering unlimited UK fixed line calls, and some mobile operators also charge more.
Drama numbers
Ofcom has also reserved certain number ranges for use in television dramas and films, so as to avoid the risk of people having their telephone numbers displayed, and receiving unwanted calls. This is similar to the use of fictitious telephone numbers in the United States and Canada with the digits '555'. In most of the large cities with three-digit area codes a range of numbers is reserved, usually all the numbers starting with the digits '4960'. For fictitious numbers in other areas the area code '01632' is reserved; this code is not in use, although 0632 was used for Newcastle upon Tyne until the late 1980s (63 = NE). There are also reserved ranges for fictitious mobile, free and premium rate numbers.
★ A full list of fictitious numbers
Not all numbers used in TV Dramas come from the OFCOM recommended ranges. For instance the TV Soap ''Coronation Street'' set in the Manchester 0161 code area uses numbers in the unallocated 0161 715 XXXX range.
Special service numbers
Short codes beginning with '1' are reserved for telecom service providers' own functionality; some of the most well-known are codes for use with Caller Display:
| 141 | Number withhold | when normally released |
|---|---|---|
| 1470 | Number release | when normally withheld |
| 1471 | Call Return | caller may press 3 to return call on most networks (But NB there is normally a charge for this service) |
The UK has two free emergency numbers — the traditional '999', which is still widely used, and the EU standard '112', which can be used in all member states of the European Union. Both 999 and 112 are used to contact all emergency services: Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Mountain Rescue, Coastguard and Cave Rescue. The chargeable number '101' (10p per call) is being introduced in stages, with an aim to cover all of England and Wales by 2008, for "non-urgent emergencies". As of November 2006 however, it appears that owing to low take-up in trial areas this proposal is on indefinite hold.
The operator is obtained via '100', while directory enquiries, formerly ''192'', is now provided in the '118xxx' range, e.g. 118 212, 118 800, 118 500, 118 118, by different companies. International Operator assistance is reached through "155".
Fixed line telephone subscribers for BT[4] , Virgin Media[5] and Talk Talk have the opportunity to use an automated messaging service which takes messages when the called number is either engaged ("busy") or not answered within a given time. This can be accessed by calling '1571'.
Since the early 1990s speaking clock services have been available throughout Britain using the number 123 (before this exchanges in 'Director' areas (Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Glasgow) dialled 846 (TIM) and main exchanges in Non-Director areas originally used "952", later changing to "80" with the introduction of STD and eventually to "8081" as other recorded services were introduced on 80X1 codes). Some mobile operators allocate other services to 123 - such as customer services or voicemail etc.
The Post Office even produced dial centre labels for use in advertisements and film/TV with a mythical exchange called VINcent plus four digits. The numerical equivalent of VIN was 846 and all the caller got was the speaking clock in the big city 'Director' areas.
Two special telephone numbers within the regular code space have only eight digits, namely 0800 1111 the national ChildLine helpline, and 0845 4647 for NHS Direct medical advice.
History
The telephone service in the United Kingdom was originally provided by private companies and local councils. But by 1912–13 [2] all except the telephone service of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire and Guernsey had been bought out by the Post Office. The Post Office also operated telephone services in Jersey until 1923 and the Isle of Man until 1969 when the islands took over responsibility for their own postal and telephone services - although the Isle of Man remained part of British Telecom until 1987.
Post Office Telecommunications was reorganised in 1980–81 [3] as ''British Telecommunications'' (''British Telecom'', or ''BT''), and was the first major nationalised industry to be privatised by the Conservative government. The Hull Telephone Department was itself reconstituted as ''Kingston Communications'', in 1987; it was sold by Hull City Council in the late 1990s and celebrated its centenary in 2004.
Director system
Main articles: Director telephone system
In November 1922 the General Post Office decided to adopt the Strowger system from the various systems it had tried and it was to include 'Directors' in the exchanges in London. Demonstration models of the 'director' exchange were shown by manufacturer ATM of Liverpool as part of the Post Office exhibits at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 and 1925. However, it was not until 1927 that the first 'Director' telephone exchange was brought into service in Holborn, London and rolled out progressively across Greater London. A 3 digit code, represented by letters, identified the local exchange. Director schemes were gradually introduced in the other major cities of the UK — Birmingham, Edinburgh (although a relatively small city, it obtained all-figure dialling for political reasons), Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester.
Introduction of area codes
Main articles: List of United Kingdom dialling codes
Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) was introduced in 1958 [4] to allow a caller to call another telephone directly instead of via a manual telephone exchange operator. Uniform exchange codes, usually called STD codes, were allocated for every exchange in the country, progressively as STD was rolled out. This process was not completed until 1979 [5].
The original concept was for STD to be a nationwide Director system, and in common with the Director system, the exchange codes were originally assigned based on two letters of the respective place's name and the corresponding numbers on a telephone dial. For example Aylesbury was given the STD code 0AY6, where the letter A can be found on the number 2 and the letter Y on the number 9. The letter O became a zero, such as for Bournemouth: 0BO2 where BO = 20. Originally, where a place's name began with the letter 'O' the code would begin with two zeros, such as Oxford: 0OX2 where OX = 09. These codes starting with '00' were later reallocated, freeing the prefix 00 for use by calls to the Republic of Ireland, to radiophones and to premium rate numbers.
For the Director areas a 2 or 3 digit code was used for the city. These were:
| Area code | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | London | ''See 01 for London below'' |
| 021 | Birmingham | (2 = B) |
| 031 | Edinburgh | (3 = E) |
| 041 | Glasgow | (4 = G) |
| 051 | Liverpool | (5 = L) |
| 061 | Manchester | (6 = M) |
The codes '071', '081', and '091' were reserved for later expansion, with the former two eventually being allocated to London (see below), and 091 to Tyne and Wear and Durham.
All figure dialling
Main articles: All figure dialling
The use of names was intended to provide a mnemonic for the exchange, but as more and more places were given STD codes the mnemonic link became more and more obscure, and this system became unworkable. The use of alphabetic exchange (area) codes was abandoned in 1966 in favour of all figure numbering. As such about 60% of current area codes are still based on the original alphabetic STD.
Calls to the Republic of Ireland
Until the late 1980s, calls to cities in the Republic of Ireland were made using short codes starting with '000':
Dublin '0001' (Dublin 01 Area)
Cork '0002' (Cork 021 Area)
Dundalk '0004' (Dundalk 042 Area)
Waterford '0005' (Waterford 051 Area)
Limerick '0006' (Limerick 061 Area)
Letterkenny'0007' (Letterkenny 074 Area)
Galway '0009' (Galway 091 Area)
As the network was upgraded, direct dialling became possible to the whole country, but this was not completed in the rural areas until 1988. Until then, some calls from the UK to Ireland were made through the operator and diverted to the "Irish Service".
This was discontinued in the late 1980s, so that all calls to the Republic of Ireland from the UK had to be dialled in the international format using the international access code (since 1995, '00') (actually, 010 for a while) and country code ('353').
Although full international dialling is now used, calls from Northern Ireland landlines to landlines in the Republic are charged at UK national or local rates, and calls from Great Britain to the Republic are charged at a special "Irish Republic" rate, higher than inland rates, but lower than those for elsewhere in Western Europe.
Number shortage
With growth in second phone lines, direct dial-in (DDI) lines, fax machines and multiple telecoms operators during the 1980s the demand for telephone numbers exceeded the available number ranges. A number of changes were made to the UK numbering plan.
01 for London
The first major change was in May 1990, when the London 01 area code was replaced with 071 and 081. Exchanges in central London used the 071 code with the remaining exchanges using the 081 code and formed a ring around the 071 area. Although this effectively doubled the available numbers it was not the last change for the capital.
PhONE Day
On "PhONE Day", 16 April 1995, which was also Easter Sunday in Western Christianity, the digit "1" was inserted into all UK geographic area codes. Promotion of this day included special Easter Eggs. Under the new changes, for example, central London's 071 became 0171. This was with a view to reorganising the numbering plan, so that the first two digits would indicate the type of service called:
| Area code prefix | Service type |
|---|---|
| 00 | International dialling |
| 01 | Geographic area codes |
| 02 | New geographic area codes |
| 03 | Geographic area code expansion |
| 04 | Reserved for future use |
| 05 | Corporate numbering |
| 06 | Reserved for future use |
| 07 | Mobile phones, pagers, personal numbering and WiFi numbers |
| 08 | Freephone and shared cost |
| 09 | Premium rate, similar to US 1 900 number range |
The international access code also changed on 'PhONE Day', from '010' to '00'. Five new area codes were introduced for cities that were running low on phone numbers — and a digit was prepended to each existing local number.
| City | New numbering | Old numbering | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds | 0113 2xx xxxx | 0532 xxx xxx | 53 = LE |
| Sheffield | 0114 2xx xxxx | 0742 xxx xxx | 74 = SH |
| Nottingham | 0115 9xx xxxx | 0602 xxx xxx | 60 = NO |
| Leicester | 0116 2xx xxxx | 0533 xxx xxx | 53 = LE |
| Bristol | 0117 9xx xxxx | 0272 xxx xxx | 27 = BR |
| Reading | 0118 9xx xxxx | 0734 xxx xxx → 01734 xxx xxx | 73 = RE; changed between 1996 and 1998, not on PhONE Day[6]. |
Note that the first digit of the local numbers within these codes is no longer restricted to those shown: for example, while all pre-'PhONE Day' Leeds numbers migrated to 0113 2xx xxxx, this numbering range has since been exhausted, and local numbers of the form 0113 3xx xxxx are now assigned; similarly in Sheffield, the range 0114 2xx xxxx has also been exhausted and new numbers take the form 0114 3xx xxxx. This is also the case for Bristol, the range 0117 9xx xxxx has been exhausted. New numbers issued now take the form of 0117 3xx xxxx. Meanwhile in Nottingham, with the range 0115 9xx xxxx exhausted, new numbers issued take the form 0115 8xx xxxx.
Big Number Change
Main articles: Big Number Change
On 22 April 2000 the second phase of the plan came into operation, dubbed the "Big Number Change". With 02
★ freed up by the previous reorganisation, it could be re-used.
| City | New numbering | Old numbering | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | (020) 7xxx xxxx | 0171-xxx xxxx | Used for existing inner London numbers and new numbers London-wide |
| (020) 8xxx xxxx | 0181-xxx xxxx | Used for existing outer London numbers and new numbers London-wide | |
| (020) 3xxx xxxx | New phase of numbers, released London-wide from June 2005 | ||
| Southampton | (023) 80xx xxxx | (01703) xxxxxx | 70 = SO |
| Portsmouth | (023) 92xx xxxx | (01705) xxxxxx | 70 = PO |
| Coventry | (024) 76xx xxxx | (01203) xxxxxx | 20 = CO |
| Cardiff | (029) 20xx xxxx | (01222) xxxxxx | 22 = CA |
| (029) 21xx xxxx | New phase of numbers from June 2005 | ||
| Belfast and all of Northern Ireland - see below | (028) 90xx xxxx | (01232) xxxxxx | 23 = BE |
| (028) 95xx xxxx | New phase of numbers from 2006 |
Note that although Southampton and Portsmouth are one code from a code structure and local dialling point of view, as of January 2006 calls between them are not local calls and the "codes" 023 80 and 023 92 are treated as separate by the BT site for determining local call area.
It is planned that the new codes will eventually cover a larger area than at present. For example, although 029 presently covers just the Cardiff area, it may in the future cover all of Wales.
The code for Northern Ireland is 028. The transition codes for Northern Ireland are shown below. These can be accessed from the Republic of Ireland using either the domestic code '048', or the international code '+44 28'.
The prefixes for existing numbers in Northern Ireland are split up into 7 groups, roughly based upon the county in which the main exchange is based. The initial digit of each phone number is based on the designated county - for example, the first county alphabetically is County Antrim so numbers in this county start 2. The next county is County Armagh so numbers here start 3. One exception to this is the Greater Belfast area, initial digit 9, which is extended to include each adjacent former STD code area, including towns such as Antrim, Bangor and Saintfield.
| Town/City | Region | New numbering | Old numbering |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'Larne' | 'County Antrim' | (028) 28xx xxxx | (01574) xxxxxx |
| 'Armagh' | 'County Armagh' | (028) 37xx xxxx | (01861) xxxxxx |
| 'Newcastle' | 'County Down' | (028) 437x xxxx | (013967) xxxxx |
| 'Enniskillen' | 'County Fermanagh' | (028) 66xx xxxx | (01365) xxxxxx |
| 'Derry' | 'County Londonderry' | (028) 71xx xxxx | (01504) xxxxxx |
| 'Dungannon' | 'County Tyrone' | (028) 87xx xxxx | (01868) xxxxxx |
| 'Belfast' | 'Greater Belfast' | (028) 90xx xxxx | (01232) xxxxxx |
| 'Lisburn' | 'Greater Belfast' | (028) 92xx xxxx | (01846) xxxxxx |
In addition, mobile and pager numbers were all moved into the '07' range. Pagers moved into '076', while personal numbers moved to '070'. Mobile numbers moved into the '077', '078' and '079' ranges. The exception to this was Manx Telecom mobiles, where the code became '07624' in order to match the '01624' used for landlines. In addition, lo-call and national call numbers migrated to '08xxx' and premium rate numbers to '09xxx'.
020 for London
The number change meant that London returned to a single area code again (as in the old 01 days), with no "inner/outer" split. Existing London numbers acquired the prefixes 7 or 8, but from that point on (020) 7xxx xxxx and (020) 8xxx xxxx numbers were assigned or reused anywhere in the London area covered by the single (city-wide) 020 code.
From June 2005 the regulator, Ofcom, ceased to allocate number blocks to suppliers in the 7xxx xxxx and 8xxx xxxx ranges. From this date onwards all number allocations were in the 3xxx xxxx range and can be used anywhere in the London 020 area. Although new blocks of 7xxx xxxx and 8xxx xxxx range numbers are no longer being allocated to suppliers, those that have not yet exhausted their existing blocks are able to continue to issue and re-issue them to their customers.
Numbers in the 020 0xxx xxxx and 020 1xxx xxxx number ranges have also been made available. However, these numbers cannot be dialled without the 020 code and are called "London National Dialling" numbers.
It is a common misconception that London still has more than one area code (i.e. "0207 & 0208"). This is incorrect in the sense that omitting the "020" area code will give a local number that can be dialled from any other "020" line, so the commonly seen spacing 020x xxx xxxx, does not conform to the normal practice of separating the area code by a space.[6]
This misconception of area code and number separation is also seen in other areas of the country where an area code reduction was seen due to the Big Number Change, such as Reading numbers still being written 01189 xxxxxx, whereas the correct number sequence is (0118) 9xx xxxx, Coventry being written as 02476 xxxxxx, whereas the correct number sequence is (024) 76xx xxxx, Cardiff 029 being written as 02920 xxxxxx whereas the correct number sequence is (029) 20xx xxxx.
This also occurs in some areas of Northern Ireland, that previously had 5-digit and 6-digit local numbers like in Banbridge (previously (018206) xxxxx), where numbers are still written as 028406 xxxxx instead of 028 406x xxxx. Locals still misquote the area code as 028406, seven years after the change. The same occurs in formerly six-digit code areas, such as Lisburn (previous (01846) xxxxxx) continues to frequently appear as 02892 xxxxxx.
New '06' Code
Creating numbers beginning 06, to replace 070 numbers - sometimes confused with mobiles - is also being considered.
At the moment, companies such as Patientline use 070 numbers. There is no cap on caller charges.
Ofcom wants 070 and 06 numbers to have a price cap, and 07 numbers to be used exclusively for mobile phones.
Under plans, rates charged to people calling 08 phone lines would be made clearer by linking the cost of the call to the third digit. Numbers starting 080 would be free, while 082 would be cheaper than 089.
References
1. Andrews & Arnold Web Site: http://www.aaisp.net.uk/aa/voip/03.html (3 September 2007)
2. Ofcom General Conditions: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/ioi/g_a_regime/gce/cvogc150807.pdf
3. BT Price List: http://www.serviceview.bt.com/list/public/current/Call_Charges_boo/0025_d0e5.htm#0025-d0e5
4. BT to offer free voicemail from Monday
5. Other telephone features
6.
See also
★ List of United Kingdom dialling codes
★ Telecommunications in the United Kingdom
★ Telephone numbering plan
★ Irish telephone numbering plan
★ 0207 and 0208
★ Telephone number
★ Number portability
External links
★ UK Numbering Policy section of Ofcom's website
★ UK National Telephone Numbering Plan (in PDF format)
★ UK Future Numbering Plan from Ofcom's website
★ UK phone information
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