UK telephone numbering plan
Encyclopedia
The UK telephone numbering plan
, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning telephone numbers in the United Kingdom
and the Crown Dependencies. It is regulated by the UK government's Office of Communications (Ofcom
), which holds responsibility for telecommunications.
. All mobile telephone numbers have 10 national (significant) numbers after the "0" trunk code. The overall structure of the UK's National Numbering Plan is:
A short sample of geographic numbers, set out in the officially approved (Ofcom
) number groups:
In the United Kingdom
, area codes are two, three, four, or, rarely, five digits long (after the initial zero). Regions with shorter area codes, typically large cities, permit the allocation of more telephone numbers as the local number portion has more digits. Local customer numbers are four to eight figures long. The total number of digits is ten, but in a very few areas the total may be nine digits (after the initial zero). The "area code" is also referred to as an "STD (code)" (subscriber trunk dialling
) or a "dialling code" in the UK.
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.
For dialling the United Kingdom from overseas, Ofcom and ITU-T recommendation E.123
states that numbers be written in the form:
It is common to see the form +44 (0)xxx xxx xxxx used instead (with an additional zero in brackets). This form is not recommended by Ofcom because it might confuse the reader. Callers within the United Kingdom
substitute the +44 with the number zero (0). Calling +44 0xxx xxx xxxx will not work from most operators. It is therefore recommended to show the number in either the national or the international format, but not a mixture of both formats. The international format shows only those digits that overseas callers must dial.
Storing any UK telephone number in a mobile phone, or directly dialling it from the keypad, in the correct +44 international format (without the leading zero) allows the number to work when the mobile is calling out from any country of the world, including whilst still located within the UK. The "plus" sets the number type to international and so no International Access Code is required.
This is the format used by most areas. It has a four-digit area code (after the initial zero) and a six digit subscriber number. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. Just short of 581 areas use this format, and the area codes range from 01200 to 01998 (except those that match the pattern 1x1 after the initial zero). A small number of these areas also have a few subscriber numbers that have only five digits. That is, almost all (01xxx) area codes now have only six digit local numbers. e.g.
This is used for forty smaller towns where the subscriber number is five digits long. The numbers therefore have only nine digits after the initial zero trunk code. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. Some of these towns have a mixture of six and five digit local numbers, others have only five digit local numbers. The number of such places has declined rapidly in recent decades. There were 511 ranges allocated across 56 different area codes in January 1998. The Big Number Change
removed many, especially in Northern Ireland, and by July 2005 there were only 329 ranges in 42 codes. By April 2010 this had reduced to 324 ranges in 40 codes. e.g.
This is the geographical number format for the first round of five large cities moved to all figure dialling
in the 1960s, and subsequently also used in the former metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, eastern County Durham and south-eastern Northumberland from the 1980s onwards. These six areas have a three-digit area code matching the pattern 1x1 (after the initial zero) and a seven digit subscriber number. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. The first three digits of the local number identifies a small area within the city.
This is the geographical number format for the second round of large cities and towns moved to brand-new three-digit area codes. Five of these were moved in 1995 as a part of PhONEday. Reading followed a year later. At the time of the change, an extra digit was added to the subscriber number. These six areas have a three-digit area code matching the pattern 11x, with a seven-digit subscriber number. The first three digits of the local number identifies a small area within the town or city. Note that the former Reading area code had already been changed once, by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995.
This is the newest geographical number format. It is used for the third tier of large cities and for Northern Ireland, and was formed as a part of the Big Number Change
in 2000. The new area code is much shorter than the old one, and begins 02 unlike the previous 01 area codes. Numbers in these five areas are commonly misquoted, e.g. London as 0207 or Cardiff as 02920. The numbers consist of a two-digit area code matching the pattern 02x, and an eight-digit subscriber number. The first four digits of the local number identifies a small area within the town or city. At the time of the change, the subscriber part of the number gained an extra digit in London, those in Northern Ireland gained two or three digits, and the subscriber part of the number in the other areas gained two digits. All of these areas were also subject to a previous code change, one that added a "1" directly after the initial zero, as a part of PhONEday in 1995. The short area code is also known as a wide area code.
This is the oldest geographical number format and is used for twelve smaller towns and villages where the subscriber number is either four or five digits long. Note that therefore the STD code and the subscriber number does not always total ten digits after the initial zero trunk code. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. The number of places using these two formats has declined rapidly in recent decades and Hallbankgate/Brampton is the last place in the UK with four-digit local numbers.
Currently, these numbers are mostly used as the termination points for non-geographic numbers, and by some automated systems such as alarms. As such they are not usually meant to be directly dialled. These numbers have 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.
Regulator Ofcom proposes that in future these numbers be released for wider, general-purpose use in up to 70 area codes facing number shortage.
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. Accordingly, if these numbers are eventually released for general use, Ofcom proposes completely removing the ability to dial locally without the area code in areas affected.
On 27 July 2006, Ofcom
announced that companies will soon be able to use an "03" non-geographic number, in place of other non-geographic numbers (such as 0870 or 0845 numbers). Callers would be charged at the same rate as if they were calling a geographic number (01 or 02). This means that customers who are benefiting from "free" minutes on mobile phones or landlines would also be able to call these numbers using their inclusive minutes. 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. Whilst 01, 02 and 07 numbers can receive text messages, currently the majority of cellular network providers do not support the sending of text messages to 03 numbers. Three different ranges of numbers were announced; those beginning 0300/0303 are reserved for qualifying public bodies and non-profit organisations, those beginning 0330/0333, which are available for allocation to anyone, and those beginning 034x/037x which will be used for migration from the 084x and 087x number ranges respectively. Ofcom itself began using 03 numbers on 13 November 2007 for public use.
Unlike 03 numbers there is no uniform pricing for 05 numbers; BT charge a number of different rates depending on the number dialled. 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.
The 0500 range is used for some freephone services which were originally provided by Mercury Communications
Ltd (now Cable & Wireless Worldwide). These numbers are different from the rest of the 05 range in that they are only 10 digits in length, e.g. 0500 2 88 2 91 (BBC Radio 2, 88 to 91 FM), as they were allocated before the 05 range was assigned to corporate numbering.
Individual mobile phone companies are allocated different ranges within the 074xx, 075xx, 07624, 077xx, 078xx and 079xx area codes. Changes to mobile phone numbers were mostly straight replacements, such as Vodafone
customers on the 0378 block became 07778.
Since the advent of Mobile number portability
, mobile phone number prefixes can no longer be relied on to determine the current operator of a particular mobile phone – only the original operator.
With the exception of 080x freephone numbers, these are charged above geographic rates, with the extra going to the terminating telco. This additional revenue may be shared with the subscriber, but is often used instead to subsidise additional network services, such as fax
to email
, virtual office
applications, call queuing, voicemail and easy number redirection. There is widespread confusion about the cost of calling 084/087 numbers, with many major companies persisting in misdescribing them as "Local Rate", "Lo Call" or "National Rate". They often do not qualify for discounts and bundled minutes, and can be prohibitively expensive when called from mobiles and payphones. None of these services are exclusive to 08xx numbers, and could be provided on any number range. More affordable equivalent numbers can often be found via www.saynoto0870.com.
There are also several very short "special" numbers in these ranges, notably 0800 1111 for Childline and 0845 46 47 for NHS Direct.
Numbers in the 09xx range are charged at the highest rates of any calls within the United Kingdom, and are controlled by various regulations regarding their use. The regulator is PhonepayPlus, formerly known as ICSTIS. There are a large number of charge bands, some with high pence-per-minute rates, others with a high fixed-price for the entire call.
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 rate as those to other UK landlines (i.e. they are not treated as international calls), calls may be excluded from calling plans offering unlimited UK fixed line calls, and some mobile operators may also charge more. Calls and SMS messages sent to island mobile phone numbers are not charged at the same rate as calls to UK mobile phone numbers.
s in the United States
and Canada
with the digits 555
. All possible fictional numbers for the UK are documented in the International Directory of Fictitious Telephone Numbers: 2011 by Martin John Callanan
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 496. 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, freephone, and premium rate numbers.
At around the same time as the other Big Number Change
changes, Ofcom revised their recommendations to update the prefixes, add additional areas, and increase the size of the allocation from 10 to 1000 numbers per block. Those changes are listed in the Big Number Change article.
In Coronation Street
, the fictional Manchester suburb of Weatherfield uses the unallocated range (0161) 715 xxxx.
:
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.
Both numbers can be called from mobile phones with the keylock on, or without entering the PIN where that would otherwise be required. Although some mobile phones allow emergency calls to be attempted without a SIM card, at present the UK networks reject such calls. Since November 2009, an emergency call can be made through any UK mobile network as long as there is a SIM for *any* valid UK network in the handset. More information about the 112 emergency number can be found at the 112 : The European emergency number web site.
The chargeable number 101 (10p per call) was introduced for non-urgent crime and community safety calls on a trial basis in 2006. In Wales, the scheme has been taken forward by all four police forces, who adopted the number for non-emergency calls on a permanent basis in early 2009. In England the scheme remains on trial, withdrawn from some original pilot areas but since further trialled in other locations.
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".
From early 2010, the pan-European 116 number range comes into use for social helplines. The first three numbers likely to be issued are for Missing People who will use 116 000 for a missing children helpline, the NSPCC ChildLine
on 116 111, and Samaritans
who will use 116 123 for an emotional support helpline.
Fixed line telephone subscribers for BT,Virgin Media
and TalkTalk 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 mid 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 Manchester) dialled 846 (TIM) (later changing to 123) 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 telephone helplines within the regular code space have only eight digits, namely 0800 1111 for ChildLine
and 0845 4647 for NHS Direct
in England and Wales.
was originally provided by private companies and local councils. But by 1912–13 all except the telephone service of Kingston upon Hull
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 system remained part of British Telecom until 1987.
Post Office Telecommunications
was reorganised in 1980–81 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.
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 seven-figure dialling for political reasons), Glasgow
, Liverpool
and Manchester
.
(STD) was introduced in 1958 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.
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.
Within a single code group area there would usually be multiple exchange buildings in various locations. The smaller exchanges might have only a few hundred lines with three-digit subscriber numbers, e.g. 200–499. Larger exchanges might have a few thousand lines with four-digit subscriber numbers, e.g. 2000–5999. The main exchange in the group would usually have five-digit subscriber numbers e.g. 20000–49999.
Population growth over the next few decades meant there was a need for more lines. This would see an exchange with existing three-digit numbers open one or more new ranges with four-digit local numbers (e.g. 5000-6999), and exchanges with existing four-digit numbers open one or more new ranges with five-digit local numbers (e.g. 60000–69999).
Since number ranges were being reused in each local exchange within a group, a series of short codes was devised to allow dialling from one local exchange to another without the need to dial the full STD code. These short codes usually began with a 7, 8 or 9. The code was often only two or three digits, but might be up to five digits long.
The last digit of this short code would usually also feature as extra digits on the end of the main STD code in order to differentiate each satellite exchange within a group when dialling from another STD code area. In written form these area codes were split after the third digit to highlight this satellite exchange numbering.
e.g. for 0799, Saffron Walden (SW)
As time wore on and number shortages became more acute, local numbers were gradually converted to five-figure or six-figure numbers, and the STD code changed to the (0xxx) format. In many cases the initial digits of the new local number would be formed from digits previously at the end of the old STD code. The local number would be padded with extra fixed digits (if needed) to make up the new total length. In some cases the initial digits were changed e.g. Radwinter (079 987) 456 became Saffron Walden (0799) 500456, nowadays (01799) 500456.
Post 2000, only a dozen places have long STD codes with five-digit local numbers. One area with a long STD code retains four-digit local numbering. Long STD codes are rare. Many people are not familiar with the (0xx xx), nowadays (01xx xx) format; or the now discontinued (0xx xxx) format, and often omit the space in written form.
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 temporarily allocated to London (see below).
An earlier modification to get round this problem for European dialling was the addition of the letter Q to the digit 0, which previously represented only the letter O. This was because some French exchanges had alphabetic codes including Q, but in the event France moved to all-digit codes before direct dialling from the UK was introduced.
The use of alphabetic exchange (area) codes was abandoned in the UK in 1966 in favour of all figure numbering. As such about 60% of current area codes are still based on the original alphabetic STD.
Around 1982, the 091 code was also brought into use:
could also be made using short codes starting with 000:
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 normal international format using the international access code (initially 010 until 1995, and then 00) and country code (353).
Calls could also be made using the full international dialling code since the introduction of International Direct Dialling.
While most of the Republic of Ireland could be direct dialled, a small number of rural areas did not have an automated telephone service until the 1980s. As a result, calls from the UK to these areas had to be made through the BT operator who connected the calls to their Irish counterpart for completion. Unlike other international calls, these were handled by the BT national operator, in the same way as UK operator calls. This service was withdrawn at noon on 28 May 1987 when the last manual exchange in Ireland, at Mountshannon
, County Clare
, was switched over to an Alcatel
E10 digital exchange. This completed Telecom Eireann
's rural digitalisation project.
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 "Republic of Ireland" rate, higher than inland rates, but lower than those for elsewhere in Western Europe
. Additionally, calls to Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland can be made without an international access code, but instead replacing the British 028 prefix not with the conventional international prefix 00 44 28 but with a shorter Irish 048 area code which specifically covers Northern Ireland. For example, calling Belfast from London would be 028 90xx xxxx while calling Belfast from Dublin would be 048 90xx xxxx.
This change freed up the entire 01 code range for the next step of the plan: converting all geographic area codes to 01. That operation would then free up the whole of the 02 to 09 range for a future re-organisation of some geographic and all mobile and non-geographic numbers. Most areas would see two code changes over the next decade, whilst London would have a total of three. It would be a decade before this inner/outer London split was eventually nullified.
Consumers were already becoming confused as to what they would be charged for any particular call, with for example (0404) xxxxx being a call to Honiton in Devon and (0403) xxxxxx being a much more expensive call to a mobile phone. The situation in the early 1990s was as follows:
The next few changes would fix these problems.
On "PhONEday", 16 April 1995, the digit "1" was inserted into all UK geographic area codes. Promotion of this day included special Easter egg
s. Under the new changes, for example, Inner London's 071 became 0171; Outer London's 081 became 0181. A small selection of the codes that changed are shown in the table below:
This was done with a view to reorganising the numbering plan at a later date, so that the first two digits would indicate the type of service called:
The international access code also changed on "PhONEday", 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.
Most of the initial local number ranges created by PhONEday were exhausted within just a few years. New local numbers then began to be allocated with a different initial digit. For example, in Sheffield (0114) when the 2xx xxxx numbers were exhausted, new numbers (other than old recycled ones) then began to be issued from the 3xx xxxx range. Similarly, newly allocated numbers in Leeds (0113), Leicester (0116) and Bristol (0117) also came from the 3xx xxxx range, but in Nottingham (0115), the new numbers instead came from the 8xx xxxx range.
Less than a decade later, further new ranges were opened in most of these areas, but this time new Reading and Leicester numbers are in the 4xx xxxx range, new Bristol numbers are in the 2xx xxxx range, new Nottingham numbers are in the 7xx xxxx range and new Leeds numbers are in the 4xx xxxx and 8xx xxxx ranges.
Reading numbers endured two changes in a very short time. PhONEday, on 16 April 1995, changed the area code from 0734 to 01734, and then almost a year later, on 8 April 1996, it changed again to (0118). At that time, local numbers were changed from six to seven digits by inserting a 9 in front of the old local number. Parallel running of the old numbering was withdrawn on 9 January 1998.
Around this time, some new number ranges were already being allocated and used for mobile phone numbers. These new ranges already fitted into the new numbering scheme of 07xxx xxxxxx. The rest of the older mobile phone numbers, those already in use for many years (and at that time, both one-digit shorter, and having codes scattered throughout the 03 to 09 range) would be brought into this 07x numbering scheme a few years later, both by changing the code to the 07x range, and by adding an additional digit.
On 22 April 2000 the second phase of the plan came into operation, dubbed the "Big Number Change". With 02x area codes freed up by the previous reorganisation, they could be re-used. These areas had already had a code change (to insert a "1") five years earlier as a part of PhONEday. The Big Number Change altered the area codes again, as well as making the local number two digits longer (London: one digit longer).
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) 8xxx and (023) 9xxx 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) currently 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 prefix 00 44 28.
The prefixes for existing numbers in Northern Ireland are split up into seven 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 with 2. The next county is County Armagh
so numbers here start with 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 the towns of Bangor, (County Down) (91), Lisburn
(92), Carrickfergus
(93), Antrim
(94) and Saintfield
(97).
The encompassed former STD codes at some points extend to over 20 miles from Belfast itself. There is a much more complete list in the Big Number Change
article.
In addition, mobile and pager numbers were all moved into the 07xxx range. Pagers moved into 076xx, while personal numbers moved to 070. Mobile phone numbers moved into the 077xx, 078xx and 079xx ranges (and more recently, 075xx and 074xx have also been brought into use).
The exception to this was Manx Telecom
mobile phone numbers, where the code became 07624 in order to match the 01624 used for landlines.
In addition, lower and higher rate non-geographic numbers (previously called lo-call or local-rate and national-rate numbers, though these terms are no longer recommended to be used as they can be misleading http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2006/1/Windsor-Telecom-plc/CS_40724.aspx
http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2007/12/Datel-Group-plc/TF_ADJ_43684.aspx) migrated to 08xx and premium rate numbers migrated to 09xx.
A summary of the migration path for the existing mobile and pager codes, as they were at the time, is shown below:
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 new 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 "national dialling only" numbers. A small number of these blocks are used by numbers migrated from old 0171-0xx xxxx, 0171-1xx xxxx, 0181-0xx xxxx, and 0181-1xx xxxx "national dialling only" numbers. They are mainly used as termination points for non-geographic numbers, and for various alarm and other automated systems where the actual telephone number itself is never called.
It is a common misconception that London still has more than one area code (i.e. "0207" and "0208"). This is incorrect in the sense that omitting the "0207" or "0208" (area) code will give a local number that cannot be connected as it is missing the first digit. Therefore, writing a London number as 020x xxx xxxx is incorrect and can lead to confusion when attempting to dial it.
The misconception of area code and number separation is also seen in other areas of the country where the area code length was reduced in the Big Number Change
such as Coventry being written as 02476 xxxxxx, whereas the correct number sequence is (024) 76xx xxxx (Coventry now has some (024) 77xx xxxx numbers) and Cardiff being written as 02920 xxxxxx whereas the correct number sequence is (029) 20xx xxxx (Cardiff now has some (029) 21xx xxxx numbers).
Likewise in Portsmouth, numbers are being incorrectly written as 02392 xxxxxx, whereas the correct number sequence is (023) 92xx xxxx (Portsmouth now has some (023) 93xx xxxx numbers).
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 erroneously 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 instead of the correct form (028) 92xx xxxx.
This is also seen in the earlier PhONEday areas, such as in Sheffield, for (0114) 2xx xxxx numbers, where these are often seen written as 01142 xxxxxx or are missing the leading digit 2 when abbreviated (751234 instead of 275 1234 for example). This is a particular problem now that (0114) 3xx xxxx local numbers are being issued.
It also affects Reading numbers where these are still being written as 01189 xxxxxx, whereas the correct number sequence is (0118) 9xx xxxx. Now that Reading has some (0118) 3xx xxxx and (0118) 4xx xxxx numbers mis-dialling also occurs when people prefix 3xx xxxx and 4xx xxxx numbers with 01189 instead of just 0118.
In all of these areas, the result of the confusion is that callers are adding an incorrect area code to numbers allocated within the new local number ranges, and that then results in a mis-dialled call.
Ofcom's data is contained in two files: the NTNP PDF file (updated several times per year) and the SABC CSV file for electronic download (published weekly). Although the data in these files should be identical, there have been and still are very many differences between them.
In one background document from 2004, Ofcom states that In order to conform to the National Telephone Numbering Plan (NTNP), the names of the following Geographic Area Codes have changed - 1248, 1268, 1275, 1276, 1291, 1293, 1306, 1322, 1327, 1334, 1344, 1354, 1356, 1375, 1384, 1394, 1425, 1438, 1442, 1451, 1454, 1461, 1470, 1471, 1477, 1478, 1485, 1488, 1489, 1491, 1543, 1561, 1562, 1582, 1588, 1598, 1661, 1668, 1675, 1680, 1681, 1684, 1688, 1689, 1695, 1707, 1720, 1727, 1737, 1744, 1753, 1770, 1784, 1806, 1821, 1856, 1870, 1877, 1883, 1885, 1889, 1895, 1908, 1920, 1922, 1926, 1928, 1932, 1952, 1953, 1963, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1992.
However, several of the above area codes did not see any name change. It had been proposed to change some names but in the end either the original BT name continued to be used or a completely new name suggested by either BT or C&W, or by both, was adopted. The Ofcom proposal also contained a large number of spelling mistakes in the proposed area code names. Some of those errors were rectified within weeks or months, while others have still not been fixed eight years later. Additionally, several other areas changed their name after suggestions by BT and/or C&W, although Ofcom originally had no plans to change them. There are also several areas which changed name but are not listed above. Additionally some names were changed in one Ofcom document but were not updated in the other Ofcom document until several years later. Some have still not been updated or corrected.
The proposed and actual changes, along with the list of implementation errors, are detailed below.
. Adjacent area codes no longer had enough projected spare capacity for the new development to use, so 01987 was allocated.
should migrate to 06, to replace the 070 prefix that is sometimes confused with mobile phone numbers. There is no cap on retail caller charges. Ofcom wanted 070 and 06 numbers to have a price cap, and 07 numbers to be used exclusively for mobile phones. Companies such as Hospedia (formerly Patientline) use 070 personal numbers. After an in-depth study to better understand the market, Ofcom has changed its mind and is now proposing to drop the 060 migration concept and decided that the forced migration to 060 is no longer seen to be objectively justifiable.
In November 2010, Ofcom proposed to abandon renumbering and instead provide capacity by a combination of:
Telephone numbering plan
A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunications to allocate telephone numbers to subscribers and to route telephone calls in a telephone network. A closed numbering plan, such as found in North America, imposes a fixed total length to numbers...
, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning telephone numbers in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Crown Dependencies. It is regulated by the UK government's Office of Communications (Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
), which holds responsibility for telecommunications.
Overview
Since 28 April 2001, almost all geographic numbers and most non-geographic numbers have 9 or 10 national (significant) numbers after the "0" trunk codeTrunk prefix
A trunk prefix is the number to be dialed in a domestic telephone call, preceding any necessary area codes and subscriber numbers. When the number is called from overseas, the trunk prefix is omitted by the caller. In most countries, such as Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom, the trunk...
. All mobile telephone numbers have 10 national (significant) numbers after the "0" trunk code. The overall structure of the UK's National Numbering Plan is:
| Prefix | Service type |
|---|---|
| 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). These calls are included free in plans with "inclusive minutes", unlike 08 numbers, some of which can incur extra charges, depending on the operator. |
| 04 | Reserved. |
| 05 | Corporate numbering and VoIP services (note: some VoIP services use 08 or geographic numbers). Freephone (toll free) on 0500. |
| 06 | Was reserved for possible use by Personal Numbering Personal Numbering Personal numbering is the name for virtual telephone number services in a number of countries including the UK and Spain. Typically the national destination code used for this service is 70 service. This service has historically been poorly defined by Oftel and also Ofcom... instead of 070 following consumer confusion with mobile phones. |
| 07 | Mostly for mobile (cell) phones on 074xx, 075xx, 07624, 077xx, 078xx, and 079xx. WiFi numbers on 079112 and 079118. Personal Numbering Personal Numbering Personal numbering is the name for virtual telephone number services in a number of countries including the UK and Spain. Typically the national destination code used for this service is 70 service. This service has historically been poorly defined by Oftel and also Ofcom... on 070. Pagers on 076xx. |
| 08 | Freephone (toll free) on 080, and Special Services (formerly known as local and national rate) on 084 and 087. |
| 09 | Premium Rate services. |
A short sample of geographic numbers, set out in the officially approved (Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
) number groups:
| Number | Location |
|---|---|
| (020) xxxx xxxx | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
| (029) xxxx xxxx | Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
| (0113) xxx xxxx | Leeds Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial... |
| (0116) xxx xxxx | Leicester Leicester Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest... |
| (0131) xxx xxxx | Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
| (0151) xxx xxxx | Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... |
| (01382) xxxxxx | Dundee |
| (01386) xxxxxx | Evesham Evesham Evesham is a market town and a civil parish in the Local Authority District of Wychavon in the county of Worcestershire, England with a population of 22,000. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon... |
| (01865) xxxxxx | Oxford Oxford The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through... |
| (01792) xxxxxx | Swansea Swansea Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands... |
| (01204) xxxxx | Bolton Bolton Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the... |
| (015396) xxxxx | Sedbergh Sedbergh Sedbergh is a small town in Cumbria, England. It lies about east of Kendal and about north of Kirkby Lonsdale. The town sits just within the Yorkshire Dales National Park... |
| (016977) xxxx | Brampton |
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, area codes are two, three, four, or, rarely, five digits long (after the initial zero). Regions with shorter area codes, typically large cities, permit the allocation of more telephone numbers as the local number portion has more digits. Local customer numbers are four to eight figures long. The total number of digits is ten, but in a very few areas the total may be nine digits (after the initial zero). The "area code" is also referred to as an "STD (code)" (subscriber trunk dialling
Subscriber trunk dialling
Subscriber trunk dialling is a term for a telephone system allowing subscribers to dial trunk calls without operator assistance.- Terminology :...
) or a "dialling code" in the UK.
The code allocated to the largest population is (020) for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The code allocated to the largest area is (028) for all of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The UK Numbering Plan also applies to three British Crown dependencies—Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
—even though they are not part of the UK itself.
For dialling the United Kingdom from overseas, Ofcom and ITU-T recommendation E.123
E.123
E.123, also known as Notation for national and international telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and Web addresses is an ITU-T standard for printed representation of telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and web addresses.-Example formats:...
states that numbers be written in the form:
| Number | Location |
|---|---|
| +44 20 xxxx xxxx | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
| +44 29 xxxx xxxx | Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
| +44 113 xxx xxxx | Leeds Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial... |
| +44 116 xxx xxxx | Leicester Leicester Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest... |
| +44 131 xxx xxxx | Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
| +44 151 xxx xxxx | Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... |
| +44 1382 xxxxxx | Dundee |
| +44 1386 xxxxxx | Evesham Evesham Evesham is a market town and a civil parish in the Local Authority District of Wychavon in the county of Worcestershire, England with a population of 22,000. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon... |
| +44 1865 xxxxxx | Oxford Oxford The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through... |
| +44 1792 xxxxxx | Swansea Swansea Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands... |
| +44 1204 xxxxx | Bolton Bolton Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the... |
| +44 15396 xxxxx | Sedbergh Sedbergh Sedbergh is a small town in Cumbria, England. It lies about east of Kendal and about north of Kirkby Lonsdale. The town sits just within the Yorkshire Dales National Park... |
| +44 16977 xxxx | Brampton |
It is common to see the form +44 (0)xxx xxx xxxx used instead (with an additional zero in brackets). This form is not recommended by Ofcom because it might confuse the reader. Callers within the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
substitute the +44 with the number zero (0). Calling +44 0xxx xxx xxxx will not work from most operators. It is therefore recommended to show the number in either the national or the international format, but not a mixture of both formats. The international format shows only those digits that overseas callers must dial.
Storing any UK telephone number in a mobile phone, or directly dialling it from the keypad, in the correct +44
Geographic numbering
- (01xxx) xxxxxx
This is the format used by most areas. It has a four-digit area code (after the initial zero) and a six digit subscriber number. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. Just short of 581 areas use this format, and the area codes range from 01200 to 01998 (except those that match the pattern 1x1 after the initial zero). A small number of these areas also have a few subscriber numbers that have only five digits. That is, almost all (01xxx) area codes now have only six digit local numbers. e.g.
| 01224 | Aberdeen Aberdeen Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of .... |
22 = AB |
|---|---|---|
| 01244 | Chester Chester Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the... |
24 = CH |
| 01382 | Dundee Dundee Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea... |
38 = DU |
| 01429 | Hartlepool Hartlepool Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from... |
42 = HA |
| 01482 | Hull Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of... |
48 = HU |
| 01582 | Luton Luton Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000.... |
58 = LU |
| 01670 | Morpeth Morpeth, Northumberland Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population... |
67 = MP |
| 01730 | Petersfield Petersfield Petersfield can refer to any of the following places:*Petersfield, Hampshire, a market town in England*Petersfield, Jamaica, a small town in the parish of Westmoreland*Petersfield, Manitoba, in Canada*Petersfield, an area of Cambridge, England... |
73 = PE |
| 01736 | Penzance Penzance Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London... |
73 = PE |
| 01772 | Preston | 77 = PR |
| 01853 | Ullapool Ullapool Ullapool is a small town of around 1,300 inhabitants in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest settlement for many miles around, and is a major tourist destination of Scotland. The North Atlantic Drift passes by Ullapool, bringing moderate temperatures... |
85 = UL |
| 01947 | Whitby Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the... |
94 = WH |
- (01xxx) xxxxx
This is used for forty smaller towns where the subscriber number is five digits long. The numbers therefore have only nine digits after the initial zero trunk code. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. Some of these towns have a mixture of six and five digit local numbers, others have only five digit local numbers. The number of such places has declined rapidly in recent decades. There were 511 ranges allocated across 56 different area codes in January 1998. The Big Number Change
Big Number Change
The Big Number Change was an update of telephone dialling codes in the UK in response to the rapid late-1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of numbers. The change greatly expanded the pool of available numbers while helping to retain 'local dialling'...
removed many, especially in Northern Ireland, and by July 2005 there were only 329 ranges in 42 codes. By April 2010 this had reduced to 324 ranges in 40 codes. e.g.
| 01204 | Bolton Bolton Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the... |
20 = BO |
|---|---|---|
| 01527 | Redditch Redditch Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry... |
|
| 01750 | Selkirk | 75 = SK |
| 01900 | Workington Workington Workington is a town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Lying within the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport... |
90 = WO |
| 01946 | Whitehaven Whitehaven Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road... |
94 = WH |
- (01x1) xxx xxxx
This is the geographical number format for the first round of five large cities moved to all figure dialling
All figure dialling
All-figure dialling refers to the change in the UK telephone numbering plan in 1966when the three-digit numbers for local telephone exchanges in director areas began to be assigned without reference to any correspondence to the letters on the telephone dial...
in the 1960s, and subsequently also used in the former metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, eastern County Durham and south-eastern Northumberland from the 1980s onwards. These six areas have a three-digit area code matching the pattern 1x1 (after the initial zero) and a seven digit subscriber number. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. The first three digits of the local number identifies a small area within the city.
| 0121 | Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... |
formerly 021 (2 = B) |
|---|---|---|
| 0131 | Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
formerly 031 (3 = E) |
| 0141 | Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... |
formerly 041 (4 = G) |
| 0151 | Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... |
formerly 051 (5 = L) |
| 0161 | Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... |
formerly 061 (6 = M) |
| 0171 | Used for inner London Inner London Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. The area was first officially defined in 1965 and for purposes such as statistics, the definition has changed over time. The terms Inner London and Central... until 2000 |
|
| 0181 | Used for outer London Outer London Outer London is the name for the group of London Boroughs that form a ring around Inner London.These were areas that were not part of the County of London and became formally part of Greater London in 1965... until 2000 |
|
| 0191 | Former county of Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972... , eastern County Durham County Durham County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington... , south-eastern Northumberland Northumberland Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region... |
formerly 091 |
- (011x) xxx xxxx
This is the geographical number format for the second round of large cities and towns moved to brand-new three-digit area codes. Five of these were moved in 1995 as a part of PhONEday. Reading followed a year later. At the time of the change, an extra digit was added to the subscriber number. These six areas have a three-digit area code matching the pattern 11x, with a seven-digit subscriber number. The first three digits of the local number identifies a small area within the town or city. Note that the former Reading area code had already been changed once, by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995.
| 0113 | Leeds Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial... |
formerly 0532 (53 = LE) |
|---|---|---|
| 0114 | Sheffield Sheffield Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely... |
formerly 0742 (74 = SH) |
| 0115 | Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
formerly 0602 (60 = NO) |
| 0116 | Leicester Leicester Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest... |
formerly 0533 (53 = LE) |
| 0117 | Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007... |
formerly 0272 (27 = BR) |
| 0118 | Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London.... |
formerly 01734 (73 = RE) |
- (02x) xxxx xxxx
This is the newest geographical number format. It is used for the third tier of large cities and for Northern Ireland, and was formed as a part of the Big Number Change
Big Number Change
The Big Number Change was an update of telephone dialling codes in the UK in response to the rapid late-1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of numbers. The change greatly expanded the pool of available numbers while helping to retain 'local dialling'...
in 2000. The new area code is much shorter than the old one, and begins 02 unlike the previous 01 area codes. Numbers in these five areas are commonly misquoted, e.g. London as 0207 or Cardiff as 02920. The numbers consist of a two-digit area code matching the pattern 02x, and an eight-digit subscriber number. The first four digits of the local number identifies a small area within the town or city. At the time of the change, the subscriber part of the number gained an extra digit in London, those in Northern Ireland gained two or three digits, and the subscriber part of the number in the other areas gained two digits. All of these areas were also subject to a previous code change, one that added a "1" directly after the initial zero, as a part of PhONEday in 1995. The short area code is also known as a wide area code.
| 020 | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
formerly 0171 and 0181 (1995–2000), 071 and 081 (1990–1995), 01 (1960s-1990) |
|---|---|---|
| 023 | Southampton Southampton Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest... |
(023) 8xxx xxxx formerly 01703 (70 = SO) |
| Portsmouth Portsmouth Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island... |
(023) 9xxx xxxx formerly 01705 (70 = PO) | |
| 024 | Coventry Coventry Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although... |
formerly 01203 (20 = CO) |
| 028 | Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... |
(028) 25xx xxxx Ballymena Ballymena Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census.... formerly (01266) xxxxxx |
| (028) 28xx xxxx Larne Larne Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is... formerly (01574) xxxxxx |
||
| (028) 37xx xxxx Armagh Armagh Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh... formerly (01861) xxxxxx |
||
| (028) 71xx xxxx Derry Derry Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"... formerly (01504) xxxxxx |
||
| (028) 82xx xxxx Omagh Omagh Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and... formerly (01662) xxxxxx |
||
| (028) 90xx xxxx Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... formerly (01232) xxxxxx |
||
| (028) 92xx xxxx Lisburn Lisburn DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn... formerly (01846) xxxxxx |
||
| (028) 95xx xxxx Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... new number range |
||
| 029 | Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
formerly 01222 (22 = CA) |
- (01xxxx) xxxxx and (01xxxx) xxxx
This is the oldest geographical number format and is used for twelve smaller towns and villages where the subscriber number is either four or five digits long. Note that therefore the STD code and the subscriber number does not always total ten digits after the initial zero trunk code. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. The number of places using these two formats has declined rapidly in recent decades and Hallbankgate/Brampton is the last place in the UK with four-digit local numbers.
| 013873 | Langholm Langholm Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the River Esk and the A7 road.- History:... |
|---|---|
| 015242 | Hornby Hornby - Australia :* Hornby Lighthouse, third oldest lighthouse in Australia on south head of Sydney Harbour,- Canada :* Hornby, Ontario, community in Halton Hills* Hornby Island, Canadian island in the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver Island- England :... |
| 015394 | Hawkshead Hawkshead Hawkshead is a village and civil parish in the Cumbria, England. It is one of the main tourist honeypots in the South Lakeland area, and is dependent on the local tourist trade... |
| 015395 | Grange-over-Sands Grange-over-Sands Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish by the sea – with a wide tidal range, hence the "sands" name – in Cumbria, England. Historically, Grange-over-Sands was part of the County of Lancashire until 1974, when Cumbria was created under Local Government re-organisation which absorbed the area... |
| 015396 | Sedbergh Sedbergh Sedbergh is a small town in Cumbria, England. It lies about east of Kendal and about north of Kirkby Lonsdale. The town sits just within the Yorkshire Dales National Park... |
| 016973 | Wigton Wigton Wigton is a small market town and civil parish outside the Lake District, in the administrative county of Cumbria in England, and traditionally in Cumberland. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast... |
| 016974 | Raughton Head Raughton Head Raughton Head is a hamlet in the English county of Cumbria.Raughton Head is eight miles south of the City of Carlisle.- External links :***... |
| 016977 | Brampton |
| 017683 | Appleby Appleby -Europe:* Appleby, North Lincolnshire, a village in England* Appleby Magna, a village and parish in Leicestershire, England** Appleby Parva, a village in the parish of Appleby Magna* Appleby-in-Westmorland, a town in Cumbria, England... |
| 017684 | Pooley Bridge Pooley Bridge Pooley Bridge is a village in the Eden District of the northwestern English county of Cumbria, within the traditional borders of Westmorland.... |
| 017687 | Keswick Keswick, Cumbria Keswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park... |
| 019467 | Gosforth Gosforth, Cumbria Gosforth is a village and civil parish in the Lake District, in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England. It is situated on the A595 road between Whitehaven and Barrow-in-Furness. It has a population of 1,230.... |
National Dialling Only ranges
These ranges have subscriber numbers beginning with the digits "0" or "1", e.g.:| 01332 050xxx | Derby Derby Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407... |
|---|---|
| 01382 006xxx | Dundee Dundee Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea... |
| 0141 005 xxxx | Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... |
| 0117 101 xxxx | Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007... |
| 0118 00x xxxx | Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London.... |
| 020 0003 xxxx | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
Currently, these numbers are mostly used as the termination points for non-geographic numbers, and by some automated systems such as alarms. As such they are not usually meant to be directly dialled. These numbers have 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.
Regulator Ofcom proposes that in future these numbers be released for wider, general-purpose use in up to 70 area codes facing number shortage.
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. Accordingly, if these numbers are eventually released for general use, Ofcom proposes completely removing the ability to dial locally without the area code in areas affected.
Non-geographic numbering
- 03xx xxx xxxx—"UK-wide" numbering.
On 27 July 2006, Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
announced that companies will soon be able to use an "03" non-geographic number, in place of other non-geographic numbers (such as 0870 or 0845 numbers). Callers would be charged at the same rate as if they were calling a geographic number (01 or 02). This means that customers who are benefiting from "free" minutes on mobile phones or landlines would also be able to call these numbers using their inclusive minutes. 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. Whilst 01, 02 and 07 numbers can receive text messages, currently the majority of cellular network providers do not support the sending of text messages to 03 numbers. Three different ranges of numbers were announced; those beginning 0300/0303 are reserved for qualifying public bodies and non-profit organisations, those beginning 0330/0333, which are available for allocation to anyone, and those beginning 034x/037x which will be used for migration from the 084x and 087x number ranges respectively. Ofcom itself began using 03 numbers on 13 November 2007 for public use.
| 030x xxx xxxx | For qualifying public bodies and non-profit organisations as defined by Ofcom |
|---|---|
| 033x xxx xxxx | For any end user |
| 034x xxx xxxx | Migration range for operators who have 084x numbers |
| 037x xxx xxxx | Migration range for operators who have 087x numbers |
- 05x xxxx xxxx—Reserved for corporate numbering.
Unlike 03 numbers there is no uniform pricing for 05 numbers; BT charge a number of different rates depending on the number dialled. 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.
| 055 xxxx xxxx | Corporate Numbering (but also used by BT for its Broadband Voice service) |
|---|---|
| 056 xxxx xxxx | Allocated by Ofcom for LIECS (Location Independent Electronic Communications Services), such as VoIP services |
- 0500 xxxxxx—Freefone services allocated before 1999.
The 0500 range is used for some freephone services which were originally provided by Mercury Communications
Mercury Communications
Mercury Communications was a national telephone company in the United Kingdom. The company was formed in 1981 as a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless to challenge the monopoly of British Telecom which was privatised in 1984...
Ltd (now Cable & Wireless Worldwide). These numbers are different from the rest of the 05 range in that they are only 10 digits in length, e.g. 0500 2 88 2 91 (BBC Radio 2, 88 to 91 FM), as they were allocated before the 05 range was assigned to corporate numbering.
| 0500 xxxxxx | "Freephone Toll-free telephone number A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, 800, 0800 or 1-800 number is a special telephone number which is free to the calling party, and instead the telephone carrier charges the called party the cost of the call... " (free to call from landline, up to 40p per minute from mobile). |
|---|
- 07xxx xxxxxx—mobile phones, pagers, Personal NumberingPersonal NumberingPersonal numbering is the name for virtual telephone number services in a number of countries including the UK and Spain. Typically the national destination code used for this service is 70 service. This service has historically been poorly defined by Oftel and also Ofcom...
and WiFi numbers.
Individual mobile phone companies are allocated different ranges within the 074xx, 075xx, 07624, 077xx, 078xx and 079xx area codes. Changes to mobile phone numbers were mostly straight replacements, such as Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
customers on the 0378 block became 07778.
| 070 xxxx xxxx | Personal Numbering Personal Numbering Personal numbering is the name for virtual telephone number services in a number of countries including the UK and Spain. Typically the national destination code used for this service is 70 service. This service has historically been poorly defined by Oftel and also Ofcom... |
|---|---|
| 074xx xxxxxx | Mobile phones (in use since November 2009) |
| 075xx xxxxxx | Mobile phones (in use since May 2007) |
| 076xx xxxxxx | Pagers (excluding 07624, used for mobile phones on the Isle of Man) |
| 077xx xxxxxx | Mobile phones (former 03xx and 04xx—mostly Vodafone Vodafone Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of... and O2 (formerly Cellnet) O2 plc Telefónica Europe plc is a European broadband and telecommunications company that trades as O2 . The company originated as a collection of worldwide telecommunications companies, known in the later half of the 1990s as BT Wireless, and a global mobile data business known then as Genie Internet,... |
| 078xx xxxxxx | Mobile phones (former 05xx, 06xx and 08xx—mostly Vodafone Vodafone Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of... and O2 (formerly Cellnet) O2 plc Telefónica Europe plc is a European broadband and telecommunications company that trades as O2 . The company originated as a collection of worldwide telecommunications companies, known in the later half of the 1990s as BT Wireless, and a global mobile data business known then as Genie Internet,... |
| 079xx xxxxxx | Mobile phones (former 09xx—mostly Orange and T-Mobile (formerly one2one) T-Mobile T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands... |
| 07911 2xxxxx 07911 8xxxxx |
WiFi numbers (used by companies such as Tovo and Mobiboo) |
Since the advent of Mobile number portability
Mobile number portability
Mobile number portability enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another.- General overview :MNP is implemented in different ways across the globe...
, mobile phone number prefixes can no longer be relied on to determine the current operator of a particular mobile phone – only the original operator.
- 08xx xxx xxxx—Non-geographic fixed-rate, or special-rate services.
With the exception of 080x freephone numbers, these are charged above geographic rates, with the extra going to the terminating telco. This additional revenue may be shared with the subscriber, but is often used instead to subsidise additional network services, such as fax
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
to email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, virtual office
Virtual office
A virtual office is a combination of off-site live communication and address services that allow users to reduce traditional office costs while maintaining business professionalism...
applications, call queuing, voicemail and easy number redirection. There is widespread confusion about the cost of calling 084/087 numbers, with many major companies persisting in misdescribing them as "Local Rate", "Lo Call" or "National Rate". They often do not qualify for discounts and bundled minutes, and can be prohibitively expensive when called from mobiles and payphones. None of these services are exclusive to 08xx numbers, and could be provided on any number range. More affordable equivalent numbers can often be found via www.saynoto0870.com.
| 0800 xxxxxx 0800 xxx xxxx 0808 xxx xxxx |
"Freephone Toll-free telephone number A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, 800, 0800 or 1-800 number is a special telephone number which is free to the calling party, and instead the telephone carrier charges the called party the cost of the call... " (free to call from landline, up to 40p per minute from mobile. Calls to certain charity and similar services are free from mobile). |
|
|---|---|---|
| 0820 xxx xxxx | Internet for Schools | |
| 0845 xxx xxxx | Up to 5p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend | |
| 0844 2xx xxxx | Up to 6p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend | |
| 0844 3xx xxxx | Up to 6p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend | |
| 0844 4xx xxxx | Up to 6p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend | |
| 0844 5xx xxxx | Up to 6p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend | |
| 0844 6xx xxxx | Up to 6.2p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend | |
| 0844 7xx xxxx | Up to 6p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend | |
| 0844 8xx xxxx | Up to 6p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend | |
| 0844 9xx xxxx | Up to 6p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend | |
| 0843 xxx xxxx | Up to 5p a minute but fixed (e.g. always 4p/minute or always 5p/minute) | |
| 0842 xxx xxxx | Up to 5p a minute but fixed (e.g. always 4p/minute or always 5p/minute) | |
| 0870 xxx xxxx | Up to 8p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend | |
| 0871 2xx xxxx to 0871 9xx xxxx |
Up to 10p a minute but fixed (e.g. always 8p/minute or always 10p/minute) | |
| 0872 xxx xxxx | Up to 10p a minute but fixed (e.g. always 8p/minute or always 10p/minute) | |
| 0873 xxx xxxx | Up to 10p a minute but fixed (e.g. always 8p/minute or always 10p/minute) | |
There are also several very short "special" numbers in these ranges, notably 0800 1111 for Childline and 0845 46 47 for NHS Direct.
- 09xx xxx xxxx—Premium Rate Content Services
Numbers in the 09xx range are charged at the highest rates of any calls within the United Kingdom, and are controlled by various regulations regarding their use. The regulator is PhonepayPlus, formerly known as ICSTIS. There are a large number of charge bands, some with high pence-per-minute rates, others with a high fixed-price for the entire call.
| 090x xxx xxxx | Premium rate content services | |
|---|---|---|
| 0908 xxx xxxx 0909 xxx xxxx 0982 xxx xxxx |
Sexual entertainment services | |
| 091x xxx xxxx | Premium rate non-content services | |
| 092x xxx xxxx to 099x xxx xxxx |
Broadband services | |
Crown dependencies
- Guernsey, Alderney, Sark
(01481) xxxxxx Fixed line 48 = GU (01481) 832xxx
(01481) 833xxxFixed line (Sark) 07781 xxxxxx Sure mobile phones and pagers 07839 xxxxxx Airtel Vodafone mobile phones 07911 xxxxxx Wave Telecom mobile phones Not for uk - Jersey
| (01534) xxxxxx | Fixed line | 53 = JE |
|---|---|
| 07509 xxxxxx 07797 xxxxxx 07937 xxxxxx |
Jersey Telecom Jersey Telecom JT Global is the former monopoly incumbent operator in the Bailiwick of Jersey. Jersey is incorporated into the UK National Telephone Numbering Plan area codes of +44 1534 for landlines and +44 7797 for Jersey Telecom mobiles, +44 7700 for Cable and Wireless mobiles and +44 7829 for Jersey Airtel... mobile phones and pagers |
| 07700 xxxxxx | Sure mobile network |
| 07829 xxxxxx | Airtel Vodafone mobile network |
- Isle of Man
(01624) xxxxxx Fixed line 62 = MA 07624 xxxxxx Mobile phones and paging services 07524 xxxxxx
07924 xxxxxxMobile phones additional capacity
On the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, 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 rate as those to other UK landlines (i.e. they are not treated as international calls), calls may be excluded from calling plans offering unlimited UK fixed line calls, and some mobile operators may also charge more. Calls and SMS messages sent to island mobile phone numbers are not charged at the same rate as calls to UK mobile phone numbers.
Fictitious 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 numberFictitious telephone number
Ranges for fictitious telephone numbers are common in most telephone numbering plans. All such numbers from around the world are documented in the International Directory of Fictitious Telephone Numbers: 2011 by Martin John Callanan...
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with the digits 555
555 telephone number
Telephone numbers with the prefix 555 are widely used for fictitious telephone numbers in North American television shows, films, computer games, and other media....
. All possible fictional numbers for the UK are documented in the International Directory of Fictitious Telephone Numbers: 2011 by Martin John Callanan
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 496. 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
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
until the late 1980s (63 = NE). There are also reserved ranges for fictitious mobile, freephone, and premium rate numbers.
At around the same time as the other Big Number Change
Big Number Change
The Big Number Change was an update of telephone dialling codes in the UK in response to the rapid late-1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of numbers. The change greatly expanded the pool of available numbers while helping to retain 'local dialling'...
changes, Ofcom revised their recommendations to update the prefixes, add additional areas, and increase the size of the allocation from 10 to 1000 numbers per block. Those changes are listed in the Big Number Change article.
In Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, the fictional Manchester suburb of Weatherfield uses the unallocated range (0161) 715 xxxx.
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 DisplayCaller ID
Caller ID , also called calling line identification or calling number identification or Calling Line Identification Presentation , is a telephone service, available in analog and digital phone systems and most Voice over Internet Protocol applications, that transmits a caller's number to...
:
| 141 | Withhold number | when normally released |
|---|---|---|
| 1470 | Release number | when normally withheld |
| 1471 | Call return | caller may press 3 to return call on most networks |
| 1475 | 1471 erasure | removes details of last call from 1471 service |
| 1571 | Voicemail service commonly provided by providers for people who do not have answering machines. If there is a new message, the dial tone will be stuttered. |
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
999 (emergency telephone number)
999 is an official emergency telephone number in a number of countries which allows the caller to contact emergency services for urgent assistance....
and 112
1-1-2
112 is the principal emergency telephone number that can be dialed free of charge from any telephone or any mobile phone in order to reach emergency services in the European Union , its candidates for accession, members of the EEA agreement, as well as several other countries in the world...
are used to contact all emergency services: Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Mountain Rescue, Coastguard and Cave Rescue.
Both numbers can be called from mobile phones with the keylock on, or without entering the PIN where that would otherwise be required. Although some mobile phones allow emergency calls to be attempted without a SIM card, at present the UK networks reject such calls. Since November 2009, an emergency call can be made through any UK mobile network as long as there is a SIM for *any* valid UK network in the handset. More information about the 112 emergency number can be found at the 112 : The European emergency number web site.
The chargeable number 101 (10p per call) was introduced for non-urgent crime and community safety calls on a trial basis in 2006. In Wales, the scheme has been taken forward by all four police forces, who adopted the number for non-emergency calls on a permanent basis in early 2009. In England the scheme remains on trial, withdrawn from some original pilot areas but since further trialled in other locations.
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
118 118 (UK)
118 118 is a UK directory enquiries provider based in Cardiff that assists customers with telephone number enquiries and general queries.The service is provided by The Number UK Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of US directory enquiries provider Knowledge Generation Bureau , whose company motto is...
, by different companies. International Operator assistance is reached through "155".
From early 2010, the pan-European 116 number range comes into use for social helplines. The first three numbers likely to be issued are for Missing People who will use 116 000 for a missing children helpline, the NSPCC ChildLine
ChildLine
ChildLine is a free 24 hour counselling service for children and young people up to 18 in the UK provided by the NSPCC. ChildLine deals with any issue which causes distress or concern, common issues dealt with include child abuse, bullying, parental separation or divorce, pregnancy and substance...
on 116 111, and Samaritans
Samaritans (charity)
Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, often through their telephone helpline. The name comes from the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan, though the organisation...
who will use 116 123 for an emotional support helpline.
Fixed line telephone subscribers for BT,Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
and TalkTalk 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
1-5-7-1
1-5-7-1 is the name of a family of calling features in the United Kingdom, for residential and business telephone lines and for mobile telephones, that are provided by BT Group and several other telephone service providers. The family is named after the telephone number 1571, the special service...
.
Since the mid 1990s speaking clock
Speaking clock
A speaking clock service is a recorded or simulated human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time. The first telephone speaking clock service was introduced in France, in association with the Paris Observatory on 14 February 1933.The format of the service is...
services have been available throughout Britain using the number 123. Before this, exchanges in "Director" areas (Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester) dialled 846 (TIM) (later changing to 123) 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 telephone helplines within the regular code space have only eight digits, namely 0800 1111 for ChildLine
ChildLine
ChildLine is a free 24 hour counselling service for children and young people up to 18 in the UK provided by the NSPCC. ChildLine deals with any issue which causes distress or concern, common issues dealt with include child abuse, bullying, parental separation or divorce, pregnancy and substance...
and 0845 4647 for NHS Direct
NHS Direct
NHS Direct is the health advice and information service provided by the National Health Service for residents and visitors in England, with advice offered 24 hours a day, every day of the year through telephone contact on the national 0845 46 47 number, web based symptom checkers at and via...
in England and Wales.
History
The telephone service in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
was originally provided by private companies and local councils. But by 1912–13 all except the telephone service of Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
and Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
had been bought out by the Post Office. The Post Office also operated telephone services in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
until 1923 and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
until 1969 when the islands took over responsibility for their own postal and telephone services – although the Isle of Man system remained part of British Telecom until 1987.
Post Office Telecommunications
Post Office Telecommunications
Post Office Telecommunications was set up as a separate department of the UK Post Office, in October 1969. The Post Office Act of that year was passed to provide for greater efficiency in post and telephone services; rather than run a range of services, each organisation would be able to focus on...
was reorganised in 1980–81 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
Kingston Communications
KCOM Group , formerly known as Kingston Communications, is a UK communications and IT services provider. Its headquarters is in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, where subsidiary business unit KC serves local residents and businesses with Internet and telephony services...
, in 1987; it was sold by Hull City Council in the late 1990s and celebrated its centenary in 2004.
Director 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 ExhibitionBritish Empire Exhibition
The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley, Middlesex in 1924 and 1925.-History:It was opened by King George V on St George's Day, 23 April 1924. The British Empire contained 58 countries at that time, and only Gambia and Gibraltar did not take part...
at Wembley in 1924 and 1925. However, it was not until 1927 that the first "Director" telephone exchange
Telephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
was brought into service in Holborn, London
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
and rolled out progressively across Greater London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. 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
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
(although a relatively small city, it obtained seven-figure dialling for political reasons), Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Introduction of area codes
Subscriber Trunk DiallingSubscriber trunk dialling
Subscriber trunk dialling is a term for a telephone system allowing subscribers to dial trunk calls without operator assistance.- Terminology :...
(STD) was introduced in 1958 to allow a caller to call another telephone directly instead of via a manual telephone exchange
Telephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
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.
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
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
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
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, to radiophones and to premium rate numbers.
Within a single code group area there would usually be multiple exchange buildings in various locations. The smaller exchanges might have only a few hundred lines with three-digit subscriber numbers, e.g. 200–499. Larger exchanges might have a few thousand lines with four-digit subscriber numbers, e.g. 2000–5999. The main exchange in the group would usually have five-digit subscriber numbers e.g. 20000–49999.
Population growth over the next few decades meant there was a need for more lines. This would see an exchange with existing three-digit numbers open one or more new ranges with four-digit local numbers (e.g. 5000-6999), and exchanges with existing four-digit numbers open one or more new ranges with five-digit local numbers (e.g. 60000–69999).
Since number ranges were being reused in each local exchange within a group, a series of short codes was devised to allow dialling from one local exchange to another without the need to dial the full STD code. These short codes usually began with a 7, 8 or 9. The code was often only two or three digits, but might be up to five digits long.
The last digit of this short code would usually also feature as extra digits on the end of the main STD code in order to differentiate each satellite exchange within a group when dialling from another STD code area. In written form these area codes were split after the third digit to highlight this satellite exchange numbering.
e.g. for 0799, Saffron Walden (SW)
| (0799) xxxxx | Saffron Walden |
|---|---|
| (079 982) xxx and xxxx |
Newport |
| (079 983) xxx and xxxx |
Great Chesterford |
| (079 984) xxx | Ashdon |
| (079 985) xxx and xxxx |
Clavering |
| (079 986) xxx | Great Sampford |
| (079 987) xxx | Radwinter |
| (079 988) xxx | Rickling |
As time wore on and number shortages became more acute, local numbers were gradually converted to five-figure or six-figure numbers, and the STD code changed to the (0xxx) format. In many cases the initial digits of the new local number would be formed from digits previously at the end of the old STD code. The local number would be padded with extra fixed digits (if needed) to make up the new total length. In some cases the initial digits were changed e.g. Radwinter (079 987) 456 became Saffron Walden (0799) 500456, nowadays (01799) 500456.
Post 2000, only a dozen places have long STD codes with five-digit local numbers. One area with a long STD code retains four-digit local numbering. Long STD codes are rare. Many people are not familiar with the (0xx xx), nowadays (01xx xx) format; or the now discontinued (0xx xxx) format, and often omit the space in written form.
For the Director areas a 2 or 3 digit code was used for the city. These were:
| Area code | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
Until 1990—See 01 for London below |
| 021 | Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... |
(2 = B) |
| 031 | Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
(3 = E) |
| 041 | Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... |
(4 = G) |
| 051 | Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... |
(5 = L) |
| 061 | Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... |
(6 = M) |
The codes 071, 081, and 091 were reserved for later expansion, with the former two eventually being temporarily allocated to London (see below).
All figure dialling
The use of names was intended to provide a mnemonic for the exchange in the same way as for the Director system, but as more and more places were given STD codes the mnemonic link became more and more obscure, and this system became unworkable. Also, international direct dialling was being introduced and as other countries (such as the USA) had different assignments of letters to digits the opportunity for confusion existed.An earlier modification to get round this problem for European dialling was the addition of the letter Q to the digit 0, which previously represented only the letter O. This was because some French exchanges had alphabetic codes including Q, but in the event France moved to all-digit codes before direct dialling from the UK was introduced.
The use of alphabetic exchange (area) codes was abandoned in the UK in 1966 in favour of all figure numbering. As such about 60% of current area codes are still based on the original alphabetic STD.
Around 1982, the 091 code was also brought into use:
| Area code | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 091 | Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972... and Durham Durham Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county... |
See article 0191 for migration details. |
ELNS areas
In certain areas of the country, it was sometimes decided that one area code would cover multiple charge groups. These are the so-called ELNS areas (Extended Linked Numbering Scheme) where the leading digit of the local number indicates which charge group the number belongs to. A diagram showing the principle is shown on page 9 of Oftel's telephone numbering guide and these areas are shown in the table below.| Area code | Initial digits | Location name | Initial digits | Location name | Initial digits | Location name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0191 | 2,4,6,8 | Tyneside | 3,9 | Durham | 5,7 | Sunderland |
| 01229 | 2,4,5,6,8 | Barrow-in-Furness | 3,7,9 | Millom | ||
| 01339 | 2,3,5,8 | Aboyne | 4,6,7,9 | Ballater | ||
| 01388 | 3,4,6,7,8,9 | Bishop Auckland | 2,5 | Stanhope | ||
| 01423 | 3,4,9 | Boroughbridge | 2,5,6,7,8 | Harrogate | ||
| 01430 | 6,7,8,9 | Market Weighton | 2,3,4,5 | North Cave | ||
| 01434 | 2,4,9 | Bellingham | 3,5 | Haltwhistle | 6,7,8 | Hexham |
| 01437 | 2,3,4,5 | Clynderwen | 6,7,8,9 | Haverfordwest | ||
| 01507 | 4,8,9 | Alford (Lincs) | 3,6,7 | Louth | 2,5 | Spilsby |
| 01686 | 2,3,4,7 | Llanidloes | 5,6,8,9 | Newtown | ||
| 01847 | 2,3,4,5,8 | Thurso | 6,7,9 | Tongue | ||
| 01851 | 4,6,9 | Great Bernera | 2,3,5,7,8 | Stornoway | ||
| 01890 | 5,6,7,9 | Ayton | 2,3,4,8 | Coldstream | ||
| 01964 | 2,5,8,9 | Hornsea | 3,4,6,7 | Patrington | ||
| 01975 | 2,4,5,9 | Alford (Aberdeen) | 3,6,7,8 | Strathdon | ||
| 023 | 8 | Southampton | 9 | Portsmouth |
Calls to the Republic of Ireland
Until the late 1980s, calls to major towns and cities in the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
could also be made using short codes starting with 000:
- 0001—Dublin 01 area
- 0002—Cork 021 area
- 0004—Dundalk 042 area
- 0005—Waterford 051 area
- 0006—Limerick 061 area
- 0007—Letterkenny 074 area
- 0009—Galway 091 area
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 normal international format using the international access code (initially 010 until 1995, and then 00) and country code (353).
Calls could also be made using the full international dialling code since the introduction of International Direct Dialling.
While most of the Republic of Ireland could be direct dialled, a small number of rural areas did not have an automated telephone service until the 1980s. As a result, calls from the UK to these areas had to be made through the BT operator who connected the calls to their Irish counterpart for completion. Unlike other international calls, these were handled by the BT national operator, in the same way as UK operator calls. This service was withdrawn at noon on 28 May 1987 when the last manual exchange in Ireland, at Mountshannon
Mountshannon
Mountshannon is a village in east County Clare, Ireland. The village is on the western shore of Lough Derg, north of Killaloe.-History:The village was designed and built from scratch by Alexander Woods, a Limerick merchant, who intended it as a purely Protestant settlement from which the...
, County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, was switched over to an Alcatel
Alcatel
Alcatel Mobile Phones is a brand of mobile handsets. It was established in 2004 as a joint venture between Alcatel-Lucent of France and TCL Communication of China....
E10 digital exchange. This completed Telecom Eireann
Telecom Éireann
Telecom Éireann, or formally Bord Telecom Éireann - The Irish Telecommunications Board, was created by the Postal & Telecommunications Services Act, 1983 from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, Ireland, under the leadership of the Minister for Posts & Telegraphs...
's rural digitalisation project.
Although full international dialling is now used, calls from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
landlines to landlines in the Republic are charged at UK national or local rates, and calls from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to the Republic are charged at a special "Republic of Ireland" rate, higher than inland rates, but lower than those for elsewhere in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. Additionally, calls to Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland can be made without an international access code, but instead replacing the British 028 prefix not with the conventional international prefix 00 44 28 but with a shorter Irish 048 area code which specifically covers Northern Ireland. For example, calling Belfast from London would be 028 90xx xxxx while calling Belfast from Dublin would be 048 90xx xxxx.
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 to be made to the UK numbering plan. All these stages were planned out in one exercise in the early 1980s, though the exact dates for each stage was decided later.Splitting 01 for London into 071 and 081
The first major change was in May 1990, when the London 01 area code was replaced with 071 and 081. Local numbers remained seven digits long. Exchanges in central London used the 071 code. The remaining exchanges now used the 081 code and formed a ring around the 071 area. Although this effectively doubled the available numbers from eight to sixteen million, it was not to be the last change for the capital.| Area | New numbering | Old numbering |
|---|---|---|
| Inner London Inner London Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. The area was first officially defined in 1965 and for purposes such as statistics, the definition has changed over time. The terms Inner London and Central... |
071-xxx xxxx | 01-xxx xxxx |
| Outer London Outer London Outer London is the name for the group of London Boroughs that form a ring around Inner London.These were areas that were not part of the County of London and became formally part of Greater London in 1965... |
081-xxx xxxx | 01-xxx xxxx |
This change freed up the entire 01 code range for the next step of the plan: converting all geographic area codes to 01. That operation would then free up the whole of the 02 to 09 range for a future re-organisation of some geographic and all mobile and non-geographic numbers. Most areas would see two code changes over the next decade, whilst London would have a total of three. It would be a decade before this inner/outer London split was eventually nullified.
Consumers were already becoming confused as to what they would be charged for any particular call, with for example (0404) xxxxx being a call to Honiton in Devon and (0403) xxxxxx being a much more expensive call to a mobile phone. The situation in the early 1990s was as follows:
| Number prefix | Example of geographic use | Non-geographic services using other prefixes in same 0x range |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Not used | Freephone, local and premium rate services |
| 02 | Aberdeen (0224) | Not used |
| 03 | Dover (0304) | Freephone; mobile; local, national and premium rate services |
| 04 | Gloucester (0452) | Mobile; national rate |
| 05 | Kinross (0577) | Freephone; mobile; national rate |
| 06 | Newbury (0635) | Local and premium rate services |
| 07 | Romford (0708) | Personal numbers |
| 08 | Tamworth (0827) | Freephone; mobile; local, national and premium rate services |
| 09 | York (0904) | Freephone; mobile; local, national and premium rate services |
The next few changes would fix these problems.
Geographic numbers
On "PhONEday", 16 April 1995, the digit "1" was inserted into all UK geographic area codes. Promotion of this day included special Easter egg
Easter egg
Easter eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans...
s. Under the new changes, for example, Inner London's 071 became 0171; Outer London's 081 became 0181. A small selection of the codes that changed are shown in the table below:
| Area | New numbering | Old numbering |
|---|---|---|
| Ashford Ashford Ashford is a relatively common English placename: it goes back to Old English æscet, indicating a ford near a clump of ash trees. It may refer to:-Places:In Australia:*Ashford, New South Wales*Ashford, South Australia... |
(01233) xxxxxx | (0233) xxxxxx |
| Coventry Coventry Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although... |
(01203) xxxxxx | (0203) xxxxxx |
| Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... |
(0121) xxx xxxx | 021-xxx xxxx |
| Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
(01222) xxxxxx | (0222) xxxxxx |
| Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
(0131) xxx xxxx | 031-xxx xxxx |
| Derby Derby Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407... |
(01332) xxxxxx | (0332) xxxxxx |
| Dundee Dundee Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea... |
(01382) xxxxxx | (0382) xxxxxx |
| Evesham Evesham Evesham is a market town and a civil parish in the Local Authority District of Wychavon in the county of Worcestershire, England with a population of 22,000. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon... |
(01386) xxxxxx | (0386) xxxxxx |
| Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... |
(0141) xxx xxxx | 041-xxx xxxx |
| Hull Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of... |
(01482) xxxxxx | (0482) xxxxxx |
| Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... |
(0151) xxx xxxx | 051-xxx xxxx |
| Jersey Jersey Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and... |
(01534) xxxxxx | (0534) xxxxxx |
| Luton Luton Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000.... |
(01582) xxxxxx | (0582) xxxxxx |
| Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... |
(0161) xxx xxxx | 061-xxx xxxx |
| Southampton Southampton Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest... |
(01703) xxxxxx | (0703) xxxxxx |
| Inner London Inner London Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. The area was first officially defined in 1965 and for purposes such as statistics, the definition has changed over time. The terms Inner London and Central... |
(0171) xxx xxxx | 071-xxx xxxx |
| Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London.... |
(01734) xxxxxx | (0734) xxxxxx |
| Outer London Outer London Outer London is the name for the group of London Boroughs that form a ring around Inner London.These were areas that were not part of the County of London and became formally part of Greater London in 1965... |
(0181) xxx xxxx | 081-xxx xxxx |
| Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972... /County Durham County Durham County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington... |
(0191) xxx xxxx | 091-xxx xxxx |
This was done with a view to reorganising the numbering plan at a later date, 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 | Originally reserved for new geographic area codes, but later used for non-geographic number ranges, charged at geographic rates. |
| 04 | Reserved |
| 05 | Corporate numbering |
| 06 | Formerly reserved for future personal numbering |
| 07 | Mobile phones, pagers and personal numbering |
| 08 | Freephone Toll-free telephone number A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, 800, 0800 or 1-800 number is a special telephone number which is free to the calling party, and instead the telephone carrier charges the called party the cost of the call... and shared cost / special rates |
| 09 | Premium rate Premium-rate telephone number Premium-rate telephone numbers are telephone numbers for telephone calls during which certain services are provided, and for which prices higher than normal are charged. Unlike a normal call, part of the call charge is paid to the service provider, thus enabling businesses to be funded via the calls... |
The international access code also changed on "PhONEday", 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 Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial... |
(0113) 2xx xxxx | (0532) xxxxxx | 53 = LE |
| (0113) 3xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 1997. | ||
| (0113) 8xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 2006. | ||
| (0113) 4xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 2010. | ||
| Sheffield Sheffield Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely... |
(0114) 2xx xxxx | (0742) xxxxxx | 74 = SH |
| (0114) 3xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 2004. | ||
| (0114) 4xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 2009. | ||
| Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
(0115) 9xx xxxx | (0602) xxxxxx | 60 = NO |
| (0115) 8xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 1997. | ||
| (0115) 7xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 2006. | ||
| (0115) 2xx xxxx | Small quantity issued late 2009 and early 2010. | ||
| Leicester Leicester Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest... |
(0116) 2xx xxxx | (0533) xxxxxx | 53 = LE |
| (0116) 3xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 2004. | ||
| (0116) 4xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 2009. | ||
| Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007... |
(0117) 9xx xxxx | (0272) xxxxxx | 27 = BR |
| (0117) 2xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 2007. | ||
| (0117) 3xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 1997. |
Most of the initial local number ranges created by PhONEday were exhausted within just a few years. New local numbers then began to be allocated with a different initial digit. For example, in Sheffield (0114) when the 2xx xxxx numbers were exhausted, new numbers (other than old recycled ones) then began to be issued from the 3xx xxxx range. Similarly, newly allocated numbers in Leeds (0113), Leicester (0116) and Bristol (0117) also came from the 3xx xxxx range, but in Nottingham (0115), the new numbers instead came from the 8xx xxxx range.
Less than a decade later, further new ranges were opened in most of these areas, but this time new Reading and Leicester numbers are in the 4xx xxxx range, new Bristol numbers are in the 2xx xxxx range, new Nottingham numbers are in the 7xx xxxx range and new Leeds numbers are in the 4xx xxxx and 8xx xxxx ranges.
National dialling only numbers
| City | New numbering | Old numbering | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial... |
0113 0ax xxxx | 0532 0xxxxx | 53 = LE |
| 0113 1ax xxxx | 0532 1xxxxx | ||
| Sheffield Sheffield Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely... |
0114 0ax xxxx | 0742 0xxxxx | 74 = SH |
| 0114 1ax xxxx | 0742 1xxxxx | ||
| Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
0115 0ax xxxx | 0602 0xxxxx | 60 = NO |
| 0115 1ax xxxx | 0602 1xxxxx | ||
| Leicester Leicester Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest... |
0116 0ax xxxx | 0533 0xxxxx | 53 = LE |
| 0116 1ax xxxx | 0533 1xxxxx | ||
| Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007... |
0117 0ax xxxx | 0272 0xxxxx | 27 = BR |
| 0117 1ax xxxx | 0272 1xxxxx |
Geographic numbers
| Area | New numbering | Old numbering | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London.... |
(0118) 9xx xxxx | (0734) xxxxxx → (01734) xxxxxx |
73 = RE; changed between 1996 and 1998, not on PhONEday |
| (0118) 3xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 1998. | ||
| (0118) 4xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, issued from 2009. |
Reading numbers endured two changes in a very short time. PhONEday, on 16 April 1995, changed the area code from 0734 to 01734, and then almost a year later, on 8 April 1996, it changed again to (0118). At that time, local numbers were changed from six to seven digits by inserting a 9 in front of the old local number. Parallel running of the old numbering was withdrawn on 9 January 1998.
Around this time, some new number ranges were already being allocated and used for mobile phone numbers. These new ranges already fitted into the new numbering scheme of 07xxx xxxxxx. The rest of the older mobile phone numbers, those already in use for many years (and at that time, both one-digit shorter, and having codes scattered throughout the 03 to 09 range) would be brought into this 07x numbering scheme a few years later, both by changing the code to the 07x range, and by adding an additional digit.
National dialling only numbers
| Area | New numbering | Old numbering | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London.... |
0118 0ax xxxx | 01734 0xxxxx | 73 = RE; changed between 1996 and 1998, not on PhONEday |
| 0118 1ax xxxx | 01734 1xxxxx |
Geographic numbers
On 22 April 2000 the second phase of the plan came into operation, dubbed the "Big Number Change". With 02x area codes freed up by the previous reorganisation, they could be re-used. These areas had already had a code change (to insert a "1") five years earlier as a part of PhONEday. The Big Number Change altered the area codes again, as well as making the local number two digits longer (London: one digit longer).
| Area | New numbering | Old numbering | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
(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 Southampton Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest... |
(023) 80xx xxxx | (01703) xxxxxx | 70 = SO |
| (023) 81xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, released from 2005. | ||
| Portsmouth Portsmouth Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island... |
(023) 92xx xxxx | (01705) xxxxxx | 70 = PO |
| (023) 93xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, released from 2005. | ||
| Coventry Coventry Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although... |
(024) 76xx xxxx | (01203) xxxxxx | 20 = CO |
| (024) 77xx xxxx | New phase of numbers, released from 2005. | ||
| Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
(029) 20xx xxxx | (01222) xxxxxx | 22 = CA |
| (029) 21xx xxxx | New phase of numbers released from June 2005. | ||
| (029) 22xx xxxx | New phase of numbers released from August 2010. | ||
| Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... Example given is Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... —see below |
(028) 90xx xxxx | (01232) xxxxxx | 23 = BE |
| (028) 95xx xxxx | New phase of numbers released from 2005. |
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) 8xxx and (023) 9xxx 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) currently 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
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
using either the domestic code 048, or the international prefix 00 44 28.
The prefixes for existing numbers in Northern Ireland are split up into seven 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
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
so numbers in this county start with 2. The next county is County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
so numbers here start with 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 the towns of Bangor, (County Down) (91), Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
(92), Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...
(93), Antrim
Antrim, County Antrim
Antrim is a town in County Antrim in the northeast of Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Six Mile Water, half a mile north-east of Lough Neagh. It had a population of 20,001 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the administrative centre of Antrim Borough Council...
(94) and Saintfield
Saintfield
Saintfield is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland, situated roughly halfway between Belfast and Downpatrick on the A7 road. It had a population of 2,959 people in the 2001 Census. The village proper is considered predominantly a middle or upper-middle class town and of both Catholic and...
(97).
The encompassed former STD codes at some points extend to over 20 miles from Belfast itself. There is a much more complete list in the Big Number Change
Big Number Change
The Big Number Change was an update of telephone dialling codes in the UK in response to the rapid late-1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of numbers. The change greatly expanded the pool of available numbers while helping to retain 'local dialling'...
article.
| Town/city | Region | New numbering | Old numbering |
|---|---|---|---|
| Larne Larne Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is... |
County Antrim County Antrim County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000... |
(028) 28xx xxxx | (01574) xxxxxx |
| Armagh Armagh Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh... |
County Armagh County Armagh -History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha... |
(028) 37xx xxxx | (01861) xxxxxx |
| Newcastle Newcastle, County Down Newcastle is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 7,444 people recorded in the 2001 Census. The seaside resort lies on the Irish Sea coast at the base of Slieve Donard, one of the Mourne Mountains, and is known for its sandy beach and the Royal County Down Golf Club... |
County Down County Down -Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:... |
(028) 437x xxxx | (013967) xxxxx |
| Enniskillen Enniskillen Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census... |
County Fermanagh County Fermanagh Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas.... |
(028) 66xx xxxx | (01365) xxxxxx |
| Limavady Limavady Limavady is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. It lies east of Derry and south west of Coleraine. It had a population of 12,135 people in the 2001 Census, an increase of some 17% compared to 1991... |
County Londonderry County Londonderry The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists... |
(028) 777x xxxx | (015047) xxxxx |
| Omagh Omagh Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and... |
County Tyrone County Tyrone Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on... |
(028) 82xx xxxx | (01662) xxxxxx |
| Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... |
Greater Belfast Greater Belfast Greater Belfast is an area surrounding and including Belfast in Northern Ireland.It includes Belfast and parts of the North Down, Lisburn, Castlereagh and Newtownabbey district council areas. Greater Belfast is the largest urban area in Northern Ireland, and second largest in Ireland... |
(028) 90xx xxxx | (01232) xxxxxx |
| Lisburn Lisburn DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn... |
Greater Belfast Greater Belfast Greater Belfast is an area surrounding and including Belfast in Northern Ireland.It includes Belfast and parts of the North Down, Lisburn, Castlereagh and Newtownabbey district council areas. Greater Belfast is the largest urban area in Northern Ireland, and second largest in Ireland... |
(028) 92xx xxxx | (01846) xxxxxx |
National dialling only numbers
| Area | New numbering | Old numbering | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
020 01xx xxxx | 0171-0xx xxxx | A non-trivial relationship maps the old blocks of numbers to the new number blocks. |
| 020 11xx xxxx | 0171-1xx xxxx | ||
| 020 00xx xxxx | 0181-0xx xxxx | ||
| 020 10xx xxxx | 0181-1xx xxxx | ||
| Southampton Southampton Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest... |
023 110x xxxx | 01703 0xxxxx | 70 = SO |
| 023 111x xxxx | 01703 1xxxxx | ||
| Portsmouth Portsmouth Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island... |
023 100x xxxx | 01705 0xxxxx | 70 = PO |
| 023 101x xxxx | 01705 1xxxxx | ||
| Coventry Coventry Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although... |
024 100x xxxx | 01203 0xxxxx | 20 = CO |
| 024 101x xxxx | 01203 1xxxxx | ||
| Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
029 100x xxxx | 01222 0xxxxx | 22 = CA |
| 029 101x xxxx | 01222 1xxxxx |
Non-geographic, and mobile and pager numbers
In addition, mobile and pager numbers were all moved into the 07xxx range. Pagers moved into 076xx, while personal numbers moved to 070. Mobile phone numbers moved into the 077xx, 078xx and 079xx ranges (and more recently, 075xx and 074xx have also been brought into use).
The exception to this was Manx Telecom
Manx Telecom
Manx Telecom is the primary provider of broadband and telecommunications on the Isle of Man. It was acquired by Telefónica in , but was sold to two private equity groups in 2010.- History :...
mobile phone numbers, where the code became 07624 in order to match the 01624 used for landlines.
In addition, lower and higher rate non-geographic numbers (previously called lo-call or local-rate and national-rate numbers, though these terms are no longer recommended to be used as they can be misleading http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2006/1/Windsor-Telecom-plc/CS_40724.aspx
http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2007/12/Datel-Group-plc/TF_ADJ_43684.aspx) migrated to 08xx and premium rate numbers migrated to 09xx.
A summary of the migration path for the existing mobile and pager codes, as they were at the time, is shown below:
| Mobile phone numbers | Pager numbers | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Code before migration | Code after migration | Code before migration | Code after migration |
| 03ABC | 077AB | 01ABC | 076BC |
| 04ABC | 077AB | 04ABC | 076BC |
| 05ABC | 078AB | 09AB | 076AB |
| 08ABC | 078AB | ||
| 09ABC | 079AB |
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 new 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 "national dialling only" numbers. A small number of these blocks are used by numbers migrated from old 0171-0xx xxxx, 0171-1xx xxxx, 0181-0xx xxxx, and 0181-1xx xxxx "national dialling only" numbers. They are mainly used as termination points for non-geographic numbers, and for various alarm and other automated systems where the actual telephone number itself is never called.
It is a common misconception that London still has more than one area code (i.e. "0207" and "0208"). This is incorrect in the sense that omitting the "0207" or "0208" (area) code will give a local number that cannot be connected as it is missing the first digit. Therefore, writing a London number as 020x xxx xxxx is incorrect and can lead to confusion when attempting to dial it.
Misconceptions
The misconception of area code and number separation is also seen in other areas of the country where the area code length was reduced in the Big Number Change
Big Number Change
The Big Number Change was an update of telephone dialling codes in the UK in response to the rapid late-1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of numbers. The change greatly expanded the pool of available numbers while helping to retain 'local dialling'...
such as Coventry being written as 02476 xxxxxx, whereas the correct number sequence is (024) 76xx xxxx (Coventry now has some (024) 77xx xxxx numbers) and Cardiff being written as 02920 xxxxxx whereas the correct number sequence is (029) 20xx xxxx (Cardiff now has some (029) 21xx xxxx numbers).
Likewise in Portsmouth, numbers are being incorrectly written as 02392 xxxxxx, whereas the correct number sequence is (023) 92xx xxxx (Portsmouth now has some (023) 93xx xxxx numbers).
This also occurs in some areas of Northern Ireland, that previously had 5-digit and 6-digit local numbers like in Banbridge
Banbridge
Banbridge is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It was named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. The town grew as a coaching stop on the road from Belfast to Dublin and thrived from Irish linen manufacturing...
(previously (018206) xxxxx), where numbers are still erroneously 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 instead of the correct form (028) 92xx xxxx.
This is also seen in the earlier PhONEday areas, such as in Sheffield, for (0114) 2xx xxxx numbers, where these are often seen written as 01142 xxxxxx or are missing the leading digit 2 when abbreviated (751234 instead of 275 1234 for example). This is a particular problem now that (0114) 3xx xxxx local numbers are being issued.
It also affects Reading numbers where these are still being written as 01189 xxxxxx, whereas the correct number sequence is (0118) 9xx xxxx. Now that Reading has some (0118) 3xx xxxx and (0118) 4xx xxxx numbers mis-dialling also occurs when people prefix 3xx xxxx and 4xx xxxx numbers with 01189 instead of just 0118.
In all of these areas, the result of the confusion is that callers are adding an incorrect area code to numbers allocated within the new local number ranges, and that then results in a mis-dialled call.
2003 area name changes
In 2003, Oftel published a proposal to create a National Telephone Numbering Plan. This draft plan proposed changing the names of many areas from whatever name BT had previously used. Following responses from BT, C&W and others, the final plan was published with a number of amendments incorporated, followed by a minor revision a few weeks later. A few months later, the data and the responsibility for maintaining it was passed to Ofcom.Ofcom's data is contained in two files: the NTNP PDF file (updated several times per year) and the SABC CSV file for electronic download (published weekly). Although the data in these files should be identical, there have been and still are very many differences between them.
In one background document from 2004, Ofcom states that In order to conform to the National Telephone Numbering Plan (NTNP), the names of the following Geographic Area Codes have changed - 1248, 1268, 1275, 1276, 1291, 1293, 1306, 1322, 1327, 1334, 1344, 1354, 1356, 1375, 1384, 1394, 1425, 1438, 1442, 1451, 1454, 1461, 1470, 1471, 1477, 1478, 1485, 1488, 1489, 1491, 1543, 1561, 1562, 1582, 1588, 1598, 1661, 1668, 1675, 1680, 1681, 1684, 1688, 1689, 1695, 1707, 1720, 1727, 1737, 1744, 1753, 1770, 1784, 1806, 1821, 1856, 1870, 1877, 1883, 1885, 1889, 1895, 1908, 1920, 1922, 1926, 1928, 1932, 1952, 1953, 1963, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1992.
However, several of the above area codes did not see any name change. It had been proposed to change some names but in the end either the original BT name continued to be used or a completely new name suggested by either BT or C&W, or by both, was adopted. The Ofcom proposal also contained a large number of spelling mistakes in the proposed area code names. Some of those errors were rectified within weeks or months, while others have still not been fixed eight years later. Additionally, several other areas changed their name after suggestions by BT and/or C&W, although Ofcom originally had no plans to change them. There are also several areas which changed name but are not listed above. Additionally some names were changed in one Ofcom document but were not updated in the other Ofcom document until several years later. Some have still not been updated or corrected.
The proposed and actual changes, along with the list of implementation errors, are detailed below.
| Code | SABC March 2003 | Oftel 2003 Proposal | BT 2003 comments | C&W 2003 comments | NTNP edits 2003 onwards | SABC edits 2003 onwards | Status 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 117 | Bristol (Inner - See also 1275) |
Bristol | Bristol | Bristol | OK | ||
| 1229 0,1 | Barrow-in-Furness / Millom | Barrow-in-Furness / Millom | Barrow-in-Furness / Millom (7) then changed to Barrow-in-Furness (2,4,5,6,8) / Millom (3,7,9) in 2005. | Barrow-in-Furness National Dialling (2003- ). Should be Barrow-in-Furness/Millom National Dialling. | NTNP OK. Error in SABC. Should be Barrow-in-Furness/Millom National Dialling. | ||
| 1233 | Ashford | Ashford | Could cause confusion. Suggest Ashford (Kent). | Ashford (Kent) | Ashford (2003- ). Should be Ashford (Kent). | NTNP OK. Error in SABC. Should be Ashford (Kent). | |
| 1248 | Bangor (N Wales) | Bangor | Suggest using Bangor (Wales). | Clashes with 28 91. Suggest Bangor (Wales). | Bangor (Gwynedd) | Bangor (Gwynedd) | OK |
| 1260 | Congleton (See also 1477) |
Congleton | Congleton | Congleton | OK | ||
| 1268 | Stanford-le-Hope [See also 1375] |
Canvey Island | Suggest using Basildon. | Consider using Basildon. | Basildon | Basildon | OK (using BT and C&W suggested name). |
| 1271 | Barnstable[sic] | Barnstable[sic] | Barnstable (2003- ). Should be Barnstaple. | Barnstable (2003–2010) then corrected to Barnstaple in 2010. | Error in NTNP. SABC now OK. Should be Barnstaple. | ||
| 1275 | Bristol (Outer - See also 117) |
Clevedon | Clevedon. Agree. | Clevedon | Clevedon | OK | |
| 1276 | Ascot (See also 1344) |
Camberley | Camberley. Agree. | Camberley | Camberley | OK | |
| 1284 | Bury-St-Edmunds[sic] | Bury-St-Edmunds[sic] | Bury-St-Edmunds (2003- ). Should be Bury St Edmunds. | Bury-St-Edmunds (2003–2010) then corrected to Bury St Edmunds in 2010. | Error in NTNP. SABC now OK. Should be Bury St Edmunds. | ||
| 1286 | Caernarvon[sic] | Caernarvon[sic] | Caernarvon (2003- ). Should be Caernarfon. | Caernarvon (2003–2010) then corrected to Caernarfon in 2010. | Error in NTNP. SABC now OK. Should be Caernarfon. | ||
| 1289 | Berwick-on-Tweed[sic] | Berwick-on-Tweed[sic] | Berwick-on-Tweed (2003- ). Should be Berwick-upon-Tweed. | Berwick-on-Tweed (2003–2010) then corrected to Berwick-upon-Tweed in 2010. | Error in NTNP. SABC now OK. Should be Berwick-upon-Tweed. | ||
| 1291 | Shirenewton | Chepstow | Chepstow. Agree. | Chepstow | Chepstow | OK | |
| 1293 | Newdigate (See also 1306) |
Crawley | Crawley. Agree. | Crawley | Crawley | OK | |
| 1294 | Ardrossan | Ardrossan | Consider using Irvine. | Ardrossan | Ardrossan | OK | |
| 1306 | Newdigate (See also 1293) |
Dorking | Dorking. Agree. | Dorking | Dorking | OK | |
| 1322 | Swanley (See also 1959 & 1689) |
Dartford | Dartford. Agree. | Dartford | Dartford | OK | |
| 1327 | Weedon | Daventry | Daventry. Agree. | Daventry | Daventry | OK | |
| 1329 | Fareham (See also 1489) |
Fareham | Fareham | Fareham | OK | ||
| 1333 | Peat Inn (See also 1334) |
Peat Inn | Peat Inn. Agree. | Peat Inn (2003- ) | Peat Inn (2003- ) | Leven (Fife) would be a better name for 1333. Peat Inn is in 1334. | |
| 1334 | Peat Inn [See also 1333] |
St Andrews | St Andrews. Agree. | St Andrews (2003- ) | St Andrews (2003- ) | In renaming 1334 Ofcom renamed the wrong area. | |
| 1340 | Craigellachie | Craigellachie | Craigellachie | Craigellachie | OK (Aberlour may be a better name, no exchange in Craigellachie). | ||
| 1344 | Ascot (See also 1276) |
Bracknell | Bracknell. Agree. | Bracknell | Bracknell | OK | |
| 1354 | Doddington | Chatteris | Chatteris. Agree. | Chatteris | Chatteris | OK | |
| 1355 | East Kilbride (See also 1357) |
Kilbride | Consider East Kilbride for both. | Suggest using East Kilbride. | East Kilbride | East Kilbride | OK |
| 1356 | Brechin | Brechin | Brechin | Brechin | OK (Listed by Ofcom as changing name in 2003 but name not actually changed). | ||
| 1357 | East Kilbride (See also 1355) |
East Kilbride | Consider East Kilbride for both. | Suggest using Strathaven. | Strathaven | Strathaven | OK (using C&W suggested name). |
| 1375 | Stanford-le-Hope [See also 1268] |
Stanford-le-Hope | Suggest using Grays Thurrock instead of Stanford Le Hope[sic]. | Suggest using Grays Thurrock. | Grays Thurrock | Grays Thurrock | OK (using BT and C&W suggested name). |
| 1384 | Stourbridge (See also 1562) |
Dudley | Dudley. Agree. | Dudley | Stourbridge (2003–2007) then corrected to Dudley in 2007. | NTNP OK. SABC now OK. | |
| 1388 5 | Stanhope (5) and Bishop Auckland | Stanhope (4) and Bishop Auckland | 01388 contains two separate charge groups: 01388 and 01388 5. Stanhope sub-reference needs correcting: (5) not (4). | Stanhope (5) | 1388 5 Stanhope | OK (The Stanhope exchange is located in Eastgate). | |
| 1394 | Shottisham | Felixstowe | Felixstowe. Agree. | Felixstowe | Felixstowe | OK | |
| 1425 | Burley | Ringwood | Ringwood. Agree. | Ringwood | Ringwood | OK | |
| 1437 2,3,4,5 | Clynderwen | Clynderwen | Clynderwen | Clynderwen | OK (The correct Welsh spelling is Clunderwen). | ||
| 1438 | Knebworth (See also 1920) |
Knebworth | Suggest using Stevenage. | Suggest using Stevenage. | Stevenage | Stevenage | OK (using BT and C&W suggested name). |
| 1442 | Markyate (See also 1582) |
Hemel Hempstead | Hemel Hempstead. Agree. | Hemel Hempstead | Hemel Hempstead | OK | |
| 1451 | Bourton-on-the-Water | Stow-on-the-Wold | Stow-on-the-Wold. Agree. | Stow-on-the-Wold | Stow-on-the-Wold | OK | |
| 1454 | Rangeworthy | Chipping Sodbury | Chipping Sodbury. Agree. | Chipping Sodbury | Chipping Sodbury | OK | |
| 1461 | Annan | Gretna | Gretna. Agree. | Gretna | Gretna | OK | |
| 1470 | Edinbane | Isle of Skye - Edinbane | Isle of Skye - Edinbane. Agree. | Isle of Skye - Edinbane | Isle of Skye - Edinbane | OK | |
| 1471 | Broadford | Isle of Skye - Broadford | Isle of Skye - Broadford. Agree. | Isle of Skye - Broadford | Isle of Skye - Broadford | OK | |
| 1477 | Congleton (See also 1260) |
Holmes Chapel | Holmes Chapel. Agree. | Holmes Chapel | Holmes Chappel (2003–2007) then corrected to Holmes Chapel in 2007. | NTNP OK. SABC now OK. | |
| 1478 | Portree | Isle of Skye - Portree | Isle of Skye - Portree. Agree. | Isle of Skye - Portree | Isle of Skye - Portree | OK | |
| 1482 | Hull | Hull | Hull | Hull | Kingston-upon-Hull would be a better name. | ||
| 1485 | Docking | Hunstanton | Hunstanton. Agree. | Hunstanton | Hunstanton | OK | |
| 1488 | Great Shefford | Hungerford | Hungerford. Agree. | Hungerford | Hungerford | OK | |
| 1489 | Fareham (See also 1329) |
Bishops Waltham | Bishops Waltham. Agree. | Bishops Waltham | Bishops Waltham | OK | |
| 1491 | Nettlebed | Henley-on-Thames | Henley-on-Thames. Agree. | Henley-on-Thames | Henley on Thames (2003–2010) then corrected to Henley-on-Thames in 2010. | NTNP OK. SABC now OK. | |
| 1507 4 | Alford (Lincs) | Alford | Clashes with 1975. Suggest Alford (Lincs). | Alford (Lincolnshire) (2003) then corrected to Alford (Lincs) later in 2003. | Alford (Lincs) | NTNP now OK. SABC OK. | |
| 1507 5 | Spilsby | Spilsby | 01507 - contains two rather than three charge groups. 01507 5, like the rest of the range bar Alford, is Louth, and not Spilsby - Spilsby is 01790. The reference to Spilsby should be deleted. | Spilsby removed (2003–2005) then added again in 2005. | Spilsby (2003- ) | Horncastle would be a better name for 1507 2 and 1507 5. Spilsby is 1790. | |
| 15395 | Grange over Sands[sic] | Grange-Over-Sands[sic] | Grange-Over-Sands (2003- ). Should be Grange-over-Sands. | Grange over Sands (2003–2010) then corrected to Grange-over-Sands in 2010. | Error in NTNP. SABC now OK. Should be Grange-over-Sands. | ||
| 1543 | Burntwood | Cannock | Cannock. Agree. | Cannock | Cannock | OK | |
| 1559 | Llandyssul[sic] | Llandyssul[sic] | Llandyssul (2003- ). Should be Llandysul. | Llandyssul (2003–2010) then corrected to Llandysul in 2010. | Error in NTNP. SABC now OK. Should be Llandysul. | ||
| 1561 | Fordoun | Laurencekirk | Laurencekirk. Agree. | Laurencekirk | Laurencekirk | OK | |
| 1562 | Stourbridge (See also 1384) |
Stourbridge | Consider using Kidderminster. | Kidderminster | Kidderminster | OK (using C&W suggested name). | |
| 1582 | Markyate (See also 1442) |
Luton | Luton. Agree. | Luton | Luton | OK | |
| 1588 | Craven Arms | Bishops Castle | Bishops Castle. Agree. | Bishops Castle | Bishops Castle | OK | |
| 1594 | Lydney | Lydney | Consider using Dean. | Lydney | Lydney | OK | |
| 1598 | Brayford | Lynton | Consider using Barnstable[sic] [Bad idea]. | Lynton | Lynton | OK | |
| 1603 | Norwich_ | Norwich | Norwich | Norwich_ (2000- ). Should be Norwich. | NTNP OK. Trailing space in SABC still not removed after more than a decade! | ||
| 1636 | Newark | Newark | Newark | Newark | Newark-on-Trent would be a better name. | ||
| 1637 | Newquay [See also 1841] |
Newquay | Newquay | Newquay | OK | ||
| 1661 | Wylam | Prudhoe | Prudhoe. Agree. | Prudhoe | Prudhoe | OK | |
| 1668 | Belford | Bamburgh | Consider using Wooler. | Bamburgh | Bamburgh | OK | |
| 1675 | Meriden (See also 1676) |
Coleshill | Coleshill. Agree. | Coleshill | Coleshill | OK | |
| 1676 | Meriden (See also 1675) |
Meriden | Meriden. Agree. | Meriden | Meriden | OK | |
| 1680 | Craignure | Isle of Mull - Craignure | Isle of Mull - Craignure. Agree. | Isle of Mull - Craignure | Isle of Mull - Craignure | OK | |
| 1681 | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull - Fionnphort | Isle of Mull - Fionnphort. Agree. | Isle of Mull - Fionnphort | Isle of Mull - Fionnphort | OK | |
| 1684 | Hanley Swan | Hanley Swan | Suggest using Tewkesbury. | Suggest using Malvern. | Malvern | Malvern | OK (using C&W suggested name). |
| 1686 4 | Llanidloes | Llandiloes[sic] | Spelling error. Use Llanidloes. | Llanidloes | Llanidloes | OK. Spelling error fixed in 2003. | |
| 1688 | Tobermory | Isle of Mull - Tobermory | Isle of Mull - Tobermory. Agree. | Isle of Mull - Tobermory | Isle of Mull - Tobermory | OK | |
| 1689 | Swanley (See also 1322 & 1959) |
Orpington | Orpington. Agree. | Orpington | Orpington | OK | |
| 1695 | Skelmersdale (Rainford) [See also 1744] |
Skelmersdale | Skelmersdale. Agree. | Skelmersdale | Skelmersdale | OK | |
| 1697 | Brampton | Brampton | Brampton should be 016977, not 01697. | Correctly listed as 016977 (2003–2004) then incorrect 01697 (2005- ). | Correctly listed as 16977 (2001–2002) then incorrect 1697 (2003- ). | 16977 is a five-digit area code. | |
| 1707 | Colney Heath (See also 1727) |
Welwyn Garden City | Suggest using Potters Bar. | Consider using Potters Bar. | Welwyn Garden City | Welwyn Garden City | OK (BT and C&W suggested Potters Bar). |
| 1720 | Scillonia | Isles of Scilly | Isles of Scilly. Agree. | Isles of Scilly | Isles of Scilly | OK | |
| 1727 | Colney Heath (See also 1707) |
St Albans | St Albans. Agree. | St Albans | St Albans | OK | |
| 1737 | Merstham (See also 1883) |
Redhill | Redhill. Agree. | Redhill | Redhill | OK | |
| 1744 | Rainford (See also 1695) |
St Helens | St Helens. Agree. | St Helens | St Helens | OK | |
| 1753 | Iver (See also 1895 & 1784) |
Slough | Slough. Agree. | Slough | Slough | OK | |
| 1770 | Brodick | Isle of Arran | Isle of Arran. Agree. | Isle of Arran | Isle of Arran | OK | |
| 1784 | Iver (See also 1895 & 1753) |
Staines | Staines. Agree. | Staines | Staines | OK | |
| 1790 | Spilsby (See also 1507) |
Spilsby | Spilsby. Agree. | Spilsby | Spilsby | OK | |
| 1806 | Voe | Shetland | Shetland. Agree. | Shetland | Shetland | OK | |
| 1807 | Ballindalloch | Ballindalloch | Ballindalloch | Ballindalloch | OK | ||
| 1821 | Coupar Angus (See also 1828) |
Kinross | Consider using Kinrossie or Errol. Kinross is 01577 and many miles away. | Kinross[sic]. Agree [See BT comments]. |
Kinrossie | Kinrossie | OK (using BT suggested name). |
| 1828 | Coupar Angus (See also 1821) |
Coupar Angus | Coupar Angus. Agree. | Coupar Angus | Coupar Angus | OK | |
| 1832 | Clopton | Clopton | Suggest using Oundle. | Clopton | Clopton | OK | |
| 1841 | Newquay [See also 1637] |
Newquay | Consider using Padstow. | Newquay (2003- ) | Newquay (2003- ) | Clashes with 1637. C&W suggested Padstow in 2003. | |
| 1843 | Thanet | Thanet | Thanet | Thanet | OK (Thanet is a region not a town). | ||
| 1847 | Thurso / Tongue | Thurso / Tongue | 01847 would be better shown in the same way as 01339. Use 01847 Thurso (8) and Tongue (6) as these are non-adjacent charge groups. | Thurso [5,8] / Tongue (6) (2003–2005) then changed to Thurso (2,3,4,5,8) / Tongue (6,7,9) in 2005. | Thurso (8) / Tongue (6) (2002) then Thurso (5,8) / Tongue (6) (2003) then Thurso (2,3,4,5,8) / Tongue (6,7,9) 2004 onwards. | OK | |
| 1851 7,8 | Stornoway | Stornaway[sic] | Spelling error. Use Stornoway. | Stornoway | Stornoway | OK. Spelling error fixed in 2003. | |
| 1856 | Kirkwall | Orkney | Orkney. Agree. | Orkney | Orkney | OK | |
| 1864 | Abington | Abington | Abington | Abington | OK (The Abington exchange is located in Crawford). | ||
| 1870 | Benbecula | Isle of Benbecula | Isle of Benbecula. Agree. | Isle of Benbecula | Isle of Benbecula | OK | |
| 1877 | Trossachs | Callandar[sic] | Callandar[sic]. Agree. | Callandar (2003- ). Should be Callander. | Callander | Error in NTNP. SABC OK. Should be Callander. | |
| 1878 | Lohboisdale[sic] | Lochboisdale | Lochboisdale. Agree. | Lochboisdale | Lohboisdale (2003–2005) then corrected to Lochboisdale in 2005. | NTNP OK. SABC now OK. | |
| 1883 | Merstham (See also 1737) |
Caterham | Caterham. Agree. | Caterham | Caterham | OK | |
| 1885 | Bromyard (See also 1886) |
Pencombe | Suggest using Bromyard. | Pencombe (2003- ) | Pencombe (2003- ) | In renaming 1885 Ofcom renamed the wrong area. | |
| 1886 | Bromyard (See also 1885) |
Bromyard | Suggest using Leigh Sinton. | Bromyard (2003- ) | Bromyard (2003- ) | Knightwick or Leigh Sinton would be a better name for 1886. Bromyard businesses use 1885. | |
| 1889 | Dapple Heath | Rugely[sic] | Rugely[sic]. Agree. | Rugely (2003- ). Should be Rugeley. | Rugeley | Error in NTNP. SABC OK. Should be Rugeley. | |
| 1890 6 | n/a | n/a | Ayton (7) (2003–2004) then changed to Ayton (5,6,7,9) in 2005. | Coldstream (2003–2005) then corrected to Ayton in 2005. | NTNP OK. SABC now OK. | ||
| 1895 | Iver (See also 1753 & 1784) |
Uxbridge | Uxbridge Agree. | Uxbridge | Uxbridge | OK | |
| 1902 | Wolverhampton (See also 1922) |
Wolverhampton | Wolverhampton | Wolverhampton | OK | ||
| 1908 | Wolverton | Milton Keynes | Milton Keynes. Agree. | Milton Keynes | Milton Keynes | OK | |
| 191 2,4,6,8 | Tyneside | Tyneside | Tyneside | Tyneside | Newcastle-upon-Tyne would be a better name. | ||
| 191 5 | Wearside | Sunderland | Sunderland. Agree. | Sunderland | Wearside (2003–2007) then corrected to Sunderland in 2007. | NTNP OK. SABC now OK. | |
| 1920 | Knebworth (See also 1438) |
Ware | Ware. No comment. |
Ware | Ware | OK | |
| 1922 | Wolverhampton (See also 1902) |
Walsall | Walsall. No comment. |
Walsall | Walsall | OK | |
| 1926 | Leamington Spa | Warwick | Suggest Leamington Spa. | Warwick | Warwick | OK | |
| 1928 | Frodsham | Runcorn | Runcorn. Agree. | Runcorn | Runcorn | OK | |
| 1931 | Shap | Bampton | Suggest continuing to use Shap. | Suggest Shap. | Shap | Shap | OK (using BT and C&W suggested name). |
| 1932 | Esher (See also 1372) |
Esher | Clashes with 1372. Suggest Weybridge. | Weybridge | Weybridge | OK (using C&W suggested name). | |
| 1934 | Weston-Super-Mare[sic] | Weston-Super-Mare[sic] | Weston-Super-Mare (2003- ). Should be Weston-super-Mare. | Weston-Super-Mare (2003- ). Should be Weston-super-Mare. | Error in NTNP. Error in SABC. Should be Weston-super-Mare. | ||
| 19467 | Gosforth (Mixed) | Gosforth | Gosforth. Agree. | Gosforth | Gosforth (Mixed) (2003- ). Should be Gosforth. | NTNP OK. Error in SABC. Should be Gosforth. | |
| 1952 | Wellington | Telford | Telford. No comment. |
Telford | Telford | OK | |
| 1953 | Attleborough | Wymondham | Wymondham. No comment. |
Wymondham | Wymondham | OK | |
| 1959 | Swanley (See also 1322 & 1689) |
Westerham | Consider Swanley or Biggin Hill. | Westerham | Swanley (2003–2007) then corrected to Westerham in 2007. | NTNP OK. SABC now OK. | |
| 1963 | Templecombe | Wincanton | Wincanton. Agree. | Wincanton | Wincanton | OK | |
| 1975 5 | Alford (Aberdeen) | Alford | Clashes with 1507. Suggest Alford (Scotland). | Alford (Aberdeenshire) (2003–2005) then corrected to Alford (Aberdeen) in 2005. | Alford (Aberdeen) | NTNP now OK. SABC OK. | |
| 1980 | Bulford Camp | Amesbury | Amesbury. Agree. | Amesbury | Amesbury | OK | |
| 1983 | Ryde | Isle of Wight | Isle of Wight. Agree. | Isle of Wight | Isle of Wight | OK | |
| 1984 | Stogumber | Watchet | Watchet. Agree. | Watchet | Watchet | OK (The Watchet exchange is located in Williton). | |
| 1992 | Hoddesdon | Lea Valley | Suggest continuing to use Hoddesden. | Consider Waltham Cross. | Lea Valley | Lea Valley | OK (BT and C&W each suggested a different name). |
| 1994 | St Clears | Whitland | Suggest continuing to use St Clears. | Suggest using St Clears. | St Clears | St Clears | OK (using BT and C&W suggested name). |
| 28 10,11 | Nothern[sic] Ireland National Dialling | n/a | n/a | Nothern Ireland National Dialling (2003–2010) then corrected to Northern Ireland National Dialling in 2010. | SABC now OK. | ||
| 28 40 | Banbridge | Bambridge[sic] | Spelling error. Use Banbridge. | Spelling error. Use Banbridge. | Banbridge | Banbridge | OK. Spelling error fixed in 2003. |
| 28 43 | Newcastle | Newcastle | Could cause confusion. Suggest Newcastle (Co Down). | Newcastle (Co. Down) | Newcastle (2003–2010) then corrected to Newcastle (Co. Down) in 2010. | NTNP OK. SABC now OK (using BT suggested name). | |
| 28 66 | Enniskillen | Enniskilen[sic] | Spelling error. Use Enniskillen. | Spelling error. Use Enniskillen. | Enniskillen | Enniskillen | OK. Spelling error fixed in 2003. |
| 28 81 | Newtownstewart | Newtonstewart[sic] | Spelling error. Use Newtownstewart. | Spelling error. Use Newtownstewart. | Newtownstewart | Newtownstewart | OK. Spelling error fixed in 2003. |
| 28 90 | Belfast City | Belfast | Belfast. Agree. | Belfast | Belfast City (2003- ). Should be Belfast. | NTNP OK. Error in SABC. Should be Belfast. | |
| 28 91 | Bangor | Bangor | Clashes with 1248. Suggest Bangor (Co Down). | Bangor (Co. Down) | Bangor (2003–2010) then corrected to Bangor (Co. Down) in 2010. | NTNP OK. SABC now OK. |
2008 new area code
In 2008 a new area code was created for EbbsfleetEbbsfleet
Ebbsfleet may refer to:* Ebbsfleet Valley, a redevelopment zone of the Thames Gateway in north west Kent, England**Ebbsfleet River**Ebbsfleet International railway station**Ebbsfleet United F.C., formerly Gravesend & Northfleet F.C....
. Adjacent area codes no longer had enough projected spare capacity for the new development to use, so 01987 was allocated.
"08" Consumer Protection
Under plans, rates charged to people calling an 08 telephone number would be made clearer by linking the cost of the call to the third digit. Numbers starting 080 would be free (except from mobile phones), while 082 would be cheaper than 089.Reform of 070 personal numbering
Ofcom had considered that personal numbersPersonal Numbering
Personal numbering is the name for virtual telephone number services in a number of countries including the UK and Spain. Typically the national destination code used for this service is 70 service. This service has historically been poorly defined by Oftel and also Ofcom...
should migrate to 06, to replace the 070 prefix that is sometimes confused with mobile phone numbers. There is no cap on retail caller charges. Ofcom wanted 070 and 06 numbers to have a price cap, and 07 numbers to be used exclusively for mobile phones. Companies such as Hospedia (formerly Patientline) use 070 personal numbers. After an in-depth study to better understand the market, Ofcom has changed its mind and is now proposing to drop the 060 migration concept and decided that the forced migration to 060 is no longer seen to be objectively justifiable.
Number conservation and overlays
As the number of lines in use continues to grow some areas are close to full capacity. In the late-1990s, Ofcom signalled a number of areas of concern, of which only Coventry has been addressed.| By 2005 | By 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 01202 | Bournemouth | 01204 | Bolton |
| 01203 | Coventry | 01344 | Ascot |
| 01223 | Cambridge | 01582 | Markyate |
| 01224 | Aberdeen | 01604 | Northampton |
| 01273 | Brighton | 01706 | Rochdale |
| 01274 | Bradford | 01733 | Peterborough |
| 01332 | Derby | 01753 | Iver |
| 01483 | Guildford | ||
| 01642 | Middlesbrough | ||
| 01772 | Preston | ||
| 01782 | Stoke-on-Trent | ||
| 01865 | Oxford | ||
| 01902 | Wolverhampton | ||
| 01942 | Wigan |
In November 2010, Ofcom proposed to abandon renumbering and instead provide capacity by a combination of:
- starting to use local numbers beginning '0' and '1' (and removing the option of dialling locally using just the subscriber number)
- introducing additional, 'overlay' area codes to run in tandem with current codes
See also
- List of United Kingdom dialling codes
- List of Wales dialling codes
- UK telephone code misconceptions—includes the common "0207" and "0208" misconceptions
- Big Number ChangeBig Number ChangeThe Big Number Change was an update of telephone dialling codes in the UK in response to the rapid late-1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of numbers. The change greatly expanded the pool of available numbers while helping to retain 'local dialling'...
- Non-geographical telephone numbers in the UKNon-geographical telephone numbers in the UKIn the United Kingdom, non-geographic numbers are telephone numbers available for private sale which, rather than being assigned to a particular telephone line or circuit, provide callers with a contact number which gives no indication as to the geographical location of the line being called...
- Telecommunications in the United KingdomTelecommunications in the United KingdomUntil 1982, the main civil telecommunications system in the UK was a state monopoly known as Post Office Telecommunications. Broadcasting of radio and television was a duopoly of the BBC and Independent Broadcasting Authority : these two organisations controlled all broadcast services, and...
- Telephone numbering planTelephone numbering planA telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunications to allocate telephone numbers to subscribers and to route telephone calls in a telephone network. A closed numbering plan, such as found in North America, imposes a fixed total length to numbers...
- Telephone numberTelephone numberA telephone number or phone number is a sequence of digits used to call from one telephone line to another in a public switched telephone network. When telephone numbers were invented, they were short — as few as one, two or three digits — and were given orally to a switchboard operator...
- Number portability
- Irish telephone numbering planIrish telephone numbering planNumbers on the Irish Telephone Numbering Plan are regulated and assigned to operators by Comreg.-Overview and history:Telephone numbers in Ireland are similar in format to those in many European open numbering plans, for example the UK or Germany with only the subscriber's number being required for...
- Ukphonebook.comUkphonebook.comukphonebook.com was the first free online telephone directory to use the official British Telecom data. Created in 1999, the site now has over 2 million registered users from 28 countries.- History :...
External links
- Ofcom - Telephone Area Code Tool - UK dialling code lookup
- UK Numbering Policy section of Ofcom's website
- UK National Telephone Numbering Plan (in PDF format)
- UK Future Numbering Plan from Ofcom's website
- Ralph Adam, 'Send a boy – or dial it yourself? numbering for the information society', Aslib Proceedings, 51:1, January 1999
- International Directory of Fictitious Telephone Numbers: 2011, Martin John Callanan