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
.
It is
regulated by the UK government's
Office of Communications (Ofcom
), 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 code. 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 which incur extra charge.
|
| 04 |
Reserved. |
| 05 |
Corporate numbering and VoIP services (note: some VoIP
services use 08 or geographic numbers). |
| 06 |
Was reserved for possible use by Personal Numbering instead of 070
following consumer confusion with mobile phones. |
| 07 |
Personal Numbering on 070,
Pagers on 076, mobile phones on 075, 07624, 077, 078, and 079, WiFi
numbers on 079112 and 079118. |
| 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
list of geographic number examples, 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 the shorter area codes are
typically the larger cities, and these permit a larger number of
telephone numbers to be used there, as the local number has more
digits. Local customer numbers are four to eight figures long. The
total number of digits is almost always eleven, but in a very few
areas the total may be ten digits. The "area code" is also referred
to as an 'STD (code)' (
subscriber trunk dialling) code 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 recommends that numbers
be written in this form:
It is common to see the incorrect 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.
The intention is that for callers within the
United Kingdom the +44 is
dropped and the number (0) between the brackets used
instead. 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 bits of both formats. The international format should
show only digits that overseas callers
must dial.
Storing any UK telephone number in the memory of 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 while still located within the UK.
The mobile phone system is able to correctly and automatically
replace the 'plus' with the correct International Access Code for
the country you are calling out from.
Format
Geographic numbering
This is the format used by the most number of 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 about forty-one smaller towns where the subscriber
number is only 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. 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 by Tyne and
Wear/County Durham 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 several years 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.
| 020 |
London |
formerly 0171 and 0181 (1995-2000),
071 and 081 (1990-1995), 01 (1960s-1990)
|
| 023 |
Southampton |
formerly 01703 (70 = SO) |
Portsmouth |
formerly 01705 (70 = PO) |
| 024 |
Coventry |
formerly 01203 (20 = CO) |
| 028 |
Northern
Ireland |
(028)
28xx xxxx Larne formerly
(01574) xxxxxx |
(028)
37xx xxxx Armagh formerly
(01861) xxxxxx |
(028)
82xx xxxx Omagh formerly
(01662) xxxxxx |
(028)
90xx xxxx Belfast formerly
(01232) xxxxxx |
(028)
92xx xxxx Lisburn formerly
(01846) xxxxxx |
| (028)
95xx xxxx Belfast new number
range |
| 029 |
Cardiff |
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 doesn't 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.
National Dialling Only ranges
These ranges have subscriber numbers beginning with the digits '0'
or '1', eg:
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.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. 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.
Non-geographic numbering
- 03xx xxx xxxx — 'UK-wide' numbering.
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. However, these calls remain chargeable by major
UK Mobile Phone providers as they are not technically UK
geographical numbers. 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.
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 Ltd (now
Cable & Wireless). These
numbers are different from the rest of the 05 range in that they
are only 10 digits in length, e.g. 0500 288291 (BBC Radio 2), as
they were allocated before the 05 range was assigned to corporate
numbering.
| 0500
xxxxxx |
"Freephone" (free to call from
landline, up to 40p per minute from mobile). |
Individual mobile phone companies are allocated different ranges
within the
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.
| 070 xxxx xxxx |
Personal Numbering |
| 075xx xxxxxx |
Mobile phones (new number range in use 2007-May onwards) |
| 076xx xxxxxx |
Pagers (excluding 07624, used for mobile phones on the Isle of
Man) |
| 077xx xxxxxx |
Mobile phones (former 03xx and 04xx — mostly Vodafone and O2 |
| 078xx xxxxxx |
Mobile phones (former 05xx, 06xx and 08xx — mostly Vodafone and O2 |
| 079xx xxxxxx |
Mobile phones (former 09xx — mostly Orange and T-Mobile |
07911 2xxxxx
07911 8xxxxx
|
WiFi numbers (used by companies such as Tovo and Mobiboo) |
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.
- 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 to
email,
virtual office applications, call
queuing, voicemail and easy number redirection. None of these
services are exclusive to 08xx numbers, and could be provided on
any number range.
0800
xxxxxx
0800 xxx xxxx
0808 xxx xxxx
|
"Freephone" (free to call from
landline, up to 40p per minute from mobile). |
| 0820 xxx xxxx |
Internet for Schools |
| 0845 xxx xxxx |
Up to 5p a minute, varies
daytime/evening/weekend |
0844 2xx xxxx
to
0844 9xx xxxx
|
Up to 5p a minute but fixed (e.g. always 4p/minute
or always 5p/minute) |
| 0843 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 2xx xxxx
to
0872 9xx 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.
Crown dependencies
| (01481) xxxxxx |
Fixed line |
48 = GU |
(01481) 832xxx
to
(01481) 833xxx
|
Fixed line (Sark) |
| 07781 xxxxxx |
Sure mobile phones and
pagers |
| 07911 xxxxxx |
Wave Telecom mobile phones |
| 07839 xxxxxx |
Airtel Vodafone mobile phones |
| (01534) xxxxxx |
Fixed line |
53 = JE |
07797 xxxxxx
07937 xxxxxx
|
Jersey Telecom mobile phones and
pagers |
| 07700 xxxxxx |
Sure mobile
network |
| (01624) xxxxxx |
Fixed line |
62 = MA |
| 07624 xxxxxx |
Mobile phones and paging services |
| 07924 xxxxxx |
Mobile phones additional capacity |
On the
Isle of Man, both fixed
and mobile phone numbers can be dialled locally in the six-digit
format.
Although calls from UK landlines to landlines in the islands are
charged at the same 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 numbers in
the United States
and
Canada
with the
digits 555.
In most of the large cities with three-digit area codes a range of
numbers is reserved, usually all the numbers starting with the
digits
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.
Special service numbers
Short codes beginning with
1 are reserved for
telecom service providers' own functionality; some of the most
well-known are codes for use with
Caller
Display:
| 141 |
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 |
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.
If the mobile handset requires a PIN code to switch it on, both 999
and 112 can be called without entering the PIN. Some mobile phones
will allow emergency calls to be attempted without a SIM card,
although at present the UK networks reject such calls. From 2009
November an emergency call can be made through any UK mobile
network as long there is a SIM for any valid network in the
handset, no longer just one for the same network. 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.
History
The
telephone service in the United
Kingdom 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.
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 Exhibition at
Wembley in 1924 and 1925.
However, it was not until 1927 that the
first 'Director' telephone
exchange was brought into service in Holborn,
London
and rolled
out progressively across Greater London. A 3
digit code, represented by letters, identified the local exchange.
Director
schemes were gradually introduced in the other major cities of the
UK — Birmingham
, Edinburgh
(although a
relatively small city, it obtained seven-figure dialling for
political reasons), Glasgow
, Liverpool
and Manchester
.
Introduction of area codes
Subscriber Trunk Dialling
(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)
| (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 standardised to the (0xxx) format. In
many cases the initial digits of the new local number would be
formed from digits cleaved from 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 9
87) 456 became
Saffron Walden (0799)
500456, nowadays
(0
1799) 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).
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 this time the
091 code was also brought
into use:
Calls to the Republic of Ireland
Until
the late 1980s, calls to major towns and cities in the Republic of Ireland 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
, 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 with an
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.
- See also: Telephone numbers
in the Republic of Ireland.
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.
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.
PhONEday
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 Eggs. 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:
| 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 |
Was Reserved for Future Personal Numbering, now not so. |
| 07 |
Mobile Phones, Pagers and Personal Numbering |
| 08 |
Freephone and Shared
Cost / Special Rates |
| 09 |
Premium Rate |
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 |
(0113) 2xx xxxx |
(0532) xxxxxx |
53 = LE |
| (0113) 3xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 1997. |
| (0113) 8xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 1997. |
Sheffield |
(0114) 2xx xxxx |
(0742) xxxxxx |
74 = SH |
| (0114) 3xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 1997. |
Nottingham |
(0115) 9xx xxxx |
(0602) xxxxxx |
60 = NO |
| (0115) 8xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 1997. |
Leicester |
(0116) 2xx xxxx |
(0533) xxxxxx |
53 = LE |
| (0116) 3xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 1997. |
Bristol |
(0117) 9xx xxxx |
(0272) xxxxxx |
27 = BR |
| (0117) 2xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 1997. |
| (0117) 3xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 1997. |
|
Most of the ranges with the given initial digits have now been
exhausted, with new numbers being allocated whose local portions
have a different initial digit. For example, in Sheffield (0114)
the 2xx xxxx numbers have now been exhausted, and new numbers
(other than old recycled ones) begin with 3xx xxxx. Similarly,
newly allocated numbers in Leeds, Leicester and Bristol begin with
3xx xxxx, but in Nottingham (0115), the new numbers begin 8xx
xxxx.
National dialling only numbers
| City |
New numbering |
Old numbering |
Notes |
|
Leeds |
(0113) 0ax xxxx |
(0532) 0xxxxx |
53 = LE |
| (0113) 1ax xxxx |
(0532) 1xxxxx |
|
|
Sheffield |
(0114) 0ax xxxx |
(0742) 0xxxxx |
74 = SH |
| (0114) 1ax xxxx |
(0742) 1xxxxx |
|
|
Nottingham |
(0115) 0ax xxxx |
(0602) 0xxxxx |
60 = NO |
| (0115) 1ax xxxx |
(0602) 1xxxxx |
|
|
Leicester |
(0116) 0ax xxxx |
(0533) 0xxxxx |
53 = LE |
| (0116) 1ax xxxx |
(0533) 1xxxxx |
|
|
Bristol |
(0117) 0ax xxxx |
(0272) 0xxxxx |
27 = BR |
| (0117) 1ax xxxx |
(0272) 1xxxxx |
|
|
Changes between PhONEday and the Big Number Change
Geographic numbers
| Area |
New numbering |
Old numbering |
Notes |
Reading |
(0118) 9xx xxxx |
(0734) xxxxxx →
(01734) xxxxxx
|
73 = RE; changed between 1996 and 1998, not on PhONEday |
| (0118) 3xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 1998. |
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 |
(0118) 0ax xxxx |
(01734) 0xxxxx |
73 = RE; changed between 1996 and 1998, not on PhONEday |
| (0118) 1ax xxxx |
(01734) 1xxxxx |
|
Big Number Change
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 seen 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 |
(020) 7xxx xxxx |
0171-xxx xxxx |
Used for existing inner London numbers and new numbers
London-wide. |
| (020) 8xxx xxxx |
0181-xxx xxxx |
Used for existing outer London numbers and new numbers
London-wide. |
| (020) 3xxx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released London-wide from June 2005. |
|
Southampton |
(023) 80xx xxxx |
(01703) xxxxxx |
70 = SO |
| (023) 81xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 2005. |
|
Portsmouth |
(023) 92xx xxxx |
(01705) xxxxxx |
70 = PO |
| (023) 93xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 2005. |
|
Coventry |
(024) 76xx xxxx |
(01203) xxxxxx |
20 = CO |
| (024) 77xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers, released from 2005. |
|
Cardiff |
(029) 20xx xxxx |
(01222) xxxxxx |
22 = CA |
| (029) 21xx xxxx |
|
New phase of numbers released from June 2005. |
Northern Ireland
Example given is Belfast - 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 using either the domestic code
048, or the international code +44
28.
The prefixes for existing numbers in Northern Ireland are split up
into 7 groups, roughly based upon the county in which the main
exchange is based. The initial digit of each phone number is based
on the designated county - for example, the first county
alphabetically is
County Antrim so
numbers in this county start 2. The next county is
County Armagh so numbers here start 3.
One
exception to this is the Greater Belfast area, initial digit 9,
which is extended to include each adjacent former STD code area,
including the towns of Bangor, 
(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.
National dialling only numbers
| Area |
New numbering |
Old numbering |
Notes |
|
London |
(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 |
(023) 110x xxxx |
(01703) 0xxxxx |
70 = SO |
| (023) 111x xxxx |
(01703) 1xxxxx |
|
Portsmouth |
(023) 100x xxxx |
(01705) 0xxxxx |
70 = PO |
| (023) 101x xxxx |
(01705) 1xxxxx |
|
Coventry |
(024) 100x xxxx |
(01203) 0xxxxx |
20 = CO |
| (024) 101x xxxx |
(01203) 1xxxxx |
|
Cardiff |
(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 has 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 and national-rate numbers, though these
terms are no longer recommended to be used as they can be
misleading ) 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.
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
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).
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
xxx. Now that Reading has some (0118) 3xx xxxx numbers mis-dialling
also occurs when people prefix 3xx 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
Ofcom organised the renaming of some areas for consistency in 2003:
| Geographic Area Code |
Geographic Area Name in Draft Plan |
Geographic Area Name in Plan |
| 01233 |
Ashford |
Ashford (Kent) |
| 01248 |
Bangor |
Bangor (Gwynedd) |
| 01268 |
Canvey Island |
Basildon |
| 01355 |
Kilbride |
East Kilbride |
| 01357 |
East Kilbride |
Strathaven |
| 01375 |
Stanford-le-Hope |
Grays Thurrock |
| 01438 |
Knebworth |
Stevenage |
| 01507 |
Alford (England) (4) |
Alford (Lincs) (4) |
| 01562 |
Stourbridge |
Kidderminster |
| 01684 |
Hanley Swan |
Malvern |
| 01821 |
Kinross |
Kinrossie |
| 01931 |
Bampton |
Shap |
| 01932 |
Esher |
Weybridge |
| 01975 |
Alford (Scotland) (5) |
Alford (Grampion) (5) |
| 01994 |
Whitland |
St Clears |
| 028 |
Newcastle (43) |
Newcastle (Co. Down)(43) |
| 028 |
Bangor (91) |
Bangor (Co. Down)(91) |
|
'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
numbers 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
As the number of lines in use continues to grow some areas are
close to full capacity. More area code changes are likely for a
small number of areas in future years. 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 |
See also
References
External links
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