I got offered a great job back in 1995 fitting smartboxes but because we worked so hard and efficiently we completed our six month quota in three.

We were then sent to help out another area and because we showed them up for the lazy so and so's they were they did the dirty on us and our contract didn't get extended

You did learn the lesson from that though didn't you?

The thing was when we started we were told the previous engineers were crap so we had to prove ourselves and if we cleared the backlog then the temporary contract may become permanent

Can't really complain because we did get to sit at home for the last four weeks on full pay with a fully expensed company cars

That horrible 020 code.

I sometimes get calls for 020 8 numbers and its really annoying.

Furthermore, the old premium rate number which started 0891 still appeared on some old ads, my mobile number starts 07891 and people thought that it used to be 0891. My number is a gold number and its something like 07891-03-03-03 (Not gonna give the real one out obviously)

People were very confused with the old numbers because you had something like this:

081: Outer London/Middlesex
0836: Vodafone mobiles
0827: Tamworth
0891: Premium Rate
0883: Oxted
0956: Mercury-121- Mobiles
0990: National rate(BT)
0541: National rate(Mercury)
0500: Freephone(Mercury)
0585: Cellnet mobiles
0345: Lo-Call rate (BT)
0385: Vodafone mobiles
0645: Lo-Call rate(Mercury)
0635: Newbury,Berkshire
0800: Freephone
0802: Cellnet mobiles
04481: Guernsey telecom mobiles
0481: Guernsey Telecom landlines

What a mix up!

Oh and Ofcom has confirmed that 0500 is disappearing and that Cable and Wireless has not allocated any numbers since 1999.

It's not the 'horrible' 020 number, it's just the fact people are too stupid to write their numbers correctly, so there would be no mistake.

Everyone likes it as 0207 as that makes it like 0171.

On mobiles and abroad and outside the local area, people just dial 0207. So, anyone calling 020 7000-0000 always dial 0207-000-0000.

I liked the old system.

I never really believed people were this so backward, why using the proper format is so difficult I don't know.

The "old system" that's run out of numbers which means that you would have 0171 covering Inner London, 0181 covering Outer London, and (say) 0331 for the whole of London - that really would make sense...

The old Preston phone code of 0772 is now used by 02 and doesn't confuse anyone - noone would think it's a local Preston code, so I don't see why anyone would assume that 07898 was a premium number (especially as most people think 07 = mobile)


I notice in the OFCOM consulation that the only reason places like Preston, Stoke-On-Trent etc arn't being migrated is because the 21CN should take the strain off the existing numbering system - when it's rolled out numbers shouldn't run out in most areas and the strain they are suffering now should vanish.

Mr or Mrs Noone might think it's a local Preston code, though I am sure no one else would.

Foreigners can get confused such as tourist with those numbers.

Some old people can too.

0203 was the old Coventry code (before phONEday) hence it became 01203 and with the big number change 024 (76 was added to the beginning of all local numbers to give 8 digit numbers like London)

I recokon that 020 3 is now in use as a London code as the old conertations with 0203 and Coventry are a thing of the past, as its had two number changes since then. Addtionally Coventry is a long way from London when you compare with other codes they could have chosen eg 020 2 (0202 was the old Bournemouth code), no doubt though the 2 code will be used in the future, though I guess 4 will be used next (0204 was Bolton!)

Thats just my two pence if anyones interested!

Correct!

0171-xxxxxxx numbers became 020-7xxxxxxx numbers.

The "7" in the old 0171 code becoming the leading digit of the new 8 digit numerical.

Similar with 0181.

Finally the old 3 figure director codes such as AMBassador, EUSton, PADdington, BIShopsgate, ABBey, HARrow, HUNter street, WATerloo, MUSeum and many others becoming history.

As has been pointed out by others, it went from 01 to 071 then 0171 then to 020.

You'd think that having forced number changes on Londoners twice already, that by the third time OFCOM did this they'd have made provision so that they didn't have to change it again for many years. But oh no.

OFCOM should be well and truly slapped for this.

And why is it that we keep running out of numbers when a country the size of the USA still uses a 3 digit state code followed by a standard 7 digits (and this has not changed for as long as I can remember).

Because places like New York have THREE totally different area codes - Using London as an example you might have 0181 XXX XXXX, your neighbour 0171 XXX XXXX and your other neighbour 01602 XXX XXXX, all fed from the same exchange - now much sense is there in that?

Weird, I have never seen more than a 3 digit area code.

My main client is a US company and all the US numbers that I dial have 3 digit area codes followed by 7 digits (therefore 10 in total): e.g. 213 xxx xxxx

Be that as it may, it still doesn't excuse OFCOM's total lack of foresight in number allocation.

I was using the existing UK area codes as a base, of those I listed you could call the first two three digits anyway "181" and "171".

Anyways, the London code ISN'T CHANGING again, just some 07 and 08 numbers basically, and new numbers are being created.

You don't hear any mentioning things when a new range of numbers enter Birmingham for example like you do for London.

London code is 020, yet people / media made a big thing out of numbers beginning 3xxx xxxx.

Birmingham is 0121, but when new providers get allocated number ranges, such as 314 xxxx or 660 xxxx, you don't hear the public or media making a big song and dance about it.

I know that you were using UK equivalents as an illustration, but your example of "01602 XXX XXXX" is what confused me. I have never seen a US number in that format.

And (if I understand correctly) the US doesn't even use the 555 range, which makes it all the more remarkable that they still have enough numbers to go round.

I couldn't think of any more 4 digital 01 codes so just nicked the old Nottingham pre-phoneONEday code and 01ed it.

Actually as I said before it's more than three

212 = Manhattan
646 = Manhattan Overlay + Cellphones
917 = Cellphones now being used for landlines
718 = Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, SI
347 = Brooklyn, Queens, Brons, SI Overlay + Cellphones

Then there are the "upstate" area codes.

Admittedly some of the more sparsely populated states have 1 huge area code with separate ones for cities, but most states have a whole bunch now.

The UK could still adopt a similar model, preparing in advance allocating 1 major county code, then 4 or 5 for large urban areas.. Cities like London, Manchester etc could have their own block of 10 That would give up to 10 million numbers for each city alone.

The 555 range is used to some extent. 555 1212 for example is out of state directory inquiries.



Go have a look here

DP

Hey thanks for that.

I never knew about the 555 1212 number.

I have tried in vain to read all this thread, so if this has been mentioned, sorry!

France has TWO codes. One for the North and one for the south of the country....and it works!

Five actually..... NE/NW/SE/SW & Paris

This, unfortunately, is a strangely interesting post for me!

I live in Bournemouth, our area code is 01202, and if I speak to a local person who asks what my landline is, I give them my six figure suffix - excluding the area code which is 591***.

So, I was wondering, just in colloquial conversation say, in London - what would one neighbour say the their next door neighbour - if they were to ask what their phone number was?

Is it common to just say the whole 11 digits or whatever it is seeing as the geographical nature of the numbers is seemingly being lost with the integration of the "3"?

I'm a 24 year old, who hates reading sites like this - because I come across threads like these, it reminds me of obsessions that I had when I was a kid - and now it's brought it all back, and I'll go to bed thinking of number systems now. Thanks a lot.

Surely with the proliferation of mobile phones nowadays, it is only sensible to give anyone the full telephone number including the STD code.

As can be seen by this thread, giving anything other than the full number often just results in added profits for telephone networks by the those dialling wrong numbers.