History of telephone numbers in the United Kingdom

The telephone service in the United Kingdom was originally provided by private companies and local councils. But by 1912–13^[1] 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^[2] 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.^{[3] [4]}

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^[5] 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.^[6]

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, or 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

e.g. for 0799, Saffron Walden (SW)^[7]

(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 e.g. Newport (079 982) 5678 became Saffron Walden (0799) 825678, nowadays (01799) 825678. The local number would be padded with extra fixed digits (if needed) to make up the new total length e.g. Clavering (079 985) 345 became Saffron Walden (0799) 850345, nowadays (01799) 850345. 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.

Director areas

The director areas used a shorter area code, usually in the form 0x1 (01 for London) with a 7-digit local subscriber number. These were:

Area code	City	Notes
01	London	Until 1990—see below
021	Birmingham	(2 = B)
031	Edinburgh	(3 = E)
041	Glasgow	(4 = G)
051	Liverpool	(5 = L)
061	Manchester	(6 = M)

The codes 071, 081, and 091 were reserved for later expansion, with the former two eventually being temporarily allocated to London (see below).

Within the director areas, the first three digits of the seven digit subscriber number would relate to the local telephone exchange on which the number could be found. These were usually three-digit letter codes, based on the first three letters of the exchange name e.g. within the Liverpool director area, a number on the Anfield telephone exchange would be dialled as ANField xxxx. Within the London director area, a number on the Frobisher telephone exchange would be dialled as FRObisher xxxx.

After the introduction of STD, but before the advent of all-figure dialling, to call a number on an exchange in a director area, the number would be dialled as follows, for example, OL1 ANF 1234. After the advent of all-figure dialling the number would be 051 263 1234.

1968 area code changes

In 1968, area codes beginning 00 were changed.

New area code (1968 onwards)	Area code name	Old area code (pre-1968)
0301	Arrochar	0022 (OC)	Arrochar & Lochgoilhead, Dunbarton
0572	Oakham	0023 (OA)	Oakham (Rutland), Leics.
0631	Oban	0024 (OB)	Oban, Argyll
0651	Oldmeldrum	0055 (OL)	Newmachar & Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire.
0656	Bridgend, Ogmore Vale	0042 (OG)	Ogmore, Bridgend, Mid Glam
0662	Omagh	0063 (OM)	Omagh, Tyrone, Northern Ireland
0689	Orpington (68 = OT)	0072 (OR)	Orpington & Farnborough, Kent
0691	Oswestry (69 = OW)	0073 (OS)	Oswestry, Salop
0695	Ormskirk	0074 (OR)	Ormskirk, Lancs
0801	Thrapston, Oundle	0085 (OU)	Thrapston, Northants
0830	Kirkwhelpington, Otterburn	0086 (OT)	Otterburn, Northumberland
0832	Clopton, Oundle	0082 (OU)	Oundle, Northants
0837	Okehampton	0052 (OK)	Okehampton, Devon
0850	Callanish, Lewis, Outer Hebrides	0040 (OH)	Lewis, Hebrides
		0044 ()	Isle of Lewis, Hebrides
0851		0044 ()	Stornoway
0851	Great Bernera and Stornoway, Outer Hebrides	0041 (OH)
0852	Kilmelford, Oban	0025 (OB)
0852	Kilmelford	0026 (OB)	Kilmelford group
		0027 (OB)	Kilmelford, Argyll (Oban)
0855	Ballachulish, Onich	0062 (ON)	Ballachulish Group
		0062 ()	Kinlochleven & Fort William, Argyll
-	no replacement	0075 (OR)	Ormskirk, Lancs, outer areas
0856	Orkney	0076 (OR)	Orkney Islands (Kirkwall)
0857	Sanday, Orkney	0077 (OR)	Orkney Islands (Eday, N. Orkney)
-	no replacement	0078 (OR)	Orkney Islands (Kirkwall)
0859	Harris, Outer Hebrides	0046 (OH)
0865	Oxford (86 = UN[iversity])	0092 (OX)	Oxford
0866	Kilchrenan, Oban	0025 (OB)
		0025 ()	Taynuilt, Argyll
0867	Oxford	0096 (OX)	Oxford, outer areas
0869	Bicester, Oxfordshire	0095 (OX)	Bicester, Oxon
0870	Isle of Benbecula, Outer Hebrides	0047 (OH)	Barra or Benbecula, Hebrides
0871	Castlebay, Outer Hebrides	0047 (OH)	(Isle of Barra Group)
0876	Lochmaddy, Outer Hebrides	0047 (OH)
0878	Lochboisdale, Outer Hebrides	0047 (OH)
0883	Caterham, Oxted	0093 (OX)	Oxted, Caterham, Surrey
0959	Westerham, Otford	0083 (OT)
0967	Strontian	0024 (OB)

Codes beginning 00 were also used for premium rate numbers or as a short code for dialling calls to various places in the Republic of Ireland over the next few decades.

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 and Durham	See article 0191 for migration details.

Special services

Until the mid-1980s freephone numbers could be accessed only by ringing the operator on 100 and asking to be connected, e.g. Freephone 8963 for BT customer service. Later on, the 0800 code came into use for freephone services. These numbers often had only 8 digits, e.g. 0800 1111 for ChildLine.

From around 1980, calls to Radiophones could also be direct dialled.^[9]

0034—Area 1 (Greater London)

0036—Area 2 (Severn and Midlands)

0037—Area 3 (Liverpool and the North-East)

0033—Area 4 (Southern and Eastern Scotland)

0039—Area 5 (Southern England)

These covered only a small part of the country. The 0035 and 0038 codes were added later.

In the 1980s, these other allocations were also in use:

0055—"Talkabout"

0066—"Super Call"

0072—Radio Paging

0073—Radio Paging

0077—"Super Call"

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^[10]

0002—Cork 021 area^[11]

0004—Dundalk 042 area

0005—Waterford 051 area

0006—Limerick 061 area

0007—Letterkenny 074 area

0009—Galway 091 area

and

0015—Sligo

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 Éireann's (now called eircom) 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 9xxx xxxx while calling Belfast from Dublin would be 048 9xxx xxxx. However, it is also possible to make calls using the normal international 00 44 28 xxxx xxxx format. In both cases, calls are charged at a much lower rate than calls to Britain. In recent years, these arrangements are becoming less relevant as customers in both countries have access to a wide range of telephone service providers, cable telephony services, mobile operators and alternative services based on VoIP. Some providers include unlimited calls to the UK or Republic of Ireland (and many other countries) in various bundled packages.

Mixed areas in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, many of the area codes were created as "mixed" areas. There were a number of code changes within Northern Ireland^[12] over the years with some exchanges swapping to different area codes.

In 1993, further changes were made throughout Northern Ireland in preparation for PhONEday in 1995. Many of the changes were eliminating 3-digit and 4-digit subscriber numbers in rural exchanges by adding extra digits; the table below shows the end result. The system of "mixed" areas remained in place.

Mixed area code (1990s)	"Mixed" area code name (1990s)	Local number length	Local numbers begin (1990s)
0247	Bangor	6	2-6, 8, 9
024 77	Kircubbin	5	2-9
0265	Coleraine	5 or 6	2-5, 8, 9
026 56	Ballymoney	5	2-9
026 57	Ballycastle	5	2-9
0266	Ballymena	5 or 6	2-4, 6, 8, 9
026 65	Kilrea	5	2-9
026 67	Martinstown	5	2-9
0365	Enniskillen	6	2-4, 8, 9
036 55	Fivemiletown	5	2-9
036 56	Kesh	5	2-9
036 57	Lisnaskea	5	2-9
0396	Downpatrick	6	2-6, 8, 9
039 67	Newcastle	5	2-9
0504	Derry	6	2-6, 8, 9
050 47	Limavady	5	2-9
0648	Magherafelt	5 or 6	2-6, 8, 9
064 87	Cookstown	5	2-9
0662	Omagh	6	2-9
066 25	Ballygawley	5	2-9
066 26	Newtownstewart	5	2-9
066 27	Carrickmore	5	2-9
0693	Newry	5 or 6	2-6, 8, 9
069 37	Rostrevor	5	2-9
0820	Banbridge	5? or 6?	2-4, 6-9
082 06	Banbridge	5	2-9

Additional codes for mobile, freephone, non-geographic, premium rate and pagers

The prefixes listed in the table below were introduced at various times from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. The details and timeline of these allocations is complex.

0459, 0802, 0831, 0839, 0860, 0881, 0891, 0893, 0897, 0898, 0921, 0941, 0961, 0979, 0987, 0998 and 0999 had never been used for geographic area codes, so could be used for non-geographic and mobile services as soon as the need arose. Those codes, if used, have since migrated to various 07, 08 and 09 ranges in the Big Number Change.

Other codes had multiple uses over the years. Edinburgh stopped using 0500 and moved to 031 (0131 after PhONEday). Some years later, 0500 was used for Mercury Freephone services.

Langholm was moved from 0541 to the new 038 73 "mixed" area (0138 73 after PhONEday). 0541 5 was then re-allocated as the National Rate non-geographic code for C&WC AreaCall which then became 0870 15 in the Big Number Change.

Hornsea was moved from 0401 to join with the existing Patrington allocation at 0964 (01964 after PhONEday). This created the 0964 Hornsea and Patrington ELNS area. 0401 later went on to be used for Cellnet mobile until moving to 07701 in the Big Number Change.

Some prefixes had dual usage when no longer used for geographic area codes. In the former Basildon 0374 area code, the 0374 5 number block was used for National Rate calls while the rest of the 0374 range was used for Vodafone mobile phones. Likewise, in the former Weardale 0956 area code the 0956 7 block was used for personal numbering and the rest of 0956 was used for One-to-One mobile telephones.

The area codes 0921, 0987, 0998 and 0999 were never used., the last of which due to possible confusion with the 999 emergency number.

Freephone		Local Rate		National Rate
Code	Usage	Code	Usage	Code	Usage
0321 xxxxxx	Vodafone Freephone	0345 xxxxxx	BT Lo-Call	0374 5xxxxx	National rate
0500 xxxxxx	Mercury Freecall	0645 xxxxxx	Mercury LocalCall	0541 5xxxxx	Mercury AreaCall
0800 xxxxxx	BT Freefone			0990 xxxxxx	BT NationalCall
Premium Rate Services
Code	Usage	Code	Usage	Code	Usage
0331	VoData premium rate	0881 1xxxxx	Mercury premium rate	0898 xxxxxx	BT premium rate
0336 xxxxxx	VoData premium rate	0881 2xxxxx	Mercury premium rate	0930 0xxxxx	Premium rate
0338	Mercury premium rate	0881 3xxxxx	Mercury premium rate	0930 1xxxxx	Premium rate
0632 xxxxxx	Premium rate	0881 5xxxxx	Mercury premium rate	0930 2xxxxx	Premium rate
0640	Mercury premium rate	0881 6xxxxx	Mercury premium rate	0930 3xxxxx	Premium rate
0660 xxxxxx	Mercury premium rate	0881 7xxxxx	Mercury premium rate	0930 4xxxxx	Premium rate
0696 xxxxxx	Premium rate	0881 9xxxxx	Mercury premium rate	0930 5xxxxx	Premium rate
0696 6xxxxx	Jersey Telecoms premium rate	0890 xxxxxx	Premium rate	0930 6xxxxx	Premium rate
0696 8xxxxx	Manx Telecoms premium rate	0891 xxxxxx	BT ValueCall	0930 8xxxxx	Premium rate
0696 9xxxxx	Guernsey Telecoms premium rate	0894	BT premium rate	0930 9xxxxx	Premium rate
0836 xxxxxx	premium rate?	0895	premium rate?	0941 xxxxxx	Premium rate (Pagers?)
0839 xxxxxx	Mercury premium rate?	0896	Premium rate	0991	Mercury premium rate
0853	Premium rate	0897	BT premium rate
Mobile Telephones				Pagers[13]
Code	Usage	Code	Usage	Code	Usage
0370 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0802 xxxxxx	BT Cellnet	0399 0xxxxx → 01399 0xxxxx	VodaPage
0374 0xxxxx	Vodafone	0831 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0399 xxxxxx → 01399 xxxxxx	VodaPage
0374 1xxxxx	Vodafone	0836 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0426 xxxxxx → 01426 xxxxxx	BT Paging
0374 2xxxxx	Vodafone	0839 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0459 2xxxxx → 01459 2xxxxx	Mercury/PageOne
0374 3xxxxx	Vodafone	0850 xxxxxx	BT Cellnet	0459 3xxxxx → 01459 3xxxxx	VodaPage
0374 4xxxxx	Vodafone	0860 xxxxxx	BT Cellnet	0459 4xxxxx → 01459 4xxxxx	VodaPage
0374 6xxxxx	Vodafone	0930 7xxxxx (0961 7xxxxx)	One-to-One	0459 5xxxxx → 01459 5xxxxx	VodaPage
0374 7xxxxx	Vodafone	0956 1xxxxx	One-to-One	0459 6xxxxx → 01459 6xxxxx	VodaPage
0374 8xxxxx	Vodafone	0956 2xxxxx	One-to-One	0459 8xxxxx → 01459 8xxxxx	VodaPage
0374 9xxxxx	Vodafone	0956 3xxxxx	One-to-One	0459 9xxxxx → 01459 9xxxxx	Mercury/PageOne
0378 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0956 4xxxxx	One-to-One	01523 xxxxxx	PageOne
0385 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0956 5xxxxx	One-to-One	01893 xxxxxx	BT Paging
0390 xxxxxx	Orange	0956 6xxxxx	One-to-One	0336 7xxxxx	Vodafone
0401 xxxxxx	BT Cellnet	0956 8xxxxx	One-to-One	0385 4xxxxx	Vodata?
0402 xxxxxx	BT Cellnet	0956 9xxxxx	One-to-One	0385 6xxxxx	Vodata
0403 xxxxxx	BT Cellnet	0958 xxxxxx	One-to-One	04325 xxxxxx	BT Paging
0408 xxxxxx	BT mobile Personal Assistant	0961 0xxxxx	One-to-One	04624 xxxxxx	Isle of Man?
0410 xxxxxx	BT Cellnet	0961 1xxxxx	One-to-One	0660 xxxxxx	PageOne
0411 xxxxxx	BT Cellnet	0961 2xxxxx	One-to-One	0839 xxxxxx	PageOne
0421 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0961 3xxxxx	One-to-One	0881 0xxxxx	PageOne
0441 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0961 4xxxxx	One-to-One	0881 4xxxxx	PageOne
04481 xxxxxx	Guernsey Telecom	0961 5xxxxx	One-to-One	0881 8xxxxx	PageOne
0456 0xxxxx	Orange	0961 6xxxxx	One-to-One	0941 xxxxxx	Orange (HPL)
0456 1xxxxx	Orange	0961 8xxxxx	One-to-One	0941 1xxxxx	Orange (HPL)
04624 xxxxxx	Isle of Man	0961 9xxxxx	One-to-One
0467 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0966 xxxxxx	Orange
0468 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0973 xxxxxx	Orange
0498 xxxxxx	Vodafone	0976 xxxxxx	Orange
0585 xxxxxx	BT Cellnet	0979 7xxxxx	Jersey Telecom
0589 xxxxxx	BT Cellnet? Vodafone?
Personal numbering
Code	Usage
0956 7xxxxx	FleXtel Personal Numbering

Rapid expansion of mobile and premium rate services quickly depleted the number of available area codes. By the early 1990s it was also becoming more difficult to remember the various codes that might cost a lot more to call than a local or national call, and many consumers were caught out with larger than expected bills. A more long-term solution would need to be found as it was clear that mobile usage in particular was going to push demand for new codes even further in the coming years.

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.^[14] 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	071-xxx xxxx	01-xxx xxxx
Outer London	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; was formerly the area code for London prior to 1990	Freephone, local and premium rate services[13][lower-alpha 1]
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.

Initial allocations with 10 digits: freephone 0800 numbers

The longest telephone numbers in use until now had been 9 digits long (not including the 0 trunk code), e.g. 051 234 5678, 0303 456789, 03873 56789, 0800 445566. The long term plan is for migration to 10 digit numbering in the UK and in 1991 this started with new 0800 numbers being allocated with 10 digits.

Number range	Usage
0500 xxxxxx	Original 9-digit Mercury (now C&WC) freephone allocations since 1992
0800 xxxxxx	Original 9-digit BT freephone allocations since 1980s
0800 xxx xxxx	Additional 10-digit freephone numbers

Oftel administers number allocation from 1994

With multiple operators joining the market, administration was passed to an independent regulator. Oftel took over administration of the UK’s telephone numbers from BT in 1994.^[15]

Geographic numbers

On "PhONEday", 16 April 1995, the digit "1" was inserted into all UK geographic area codes, including those in the director, all-figure dialling, ELNS and mixed areas. 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	(01233) xxxxxx	(0233) xxxxxx
Coventry	(01203) xxxxxx	(0203) xxxxxx
Consett/Stanley	(01207) xxxxxx	(0207) xxxxxx
Birmingham	(0121) xxx xxxx	021-xxx xxxx
Cardiff	(01222) xxxxxx	(0222) xxxxxx
Buxton	(01298) xxxxx	(0298) xxxxx
Edinburgh	(0131) xxx xxxx	031-xxx xxxx
Derby	(01332) xxxxxx	(0332) xxxxxx
Dundee	(01382) xxxxxx	(0382) xxxxxx
Evesham	(01386) xxxxxx	(0386) xxxxxx
Glasgow	(0141) xxx xxxx	041-xxx xxxx
Hull	(01482) xxxxxx	(0482) xxxxxx
Liverpool	(0151) xxx xxxx	051-xxx xxxx
Jersey	(01534) xxxxxx	(0534) xxxxxx
Hawkshead	(0153 94) xxxxx	(053 94) xxxxx
Luton	(01582) xxxxxx	(0582) xxxxxx
Manchester	(0161) xxx xxxx	061-xxx xxxx
Brampton	(0169 77) xxxx	(069 77) xxxx
Southampton	(01703) xxxxxx	(0703) xxxxxx
Inner London	(0171) xxx xxxx	071-xxx xxxx
Reading	(01734) xxxxxx	(0734) xxxxxx
Outer London	(0181) xxx xxxx	081-xxx xxxx
Tyne and Wear/County Durham	(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 and second digits would indicate the type of service called:

Area code prefix	Service type
00	International call prefix
0	Trunk prefix
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 and shared cost / special rates
09	Premium rate

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, issued from 1997.
	(0113) 8xx xxxx		New phase of numbers, issued from 2006.
	(0113) 4xx xxxx		New phase of numbers, issued from 2010.
Sheffield	(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	(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	(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	(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.
	(0117) 4xx xxxx		New phase of numbers, issued from 2012.

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.^[16] Since then, other ranges have been opened in these areas. See table above for further details.

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

International calls from the UK

The international access code also changed on "PhONEday", from 010 to 00 thus meeting the international call prefix standard set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

112 emergency number in addition to 999

In 1995, the United Kingdom adopted the pan-European 112 emergency services number. This new number runs alongside the existing 999 number, first introduced in 1937.

112 or 999	Emergency services (police, fire, ambulance, coastguard, mountain rescue, cave rescue)

Changes between PhONEday and the Big Number Change

Geographic numbers

Area	New numbering	Old numbering[lower-alpha 2]	Notes
Reading	(0118) 9xx xxxx	(0734) xxxxxx → (01734) xxxxxx	73 = RE; changed between 1996 and 1998, not on PhONEday[17]
	(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.

National dialling only numbers

Area	New numbering	Old numbering[lower-alpha 2]	Notes
Reading	0118 0ax xxxx	01734 0xxxxx	73 = RE; changed between 1996 and 1998, not on PhONEday[17]
	0118 1ax xxxx	01734 1xxxxx

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 another digit.

New personal numbers with revenue-share start using 070

In 1995, the 070 prefix began to be allocated for personal numbers (PNS). These new numbers had 10 digits.^[18]

Number range	Usage
070 xxxx xxxx	New 10-digit personal numbers

New numbers at 070 107x xxxx were held aside in order for FleXtel personal numbers at 0956 7xxxxx to migrate in the forthcoming Big Number Change in 2000.

The geographic area codes 0700 to 0709 had only recently been moved to 01700 to 01709 on PhONEday. New 070 personal number allocations had to be chosen carefully such that mis-dialled calls for old pre-PhONEday geographic numbers would fail to connect rather than connect the caller to a user of a new personal number. Oftel identified old (070x) xx geographic number ranges that had not been used before and re-allocated those first.

For example, The Welwyn Garden City (0707) 4x range (now 01707 4x) had never been used,^[19] so 070 74xx quickly came into use for personal numbering in 1996.^[18] However, the (0707) 3x range (now 01707 3x) had been in use within Welwyn Garden City,^[19] and these numbers remained protected by Oftel for a number of years. The 070 73xx range of numbers finally came into use for personal numbering in 2007.^[18]

070 numbers initially allowed revenue share. These numbers are easy to mistake for mobile phone numbers and many scams developed. Oftel consulted on various proposals.^[20][21][22] Eventually revenue share was banned on these lines^[23] and they also fell under the jurisdiction of ICSTIS (nowadays PhonepayPlus), the premium rate services regulator.

New mobile numbers start using 077xx, 078xx, 079xx

Geographic numbers had been moved to begin 01 in the PhONEday changes in 1995. Pre-existing mobile phone, non-geographic, premium rate and pager services continued to use the same 9-digit 02xx xxxxxx to 09xx xxxxxx numbers as before. It would be several more years before these would add a digit to become 10-digit numbers and move to the 07, 08 and 09 ranges in the Big Number Change in 2000-2001.

From May 1997, new mobile phone services started using numbers beginning 077, 078 or 079^[24] re-using area codes recently vacated by 9-digit geographic numbers. These new mobile numbers have 10 digits.

Number range	Usage
077xx xxxxxx	New 10-digit mobile telephone allocations
078xx xxxxxx	New 10-digit mobile telephone allocations
079xx xxxxxx	New 10-digit mobile telephone allocations

BT Cellnet started with 07801 xxxxxx, 07803 xxxxxx, 07808 xxxxxx and 07809 xxxxxx. Vodafone started with 07771 xxxxxx and 07775 xxxxxx in May 1997.^[18] One2One started using 07804 xxxxxx and 07806 xxxxxx numbers in May 1995.^[18] 07xxx codes for new allocations by operators have been issued by Oftel since May 1997.^[24] It would be another few years before older BT Cellnet 0802 xxxxxx numbers were converted to 07802 xxxxxx, Vodafone 0370 xxxxxx numbers were converted to 07770 xxxxxx and One2One 0961 xxxxxx numbers were converted to 07961 xxxxxx in the Big Number Change.

New pager numbers start using 076

Pre-existing pager numbers were already scattered under various codes in the 02xx to 09xx range and had 9 digits. Several services used non-standard 01 numbers.^[13] These would all eventually be moved to 076 codes and to 10 digits in the Big Number Change in 2000.

From 1998 onwards, new pager numbers began to be issued in parts of the 076 range. These new numbers had 10 digits.

Number range	Usage
076 xxxx xxxx	New 10-digit pager allocations

Various parts of the 076 range were set aside for pager number migration in the forthcoming Big Number Change in 2000.

The number range 07624 xxxxxx was set aside for mobile telephones in the Isle of Man. This would also come into use as a part of the Big Number Change.

"08" consumer protection

The initial plan for the new "08" number range was such that rates charged to people calling an 08 telephone number would be made more clear by linking the cost of the call to the second digit of the National Significant Number. Numbers starting 080 would be free (except from mobile phones), while 082 would be cheaper than 089.

New freephone numbers start using 0808

In 1997, Oftel released 10-digit numbers beginning 0808 designated as freephone services.^[25] These calls are free only from a landline or public payphone.

Number range	Usage
0808 0xx xxxx	10-digit freephone numbers (held in reserve for forthcoming 0321 Big Number Change migration)
0808 1xx xxxx to 0808 8xx xxxx	New 10-digit freephone allocations
0808 9xx xxxx	New 10-digit freephone allocations for internet services

Both BT and Mercury issued only 10-digit freephone numbers to users after 1997.^[25] With the market opened up to competition, many other companies also allocated these numbers to users.

Usage of pre-existing 10- and 9-digit 0800 numbers and pre-existing 9-digit 0500 numbers continued as before.

Additionally, numbers in the range 0808 80x xxxx are reserved for not-for-profit helplines and as such are usually free to call from most mobile telephones. A number of other numbers can also called for free from mobiles,^{[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]} but this varies by network.

New non-geographic revenue-share numbers start using 0845 and 0870

From 1996 onwards, Oftel brought various new 10-digit non-geographic 0845 and 0870 numbers into use.^[34]

Number range	Usage
0845 xxx xxxx	New 10-digit non-geographic numbers
0870 xxx xxxx	New 10-digit non-geographic numbers

Only certain sub-parts of each code were made available for immediate use. Numbers at 0845 7, 0845 9, 0870 1, 0870 4, 0870 5 and other ranges were set aside for numbers such as 0345, 0374, 0541, 0645 and 0990 that would be migrating from 9-digits to 10-digits and to these two 08xx codes in the forthcoming Big Number Change in 2000.

In these early days, the price for calling 0845 numbers from landlines was tied to BT's price for calls to local geographic numbers. Similarly, the price for calling 0870 numbers from landlines was tied to BT's price for national calls to geographic numbers.

Recent changes

1997 to present day: new allocations within existing 011x areas

These are detailed as extra entries within the PhONEday section above.

2000s

2000 introduction of 055 corporate numbers

In 2000, Oftel started allocating 055 numbers for corporate numbering. These numbers have 10 digits. Uptake of these numbers has been low.

055 xxxx xxxx	Corporate Numbering

055 114x xxxx numbers have been used for the BT Broadband Voice service since December 2003, one of their bigger customers being Abbey (now Santander) bank.

2000 introduction of 0844 and 0871 non-geographic revenue-share numbers

In 2000, Oftel started allocating non-geographic 0844 and 0871 revenue-share numbers.^[34][35] These numbers have 10 digits. Initially, uptake of these numbers was low, but increased dramatically from 2005 onwards.

0844 00x xxxx	Non-geographic special services basic rate (internet)
0844 01x xxxx to 0844 09x xxxx	currently unused
0844 1xx xxxx	currently unused
0844 2xx xxxx to 0844 9xx xxxx	Non-geographic special services basic rate (non-internet)

0871 0xx xxxx	Non-geographic special services higher rate (internet)
0871 1xx xxxx	currently unused
0871 2xx xxxx to 0871 9xx xxxx	Non-geographic special services higher rate (non-internet)

These numbers look similar to 0845 and 0870 numbers but are often charged at a different rate. From their inception until around 2005, call costs from landlines looked like this:

080x—No charge to caller

0844—Up to 5p/min from BT landlines, set by terminating operator

0845—Originating landline operator's "Local Rate"

0870—Originating landline operator's "National Rate"

0871—Up to 10p/min from BT landlines, set by terminating operator

The call price for 0844 and 0871 numbers from a BT landline is the revenue-share premium and no additional markup, by regulation. From landlines other than BT, the call price for 0844 and 0871 numbers is usually higher than from BT landlines as those other operators add their own unregulated markup on top of the revenue share.

From mobiles, 080 numbers cost from 10 to 30 pence per minute and calls to 084 and 087 numbers cost up to 50 pence per minute at that time. The revenue share is only a small proportion of the cost billed to callers when using a mobile.

After 2005, most landline providers no longer differentiated between local and national calls, charging a single geographic rate for calling 01 and 02 numbers nationwide. Many landline providers also started offering inclusive call bundles for 01 and 02 numbers and by 2011 the vast majority of landline phone users were on this type of deal. Bundled minutes from mobiles include 01, 02 and 07 numbers. Bundles effectively make all calls to 01 and 02 numbers "free" for very many people. Since 2005, it has been illegal to describe 084 numbers as "local rate" or "lo-call" or 087 numbers as "national rate".^{[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55]}

A small number of landline providers and a smaller number of mobile providers have allowed 0870 (and a few landline providers have also allowed 0845) numbers to be used in inclusive minutes bundles. However, 0844 and 0871 numbers are never inclusive. From landlines, 084 and 087 numbers cost anything up to 20 pence per minute. From mobile phones, 084 and 087 numbers cost anything up to 45 pence per minute. The price includes a revenue-share "premium" or "service charge" of up to 5 pence per minute for 0844 numbers and up to 10 pence per minute for 0871 numbers. The premium is passed on to the terminating telecoms company.

Due to persistent abuse of 0871 numbers these have been under the remit of PhonepayPlus^[56] (previously known as ICSTIS) since 2009.

In 2013/2014, the Consumer Rights Directive will make 084, 087 and other numbers charged at above geographic rate, illegal to use for customer service and complaints lines.^[57][58]

2001 introduction of 091x premium rate numbers

In 2001, additional premium rate numbers in the 091x range started to be allocated. Initially just 0911, but latterly also 0912 and 0913.

091x xxx xxxx	Premium rate content services

09 numbers were regulated first by ICSTIS and then after 2007 by PhonepayPlus.

2002 introduction of 118 xxx numbers to replace 192 directory enquiries

Until 2002, the domestic directory enquiries service within the UK had been reached by dialling 192 from a landline. The service had been run solely by BT. In December 2002, the market was opened up by Oftel for new providers to run additional directory enquiries services in competition. BT's 192 service moved to 118 500, and dialling 192 ceased working in August 2003. New providers used 118 118, 118 247, 118 855 and many others. Nowadays there are more than a hundred such providers^[59][60] and more than 130 different tariffs.^[61]

118 xxx	Directory Enquiries (DQ)

As with 09xx premium rate numbers, the usage of 118 xxx directory enquiry numbers was regulated by ICSTIS (later PhonepayPlus).

2003 new 0908 numbers for adult services

In 2003, the 0908 number range came into use, as 0909 was now almost fully allocated.^[62]

0908 xxx xxxx 0909 xxx xxxx	Sexual entertainment services

2003 area name changes

In 2003, Oftel published a proposal^[63] 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,^[64] C&W^[65] and others, the final plan was published with a number of amendments incorporated,^[66] followed by a minor revision a few weeks later.^[67] 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^[68] (updated several times per year) and the SABC CSV file^[69] 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^[70] 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^[63] 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.

Nine more place names were fixed in a reissued NTNP PDF document in mid-December 2011.^[71]

2003 responsibility for UK telecommunications passed from Oftel to Ofcom

In 2003, the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) was disbanded and replaced with the Office of Communications (Ofcom).

2004 additional number ranges within existing ELNS areas

In 2004, Ofcom allocated the remaining number ranges within the 14 existing ELNS areas.

"ELNS" area code	"ELNS" area code name	Local number length	Local numbers begin (2004 onwards)	Local numbers begin (until 2004)
01229	Barrow-in-Furness (BA)	6	2, 4, 5, 6, 8	4, 5, 6, 8
	Millom	6	3, 7, 9	7
01339	Aboyne	6	2, 3, 5, 8	8
	Ballater	6	4, 6, 7, 9	7
01388	Bishop Auckland	6	3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9	3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
	Stanhope	6	2, 5	5
01423	Boroughbridge	6	3, 4, 9	3, 9
	Harrogate (HA)	6	2, 5, 6, 7, 8	2, 5, 7, 8
01430	Market Weighton	6	6, 7, 8, 9	8
	North Cave	6	2, 3, 4, 5	4
01434	Bellingham	6	2, 4, 9	2
	Haltwhistle	6	3, 5	3
	Hexham (HE)	6	6, 7, 8	6, 7, 8
01437	Clynderwen [Clunderwen]	6	2, 3, 4, 5	5
	Haverfordwest (HF)	6	6, 7, 8, 9	7, 8, 9
01507	Alford (Lincs)	6	4, 8, 9	4, 8
	Louth (LO)	6	3, 6, 7	3, 6
	Spilsby (Horncastle)	6	2, 5	5
01686	Llanidloes	6	2, 3, 4, 7	4
	Newtown (NT)	6	5, 6, 8, 9	6, 8
01847	Thurso (TH)	6	2, 3, 4, 5, 8	5, 8
	Tongue	6	6, 7, 9	6
01851	Great Bernera	6	4, 6, 9	6
	Stornoway	6	2, 3, 5, 7, 8	7, 8
01890	Ayton	6	5, 6, 7, 9	7
	Coldstream	6	2, 3, 4, 8	2, 3, 8
01964	Hornsea	6	2, 5, 8, 9	5
	Patrington	6	3, 4, 6, 7	6
01975	Alford (Aberdeen)	6	2, 4, 5, 9	5
	Strathdon	6	3, 6, 7, 8	6

2004 additional number ranges within existing mixed areas

In 2004, Ofcom allocated the remaining number ranges within the existing 18 "mixed" areas.

"Mixed" area code	"Mixed" area code name	Local number length	Local numbers begin (2004 onwards)	Local numbers begin (until 2004)	Short local numbers begin
01387	Dumfries (DU)	6	2, 4-9	2, 7-9	-
0138 73	Langholm	5	2-9	2-9	-
01524	Lancaster (LA)	5 or 6	3-9	3-8	32-37, 39, 60-69
0152 42	Hornby-with-Farleton	5	2-9	2-9	-
01539	Kendal (KE)	6	2-3, 7-9	7-8	-
0153 94	Hawkshead	5	2-9	2-9	-
0153 95	Grange-over-Sands	5	2-9	2-9	-
0153 96	Sedbergh	5	2-9	2-9	-
01697	Brampton - North West (NW)	6	2, 5-6, 8-9	none[66][67][lower-alpha 3]	-
0169 73	Wigton	5	2-9	2-9	-
0169 74	Raughton Head	5	2-9	2-9	-
0169 77	Brampton	4 or 5	2-9[66][67]	2-5	2-3
01768	Penrith (PN)	5 or 6	2, 5-6, 8-9	2, 6, 8	882-884, 886-888
0176 83	Appleby-in-Westmorland	5	2-9	2-9	-
0176 84	Pooley Bridge	5	2-9	2-9	-
0176 87	Keswick	5	2-9	2-9	-
01946	Whitehaven (WH)	5 or 6	2-6, 8-9	5, 6, 8	61-68
0194 67	Gosforth	5	2-9	2-9	-

2004 introduction of 056 VoIP numbers

In 2004, Ofcom started allocating 056 numbers for VoIP services. Soon after, VoIP services also appeared on geographic 01 and 02 numbers. Uptake of 056 numbers remains low. These numbers have 10 digits.

056 xxxx xxxx	LIECS (Location Independent Electronic Communications Services), e.g. VoIP services

2005 to present day: new allocations within existing 02x areas

These are detailed as extra entries within the Big Number Change section above.

2005 removal of unused 09xx broadband services from number plan

Some years earlier, 092x to 099x had been designated "broadband services". With changes in technology, this allocation had never been used. It was removed from the plan in 2005.

092x xxx xxxx to 099x xxx xxxx	Broadband services

2005 adult premium rate services begin using 098x numbers

With calls for premium rate adult services to be more clearly defined and separated from other premium rate services, the 0908 and 0909 codes were to be no longer issued for new services.^[72] Instead, the new 098x range would be used, initially 0982 but latterly also 0983, 0984 and 0989.^[73][74]

0908 xxx xxxx 0909 xxx xxxx	Sexual entertainment services (not available for new allocations)
098x xxx xxxx	Sexual entertainment services

Some companies had attempted to avoid restrictions placed on Premium Rate Services by instead running adult services on various 070,^[20][21][22] 0871 and other number ranges. Regulations were eventually drafted^[23] to force these services to use only the designated 098x (and pre-existing 0908 and 0909) numbers.^[72][75]

2005 NHS banned from using 0870 and 09xx numbers

Due to concerns raised by patients having to pay unfair costs when calling NHS services by telephone,^[76] the usage of 0870 non-geographic numbers was banned by the Department of Health in 2005.^[77][78][79] At that time, 0870 numbers often cost more to call than geographic 01 and 02 numbers and were not usually included in bundled minutes. Around 400 GP surgeries used 0870 numbers and were also coming under greater scrutiny^[80][81][82] with a few reverting to geographic numbers.^[83]

Many of these services quickly moved to 0845 or 0844 revenue share numbers as they were not specifically banned, even though they also cost more to call than 01 and 02 numbers and in many cases cost more to call than 0870 numbers. The tendency to unlawfully refer to 084x numbers as 'local rate' or 'lo-call' numbers hid the true cost of calling them,^{[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55]} compared to the price for calling geographic numbers. One supplier of surgery telephone systems opted to use 0844 revenue share numbers paying the surgery 2p/min^[84][85] from the 5p/min "premium" paid by callers. Contravening ASA advice,^{[36][51][52][53]} surgeries were told that 0844 numbers were "lo-call" numbers^[84][85] and subsequent tariff comparisons ignored both packages with inclusive minutes and users with mobile phones.

In December 2006, Lord Norman Warner sent a letter to all Primary Care Trust Chief Executives drawing attention to the Central Office of Information guidance on telephone numbering, which suggested that healthcare providers consider adopting an 03 telephone number so that people "do not have to pay over the odds to contact their local services".^[86][87] Very few took notice. In July and November 2007, two Early Day Motions were signed by numerous MPs calling for GPs to no longer use 0844 and other such expensive telephone numbers.^[88][89]

In recent years, there has been much discussion in the media about the use of 0844 numbers in the healthcare sector, mainly due to the costs incurred by people who have to dial these numbers as the primary form of contact with their local healthcare services, especially when calling from mobiles.^{[90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107]}

The issue was debated in Parliament in early 2008.^[108][109] The BMA recommended that GPs publish call costs for 0844 numbers in surgeries.^[110] Former Health Secretary Alan Johnson has publicly advocated the use of 03 numbers.^[111] By early 2008 there were already more than 800 GPs in England using 0844 telephone numbers.^[111]

The Department of Health started investigating the use of 084 numbers in the NHS in March 2008^[112] Phone supplier NEG stated their belief that 0844 numbers would not be banned.^[113]

In 2008, Leicester City NHS Trust looked into their usage of telephone numbers and revealed a complex set of issues to be solved,^[114] some of which were fixed later in the year.^[115] Enfield Primary Care Trust wrote to all 62 surgeries in the borough warning them that it does not approve of them using premium rate 0844 numbers.^[116] It was revealed that Mid-Yorkshire hospital trust had made more than £80,000 from use of a 0844 telephone number in two years.^[117][118] By late 2008, the number of GPs surgeries using 084 numbers had risen to 1500.^[119]

The Department of Health published a consultation^[120][121] at the end of 2008 calling for views on the usage of 084 numbers in the NHS^{[122][123][124]} which received more than 3000 responses. In response, the British Medical Association (BMA) stated "GP practices using 084 telephone numbers must be allowed to serve out the terms of their contracts with telephone suppliers if the government decides to ban them from the NHS,"^[125] as many had already mistakenly signed up to long contracts for 0844 numbers.^[126] Ofcom recommended the 03 option.^[127] In 2009, Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust moved 22 GPs to new 0345 numbers.^[128]

Although 0870 numbers were banned in 2005, even as late as 2010 there were NHS bodies only now just getting around to complying with that ban.^[129]

2006 ASA start taking action against misleading price indications for 084 and 087 numbers

In 2006, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) started taking action against companies that falsely represent that "084 numbers are 'local rate' [sic] or 'lo-call' [sic] calls" or "087 numbers are 'national rate' [sic] calls".^{[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]} By this time, most operators no longer offered a "local call" rate, instead charging all calls to 01 and 02 numbers at the same rate, whatever the distance.

After 2005, several operators also offered 01, 02 and the newly created 03 numbers as "free minutes" within an "evening and weekend" calls bundle or within an "anytime" calls bundle. As 084 and 087 numbers were not usually included in any such bundle, costing up to 20p/min from landlines and up to 41p/min from mobiles, describing these numbers as anything other than "chargeable with an additional service charge" (or "premium" by another name) is a misleading price indication.^{[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55]} In comparison, for many callers, calls to 01, 02 and 03 numbers had effectively become "free".

2006 new 075xx mobile numbers introduced

As a result of ever increasing mobile phone ownership, and especially the introduction of mobile broadband in the UK, the 075xx number range was opened in October 2006.^[18] This joined the existing 07624, 077xx, 078xx and 079xx ranges.

075xx xxxxxx	Mobile telephones

2006 introduction of 101 for non-emergency calls to the police

In 2006, the new 101 number for non-emergency calls to the police began trials in several areas with a call cost of 10 pence per call. The number was adopted nationally in 2011/2012. Calls now cost 15 pence per call from landlines and mobiles.

101	Police (non-emergency)

2007 introduction of 03 non-geographic numbers

In February 2007, Ofcom announced the 03 range of numbers was being brought into use^[130] and the first numbers were issued in May. Although allocated as non-geographic, these were to be charged at the same rate as geographic 01 and 02 numbers from both landline and mobile and were also to be included within "free minutes" bundles for subscribers with a call package. Further details are in the 03 numbers section above.

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

2007 new 0843 and 0872 non-geographic revenue-share numbers

In May 2007, Ofcom allocated the first 0872 numbers. These follow on from the earlier 0871 code which was now fully allocated.^[34]

In November 2007, the first 0843 numbers were allocated. These follow on from the earlier, and now fully allocated, 0844 code.^[34]

0843 xxx xxxx	Non-geographic special services basic rate
0872 xxx xxxx	Non-geographic special services higher rate

These are used for revenue share services and are generally not included in bundled minutes from either mobiles or landlines. From landlines these numbers cost anything up to 20 pence per minute and from mobile phones anything up to 45 pence per minute. The price includes a revenue-share "premium" or "service charge" of up to 5 pence per minute for 0843 numbers and up to 10 pence per minute for 0872 numbers. The premium is passed on to the terminating telecoms company.

Ofcom also indicated that 0842 and 0873 will follow on from these allocations at a later date.

Due to continued misuse of the 0871 and 0872 number ranges, ICSTIS consulted on additional regulation in 2006 and announced in 2007 that both number ranges were to be regulated from 2008. After some delay they were eventually taken into the jurisdiction of PhonepayPlus^[56] in 2009. PhonepayPlus replaced ICSTIS in 2007.

2008 new area code: 01987 Ebbsfleet

In 2008, a new area code was created for Ebbsfleet. Adjacent area codes no longer had enough projected spare capacity for the new development to use, so 01987 was allocated.^[131]

01987 xxxxxx	Ebbsfleet

2009 Reform of 070 personal numbering

Ofcom had previously considered that personal numbers should migrate to 06, to replace the 070 prefix that is sometimes confused with mobile phone numbers.^[132] 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.^[132][133] Premium rate and other such services were also banned from using 070 numbers.^[23]

2009 introduction of 116 xxx numbers

In 2009, Ofcom introduced the first harmonised European numbers for harmonised services of social value,^[134] and additional numbers were allocated in 2010.^[135]

Number	Usage	Year introduced	Service provider	Communications provider
116 000	Hotline for missing children	2009	Missing People	BT
116 006	Helpline for victims of crime	2010
116 111	Child helplines	2009	NSPCC	BT
116 117	Non-emergency medical on-call service	2010
116 123	Emotional Support Helplines	2009	Samaritans	BT

2009 new 074xx mobile numbers introduced

As a result of ever increasing mobile phone and mobile broadband ownership, the 074xx number range was opened in July 2009.^[18] This joined the existing 075xx, 07624, 077xx, 078xx and 079xx ranges.

074xx xxxxxx	Mobile telephones

2009 revenue-share no longer allowed on 0870 non-geographic (and 070 personal) numbers

After a sustained period of abuse, revenue share was removed from 0870^[136] and 070 numbers. Prices for calling 0870 numbers from landlines fell and some landline providers started to allow calls to 0870 numbers to appear within call-plan inclusive minutes. Revenue-share continued on 0843, 0844, 0845, 0871 and 0872 numbers.

It was anticipated that 0845 numbers would also lose their revenue share, leading BT to prematurely include these numbers within call plans. Ofcom changed their mind and the status of 0845 numbers wasn't changed. Instead, in 2010 to 2012, Ofcom eventually consulted on re-organisation of the whole of the 084 and 087 number ranges.

2009 PhonepayPlus begins regulation of 0871 and 0872 numbers

After ICSTIS consultation in 2006 and 2007^[137] numbers beginning 0871 (and 0872) began to be regulated by PhonepayPlus, the premium rate services regulator from 1 August 2009. This brings regulation in line with existing 09xx premium rate services, 070 personal numbers and 118 xxx directory enquiries.^[138] ICSTIS became PhonepayPlus on 15 October 2007. 0871 and 0872 numbers retained their revenue-share status.

2010s

2010 GPs banned from using 0844 (and other 084x and 087x) numbers

It had been widely reported in 2009 that 084 numbers were to be banned from the NHS.^{[139][140][141][142][143][144][145][146][147][148][149]} In December 2009, the Department of Health published directions to NHS bodies concerning the cost of telephone calls made by patients to the NHS: "An NHS body must not enter into, renew or extend a contract or other arrangement for telephone services unless it is satisfied that, having regard to the arrangement as a whole, persons will not pay more to make relevant calls to the NHS body then they would to make equivalent calls to a geographic number."^[150][151] This reiterated the "free at the point of delivery" principle of the NHS and the direction applied to all NHS bodies.

The accompanying letter introduced ambiguity: "These Directions do not prohibit an organisation from using specific number ranges for the purpose of contacting NHS services. Organisations remain free to use non-geographical number ranges such as 084, providing that patients are not charged more than the equivalent cost of calling a geographical number to do so."^[152] Simple inspection of the call price lists for all major landline and mobile telephone service providers readily confirmed that 0844 numbers always cost more than 01 and 02 numbers. From this, it is clear that only 01, 02 and 03 numbers can be used by NHS bodies.

0844 numbers continued to be adopted by GPs, with an estimated 200 more signing up in the final six months of 2009.^[153]

The GP committee of the BMA (British Medical Association) advised that NEG (Network Europe Group, a supplier of telephone switchboard equipment to GPs and a reseller of the telephone lines and numbers that GPs use) had assured both the BMA and the Department of Health that 0844 numbers were "local rate" calls charged at rates less than geographic calls, and that GPs could continue using them as long as each GP obtained that assurance from NEG.^{[154][155][156][157][158][159]} However, NEG does not have any patients as customers nor does NEG set the prices for calls that patients make, nor does it send out bills to patients, so any such assurance is worthless. Patients are billed by BT, Sky, Virgin, Vodafone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, and others, and all of those charge more for calling 0844 numbers than for calling 01, 02 and 03 numbers.

With widespread abuse of non-geographic numbers continuing unabated, Ofcom started a long series of consulatations in April 2010.^[160] Also in April 2010, the Department of Health introduced new GMS (General Medical Services) contracts^[161][162] so that GPs would now also be covered by the earlier direction.^[150][151] From this point on, the more than 6500 GP surgeries in England and Wales were banned from using phone numbers that "cost more than calling a geographic number", and given one year to comply.^[163] The GMS contract variation was needed as GPs are not NHS bodies, rather independent contractors.

Questions were asked in the Scottish Parliament in June 2010.^[164]

In a move out of step with other changes, plans for the existing NHS Direct 0845 46 47 number to migrate to a cheaper-to-call 03 number were scrapped as plans for a new 111 service were already well advanced.^[165]

A year after the GMS contract variation came into effect, many GPs were continuing to use 0844 numbers in defiance of the ban.^{[166][167][168][169][170][171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179]} In March and May 2011, more than 1300 GP surgeries were still using the banned 0844 (and 0845/0870) numbers.^[180][181] It was becoming clear that local decision makers (i.e. PCTs and GPs) had failed to understand the 0844 revenue share mechanism as well as the price regulations that apply uniquely to BT and make their call rates atypical when compared to other providers.^[182] At least one PCT claimed that they did not know what patients were paying for calls and further claimed that they had no way of finding out,^[179] seemingly unaware that every telecoms supplier publishes a detailed price list on their respective websites.

NEG continued to issue a revised version of their "letter of compliance", assuring GPs that calling 0844 numbers does not cost more than calling 01 and 02 numbers^[183] and in May 2011 issued a much longer document^[184] in response to earlier Daily Mail articles that had exposed the differences between the position taken by NEG and the actual provisions laid out in the April 2010 GMS contract variation.^[171][172] In July 2011, the BMA advocated that GPs should only consider the call costs for patients calling from BT (British Telecommunications PLC) landlines using tariffs without "inclusive" call allowances. The BMA advised that GPs should not consider the price of calls for patients calling from landlines other than BT, nor those with inclusive allowances or using mobile phones.^[185] This advice directly contradicted the statement recently made in Parliament: "It is absolutely clear that there is no distinction between landlines, mobiles or payphones. The directions are very clear that patients should not expect to be charged any more."^[186][187]

PCTs (Primary Care Trusts), en masse, had seemingly misunderstood the regulations or had been misled by the incorrect advice spread by NEG^{[188][189][190][191][192][193]} and the BMA^[194] as by November 2011 more than 1400 GPs were using the "banned" numbers.^[195]

Protests against the use of 0844 numbers were growing.^[196] There are even cases of GPs changing to 0844 numbers a year after the ban started.^[197][198]

Only a small number of GPs had complied with the ban.^{[199][200][201][202][203][204]} Various GPs using 0844 numbers attempted to justify their position^[205] based on demonstratably false information.^{[206][207][208]} In some areas, patients took it upon themselves to find and publish geographic numbers for GPs continuing to flout the 0844 ban.^[209][210]

In January 2012, a parliamentary debate took place^[211][212] where it was confirmed that users "should not pay more than a geographic rate call" and it was clarified that this applies to "both landlines and mobiles". Additionally, "bundled" or "free minutes" should also count.^[213][214] The reference provides some additional commentary on the major points.^[215]

A month later, the Department of Health issued further guidance on the use of 084 numbers in the NHS confirming that GPs should consider "all means of telephoning the practice – including from payphones, mobile phones and landlines"^{[216][217][218][219]} which the BMA disputed.^[220] 0844 numbers were mentioned again in a parliamentary debate in March 2012 when the Secretary of State Andrew Lansley confirmed: "We have made it very clear that GPs should not be using 0844 numbers for that purpose and charging patients for them."^[221][222] A small number of surgeries have since complied with the regulation by moving to 01 or 02 numbers^{[223][224][225][226][227][228][229]} but most have not done so.^{[230][231][232][233][234]} In 2012, NEG issued several revised documents claiming compliance using non-typical tariffs as a basis for comparison and ignoring bundled minutes^{[235][236][237][238][239]} and again in 2013.^[240]

The Northern Ireland Assembly debated the issue in May 2012^[241][242] where it was disclosed that 23 of Northern Ireland's 355 GP surgeries use an 0844 number.^[243] A briefing note was produced within, and for the usage of, UK government. This covered some of the history relating to the issue.^[244] Campaigners had already produced a simplified timeline.^[245] In their response to an ongoing Ofcom consultation on simplifying non-geographic numbers, NEG said "Under the proposed new structure, Ofcom expects call cost descriptions to follow the format: 'This call will cost you X pence per minute plus your phone company's access charge.' We do not believe that it is appropriate for a patient to receive the Service Charge information advised by OFCOM when they contact their surgery as this will only seek to alarm them, and perpetuate the myth that all calls (to 084 numbers) are more costly."^[246]

In order to comply, GPs should be using numbers that begin 01, 02 or 03 and should not be using numbers that begin 070, 084, 087 or 09.^[247] The 034 and 037 ranges are reserved specifically for 084 and 087 migration. GPs using 084 and 087 numbers can migrate to the equivalent 034 or 037 version of their number without ending their phone service contracts.^[248] Alternatively they can move to brand new 030 or 033 numbers or to a geographic 01 or 02 number. Only a few GPs and NHS services have chosen 03 numbers^[249] even though this should be the most obvious solution since 03 numbers allow the same call queueing and call management facilities as 084 and 087 numbers while costing the same as 01 and 02 numbers for all callers.

In spite of the ban on 0844 numbers in the NHS since April 2010, more GPs continue to sign up to use them^{[250][251][252][253][254][255][256][257][258]} however PhonepayPlus has also taken an interest in extending regulations that already cover 09 and 087 numbers — as used for premium rate chat lines, competitions and phone-in voting systems — to also cover 084 numbers.^[259]

Multiple PCTs have failed to enforce the terms of the April 2010 variations to the GMS contract and many GPs continue to use the banned numbers.^[260] At least one surgery with an 0844 contract and with considerable time remaining time before it ends has adopted Skype as an alternative method of contacting the surgery.^[261] Some surgeries have two telephone numbers: one a premium rate 0844 number with a higher level of service and the other a standard geographic 01 or 02 number with a lower level of service,^[262][263] thereby creating a two-tier system for accessing the NHS services.^[264]

Almost three years after the ban, some GPs within the constituencies of government ministers continue to use 0844 numbers.^[265] In the South-East of England, usage of 0844 numbers continues unabated.^{[266][267][268]} In any case, in 2013 the Consumer Rights Directive will soon make it illegal to use 084 and 087 numbers, indeed any number that "costs more than geographic rate", for customer services and complaints.^[57][58] Where contracts are ending, GPs often choose to return to using 01 and 02 numbers^{[269][270][271]} even though 03 numbers cost the same for all callers.

2010 introduction of 111 for non-emergency calls to NHS

In 2010, 111 was introduced on a trial basis for non-urgent calls to the NHS. The scheme is planned to roll out nationally in 2013 and at that time may replace the currect NHS Direct 0845 46 47 line (in England and Wales) and the NHS 24 08454 24 24 24 line (in Scotland).

111	NHS 111 (non-emergency calls)

2010 additional number ranges within 0191 area code

Extra capacity assigned in late 2010, following consultation.^[272]

Official designation[273]	Number ranges 2011 onwards	Number ranges 1980s - 2010
Tyneside	2, 4, 6, 8	2, 4, 6
Durham	3, 9	3
Sunderland	5, 7	5

In the other 01x1 area codes, only (0121) 8xx, (0121) 9xx, (0131) 9xx and (0161) 5xx have yet to be allocated.^[69] 0171 and 0181 are no longer in use and 0101 and 0111 have never been allocated.^[69]

2010 Ofcom propose changes in number conservation areas

In November 2010, Ofcom proposed to abandon renumbering in areas running short of capacity and instead provide extra capacity by starting to use local numbers beginning '0' and '1', and removing the option of dialling locally using just the subscriber number. Once the supply of new numbers released by this measure is exhausted Ofcom propose introducing additional, overlay area codes to run in tandem with current codes. It is anticipated that the overlay codes would not be required before 2022.^[274]

2011 area name changes

By way of an Erratum to the National Telephone Numbering Plan,^[71] Ofcom started the lengthy process of correcting some very old errors for nine area code names in December 2011.

Some of these errors first appeared in the 2003 version of the number plan^[63][66][67] while others can also be found in older data originally produced by Oftel several years before.

As noted on Ofcom's site, the name changes still have to go through a formal consultation process, even though they are only correcting obvious spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation mistakes.

The corrections are as follows:

Area code	Corrected geographic area name (2012 onwards)	Geographic area names with spelling errors (before 2003, until 2011)
01271	Barnstaple	Barnstable [sic]
01284	Bury St Edmunds	Bury-St-Edmunds [sic]
01286	Caernarfon	Caernarvon [sic]
01289	Berwick-upon-Tweed	Berwick-on-Tweed [sic]
0153 95	Grange-over-Sands	Grange-Over-Sands [sic]
01559	Llandysul	Llandyssul [sic]
01877	Callander	Callandar [sic]
01889	Rugeley	Rugely [sic]
01934	Weston-super-Mare	Weston-Super-Mare [sic]

2012 changes in local dialling

In November 2012, local dialling was removed for calls within the 01202 area allowing subscriber numbers beginning 0 or 1 to be issued locally and buying more time before an additional area code or code change is required.^[275]

2013 changes in 080, 084 and 087 non-geographic arrangements

After initial consultation in 2010 and 2012, in April 2013 Ofcom published the final consultation^[276] on proposals to re-arrange the 080, 084 and 087 non-geographic allocations in 2014.

The 0870 range is to regain its revenue share status. Where users of 0870 numbers cannot justify revenue share they are advised to move to their reserved matching 0370 number. The workings of the 0845 range will broadly align with how 0844 and 0843 revenue share numbers already work.^[276]

Changes in how call costs for 084 and 087 non-geographic calls should in future be communicated to callers were announced. The callers phone line provider has to list a single Access Charge per tariff for the 084, 087, 09 and 118 non-geographic number ranges and the called party has to display the single Service Charge (or "premium") details for their non-geographic number.^[276]

Calls to the 'free to caller' 080 range will be made free from mobile telephones, not just from landlines.^[276]

Once the final announcements are made by Ofcom in the summer of 2013, the changes will have an 18-month transition period before coming into effect.^[276]

2014 local number dialing

In October 2014 certain area codes required the full area code even when dialing local numbers. The areas affected were:

• Aberdeen (01224)
• Bradford (01274)
• Brighton (01273)
• Middlesbrough (01642)
• Milton Keynes (01908)

The change was in response to a lack of free numbers in these areas. By requiring the area code for all local calls, Ofcom are able to allocate numbers starting with 1 or 0. This increases the number of telephone numbers available without requiring a number change.^[277]

2015 UK Calling legislation

On 1 July 2015, Ofcom made a number of changes to the way phone calls to UK service numbers would be charged. The cost of calls made to service numbers is now split into two parts: an access charge and a service charge.^[278] Under the new legislation, which was promoted by an information campaign entitled UK Calling,^[279] call charges must be clearly stated on all materials that advertise a service number. The 1 July changes also saw ‘freephone numbers’ 0800 and 0808 become free to call from both mobiles and landlines. Meanwhile, 0500 numbers remain chargeable as previously from mobiles (free from landlines, also as previously). Plans are afoot to migrate these to 08085 numbers in mid-2017, whereupon they will become free from mobiles.

Expansion of allocations for mobile, non-geographic and premium services

ELNS areas

Area codes for mobile phone, local rate, premium rate and other such special numbers originally used ordinary looking area codes in the 02xx to 09xx range. In the early 1980s only a few such codes were in use. Rapid expansion of these services in the late 1980s required many new codes, but there were a diminishing number of codes available for use. In order to free up space for these services, 30 geographic ABC area codes with low number use were condensed into 14 ABC ranges such that each numeric area code would cover multiple charge groups (these migration figures do not include the similar 091 area code changes).

Numbers in Barrow-in-Furness already used (0229) 2 and (0229) 5. Millom used the separate 0657 area code. Millom numbers were transferred to the 0229 area code. Millom numbers would begin (0229) 3 and (0229) 7 and have 6 digits.

Under the new "ELNS" (Extended Linked Numbering Scheme) arrangement, two charge groups now share the same area code and the leading digit of the local number indicates which charge group the number belongs to. The new area code retains both of the old area code names. A diagram showing the principle is shown on page 9 of Oftel's telephone numbering guide^[280] and these areas are shown in the table below.^[281] Some ELNS areas combined three charge groups. Calls within the area code do not require the area code to be dialled, this is true even for calls between the charge groups.

"ELNS" area code (1990s)	"ELNS" area code name (1990s)	Local number length	Local numbers begin (1990s)	Old area code (1980s)	Old code re-use in 1990s	Moved to new code in 2001
091	Tyneside	7	2, 4	0632 Newcastle upon Tyne (NE)	0632 Premium rate	09xx x
	Durham	7	3	0385 Durham (DU)	0385 Vodafone mobile	07785
	Tyneside	7	4	0894 Tyneside (TY)	0894 Premium rate	09xx x
	Sunderland	7	5	0783 Sunderland (SU)	??
0229	Barrow-in-Furness (BA)	6	4, 5, 6, 8	0229 Barrow-in-Furness (BA)	-	-
	Millom	6	7	0657 Millom (ML)	??
0339	Aboyne	6	8	0339 Deeside (DE)	-	-
	Ballater	6	7	0338 Deeside (DE)	0338 Premium rate	09xx x
0388	Bishop Auckland	6	3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9	0388 Durham (DU)	-	-
	Stanhope	6	5	0956 Weardale (WL)	0956 1-6,8-9 One2One mobile	07956 x
					0956 7 FleXtel	070 107
0423	Boroughbridge	6	3, 9	0901 Boroughbridge, Yorkshire (YO)	??
	Harrogate (HA)	6	2, 5, 7, 8	0423 Harrogate (HA)	-	-
0430	Market Weighton	6	8	0696 Market Weighton (MW)	0696 Premium rate	09xx x
	North Cave	6	4	0430 Howden (HD)	-	-
0434	Bellingham	6	2	0660 Bellingham, Northumberland (NM)	0660 Premium rate	09xx x
					0660 Premium rate	076 61
	Haltwhistle	6	3	0498 Haltwhistle (HW)	0498 Vodafone mobile	07798
	Hexham (HE)	6	6, 7, 8	0434 Hexham (HE)	-	-
0437	Clynderwen [Clunderwen]	6	5	0991 Clynderwen, West Wales (WW)	0991 Premium rate	09xx x
	Haverfordwest (HF)	6	7, 8, 9	0437 Haverfordwest (HF)	-	-
0507	Alford (Lincs)	6	4, 8	0521 Alford, Lincolnshire (LC)	??
	Louth (LO)	6	3, 6	0507 Louth (LO)	-	-
	Spilsby (Horncastle)	6	5	0658 Mareham le Fen (ML)	??
0686	Llanidloes	6	4	0551 Llanidloes (LL)	??
	Newtown (NT)	6	6, 8	0686 Newtown (NT)	-	-
0847	Thurso (TH)	6	5, 8	0847 Thurso (TH)	-	-
	Tongue	6	6	0800 Tongue (TO)	0800 Freephone	0800
0851	Great Bernera	6	6	0850 Callanish, Lewis, Outer Hebrides	0850 Cellnet mobile	07850
	Stornoway	6	7, 8	0851 Stornoway, Outer Hebrides	-	-
0890	Ayton [Eyemouth]	6	7	0390 Eyemouth (EY)	0390 Orange mobile	07790
	Coldstream	6	2, 3, 8	0890 Coldstream, Tweed (TW)	-	-
0964	Hornsea	6	5	0401 Hornsea (HO)	0401 Cellnet mobile	07701
	Patrington	6	6	0964 Patrington, Withernsea (WN)	-	-
0975	Alford (Aberdeen) [Deeside]	6	5	0336 Deeside (DE)	0336 Premium rate	09xx x?
	Strathdon	6	6	0975 Strathdon, Water (WR)	-	-

Of the 16 area codes freed up for alternative use in the 1980s, at least 11 were re-used for other services. For example, the 0401 area code was re-allocated to Cellnet mobile services. Five of the area codes remained unused. In 1995, the PhONEday changes for geographic numbers solved the number shortage problem for mobile and non-geographic services by freeing up the whole 07, 08 and 09 range for their use from 2000 onwards.

On PhONEday in 1995, 0229 became 01229 and 0964 became 01964 and these codes are still in use today. The remainder of the "ELNS" area code allocations and their history are detailed in the table below.

The Cellnet mobile 0401 allocation stayed in use for about a decade before these numbers were transferred to the 07701 range in the Big Number Change in 2000. Nowadays all 16 of the area codes freed up in the 1980s (albeit now with a 1 prefix, e.g. 0401 is now 01401) remain unused and are available for future geographic expansion.

Mixed areas

Area codes for mobile phone, local rate, premium rate and other such special numbers originally used ordinary looking area codes in the 02xx to 09xx range. In the early 1980s only a few such codes were in use. Rapid expansion of these services in the late 1980s required many new codes, but there were a diminishing number of codes available for use. In order to free up space for these services, 17 geographic ABC area codes with low number use were condensed into 6 ABC ranges under a "mixed" scheme.

Numbers in Dumfries already used (0387) 2 and (0387) 5. Numbers in Langholm were 4 or 5 digits long and used the 0541 area code. Langholm numbers were changed to 5 digits and transferred to the newly created 03873 area code.

Under the new "mixed" arrangement, although 0387 and 03873 shared the same ABC digits, they were treated as completely separate area codes. All calls from one area to the other require the area code to be dialled. Local numbers in Dumfries cannot begin with a "3".

"Mixed" area code (1990s)	"Mixed" area code name (1990s)	Local number length	Local numbers begin (1990s)	Short local numbers begin	Old area code (1980s)	Old code re-use in 1990s	Moved to new code in 2001
0387	Dumfries (DU)	6	2, 4-9	-	0387 Dumfries (DU)	-	-
038 73	Langholm	5	2-9	-	0541 Langholm (LH)	0541 5 C&WC AreaCall	0870 15
0524	Lancaster (LA)	5 or 6	3-9	32-37, 39, 60-69	0524 Lancaster (LA)	-	-
052 42	Hornby-with-Farleton	5	2-9	-	0468 Ingleborough (IN)	0468 Vodafone mobile	07768
0539	Kendal (KE)	6	2-3, 7-9	-	0539 Kendal (KE)	-	-
053 94	Hawkshead	5	2-9	-	0966 Windermere (WM)	0966 Orange mobile	07966
053 95	Grange-over-Sands	5	2-9	-	0448 Grange-over-Sands (GG)	04481 Guernsey Telecom mobile	07781
053 96	Sedbergh	5	2-9	-	0587 Sedbergh, Lune (LU)	??
0697	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
069 73	Wigton	5	2-9	-	0965 Wigton (WN)	??
069 74	Raughton Head	5	2-9	-	0699 North West (NW)	??
069 77	Brampton - North West (NW)	4 or 5	2-5	2-3	0697 North West (NW)	-	-
0768	Penrith (PN)	5 or 6	2, 5-6, 8-9	882-884, 886-888	0768 Penrith (PN)	-	-
076 83	Appleby-in-Westmorland	5	2-9	-	0930 Brough, Westmorland (WE)	0930 7 One2One mobile	07930 7
						0930 0-6,8-9 Premium rate	09xx xx
076 84	Pooley Bridge	5	2-9	-	0853 Ullswater (UL)	0853 Premium rate	09xx x
076 87	Keswick	5	2-9	-	0596 Keswick (KW)	??
0946	Whitehaven (WH)	5 or 6	2-6, 8-9	61-68	0946 Whitehaven (WH)	-	-
094 67	Gosforth	5	2-9	-	0940 Gosforth, Whitehaven (WH)	??

Of the 11 area codes freed up for alternative use in the 1980s, only 5 were actually re-used for other services. For example, the 0541 area code was re-allocated to C&WC Area Call services. Six of the area codes remained unused. In 1995, the PhONEday changes for geographic numbers solved the number shortage problem for mobile and non-geographic services by freeing up the whole 07, 08 and 09 range for their use from 2000 onwards.

On PhONEday in 1995, 0387 became 01387 and 03873 became 013873 and these codes are still in use today. The remainder of the "mixed" area code allocations and their history are detailed in the table below.

The C&WC 0541 allocation stayed in use for more than a decade before these numbers were transferred to the 0870 1 range in the Big Number Change in 2000. Nowadays all 11 of the area codes freed up in the 1980s (albeit now with a 1 prefix, e.g. 0541 is now 01541) remain unused and are available for future geographic expansion.

NHS direct

The short number 0845 1888 was set aside in March 1998 for trials of the new NHS direct service with calls charged at the "local rate".^[282] At a later date, the number was changed to 0845 46 47.

Warnings from Oftel

After the migration of geographic 0xxx area codes to new 01xxx codes on PhONEday (also 0xx → 01xx and 0xxxx → 01xxxx of course), some of the old area codes had started to be re-used for other purposes. For example, 0870 (Isle of Benbecula, Outer Hebrides) had been moved to 01870 and now 0870 started to be re-used for non-geographic services. Oftel had to issue a warning to operators to remove their "this number has changed, please redial inserting a one after the initial zero" messages that had been applied on PhONEday^[283] so that callers could get through to the new non-geographic numbers.

Premium rate and mobile problems

With the diverse usage and pricing of similar looking codes there could easily be a nasty shock when the bill arrived. Office phone systems could be set to block various premium rate prefixes, but it was important to regularly review and update the list. For those that did not, problems accessing some numbers were beginning to develop. The 0930 code was mainly used for premium rate services, but 0930 7xxxxx was used by One2One for mobile telephone services. Some people found that calls to all 0930 numbers were barred and hence also those mobile phones. To overcome this, the 0961 7xxxxx range was mirrored on to 0930 7xxxxx.^[284] These were all 9-digit numbers.

New premium rate services start using 090x

From 1998 onwards, 090x numbers with 10 digits started coming into use for premium rate services. As with 084 and 087 numbers, certain small number blocks within the 090x range were set aside for migration of old premium rate codes in the forthcoming Big Number Change.

090x xxx xxxx	New 10-digit premium rate content services ("PRS")

The 09 number range was originally subdivided as follows:

0900 xxx xxxx 0901 xxx xxxx	Time charged calls up to and including 60ppm and total call cost not greater than £5 or fixed fee up to £1 per call.
0902 xxx xxxx 0903 xxx xxxx 0904 xxx xxxx 0905 xxx xxxx	Protected for PRS expansion.
0906 xxx xxxx	Open ended time dependent charge or fixed fee.
0907 xxx xxxx	Pay for product that costs more than £1 in total.
0908 xxx xxxx	Protected for PRS expansion.
0909 xxx xxxx	Sexual entertainment services

From 23 August 1999, Oftel added the 0905 range^[285] as by then 0906 was almost fully allocated.

0905 xxx xxxx	Open ended time dependent charge or fixed fee.

Internet for schools

Announced in November 1997^[286] and issued from February 1998 onwards^[34] the 0820 range was designated "internet for schools".

0820 xxx xxxx	Internet for schools (10-digit numbers)

Number conservation

As the number of lines in use continued to grow, some areas became close to full capacity. In the late-1990s, Ofcom signalled a number of areas of concern.

By 2005		By 2005		By 2012
01202	Bournemouth	01483	Guildford	01204	Bolton
01203	Coventry	01642	Middlesbrough	01344	Ascot (Bracknell/Easthampstead)
01223	Cambridge	01772	Preston	01582	Markyate (Luton)
01224	Aberdeen	01782	Stoke-on-Trent	01604	Northampton
01273	Brighton	01865	Oxford	01706	Rochdale
01274	Bradford	01902	Wolverhampton	01733	Peterborough
01332	Derby	01942	Wigan	01753	Iver (Slough)

Of these, only Coventry was immediately addressed - by migration to the 024 code and eight digit subscriber numbers in the Big Number Change in 2000. The Bournemouth, Aberdeen, Brighton, Bradford and Middlesbrough (as well as Milton Keynes, despite not being initially highlighted in the report) areas were later addressed in 2012 and 2014 by requiring 11-digit dialling for local calls (see the 2012 and 2014 local number dialling sections below), as an interim measure until shorter area codes and 8 digit local numbers are introduced.

Broadband services

The 092x to 099x range was designated "broadband services".

092x xxx xxxx to 099x xxx xxxx	Broadband services (10-digit numbers)

The allocation was never used and eventually removed from the plan in 2005.

Local dialling short codes

Calls between nearby exchanges could previously be dialled using a "short code", often beginning 7, 8 or 9. With rising demand for more subscriber numbers, these codes were scrapped in the late 1990s. After a short delay, 6-digit subscriber numbers beginning 7 or 8 began to be issued in these 01xxx areas, and with 5-digits in 01xxxx areas. In the mid- and late -2000s, some of these areas also started issuing subscriber numbers beginning 9.

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 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[lower-alpha 2]	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.
	(023) 82xx xxxx		New phase of numbers, released from 2012.
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.
	(024) 75xx xxxx		New phase of numbers, released from 2012.
Cardiff	(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 Example given is Belfast—see below	(028) 90xx xxxx	(01232) xxxxxx	23 = BE
	(028) 95xx xxxx		New phase of numbers released from 2005.

Although Southampton and Portsmouth are one code from a code structure and local dialling point of view, calls between them are not treated as local calls for pricing purposes.^[287]

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.^[288]

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.

Town/city	Region	New numbering	Old numbering[lower-alpha 2]
Larne	County Antrim	(028) 28xx xxxx	(01574) xxxxxx
Armagh	County Armagh	(028) 37xx xxxx	(01861) xxxxxx
Newcastle	County Down	(028) 437x xxxx	(013967) xxxxx
Enniskillen	County Fermanagh	(028) 66xx xxxx	(01365) xxxxxx
Limavady	County Londonderry	(028) 777x xxxx	(015047) xxxxx
Omagh	County Tyrone	(028) 82xx xxxx	(01662) xxxxxx
Belfast	Greater Belfast	(028) 90xx xxxx	(01232) xxxxxx
Lisburn	Greater Belfast	(028) 92xx xxxx	(01846) xxxxxx

National dialling only numbers

Area	New numbering	Old numbering[lower-alpha 2]	Notes
London	020 01xx xxxx	0171-0xx xxxx	A non-trivial relationship maps the old blocks of numbers to the new number blocks.[284]
	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 and 074xx have also been brought into use).^[18]

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)^{[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] [47][48]} 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
03AB	077AB	01ABC[13]	076BC
04AB	077AB	04ABC	076BC
05AB	078AB	09AB	076AB
08AB	078AB
09AB	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", "0208" and even "0203", which was the pre-1995 code for Coventry).^[289] 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.^[290]

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 and (024) 75xx 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 and (029) 22xx 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).^[291]

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, even now, some twelve 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).^[292] This is a particular problem now that (0114) 3xx xxxx local numbers are being issued.^[293]

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.^[294]

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.

Notes

References