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UK telephone code misconceptions
Widespread UK telephone code misconceptions, in particular brought on by the Big Number Change in 2000, have been reported by regulator Ofcom since publication of a report it commissioned in 2004.
The telephone area code for most of Greater London and some surrounding areas is 020, not "0207", "0208" or "0203". A study was commissioned in 2005 which found that only 13 per cent of respondents correctly identified the 020 code for London without prompting: 59 per cent incorrectly identified it as "0207" or "0208". This is not just an issue of number appearance; the correct way to call a London landline number from a landline within the London telephone area is to dial the last 8 digits. The trunk prefix "0", and area dialling code "20", if included, are ignored.
Other area codes with similarly widespread misconceptions about the correct area code include Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Leeds, Leicester, Northern Ireland, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Reading, Sheffield and Southampton.
Owing to the marked increase in demand for telephone numbers to be available for allocation since the 1990s, the United Kingdom's telephone numbering system has been restructured several times on both a national and regional level, resulting in several modifications to the way British telephone numbers are written. As a consequence of these changes, many people were left with a misunderstanding of how the system of area codes and local numbers operates.
A standard United Kingdom fixed telephone number (i.e. a landline, or geographical number, as opposed to a mobile telephone number or special rate non-geographic fixed line) is divided into three parts, the trunk prefix code (0 in the UK), an STD code (area code) followed by a local number. The STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialling) code indicates the geographical area of the number, and is dialled before the local number. For the majority of calls dialled within the same area, the trunk prefix and area code need not be dialled, but are ignored if they are.
Owing to number-capacity constraints, fixed line callers in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch (01202) must dial the full STD code even when calling local numbers. From October 2014, similar schemes were implemented in Aberdeen (01224), Bradford (01274), Brighton (01273), Middlesbrough (01642) and Milton Keynes (01908). Specifically, the requirement to dial the full number allowed for numbers to be allocated in which the first digit after the area code begins with a zero or a one. This change makes about 200,000 new numbers available for each area code in which the change has been made. Some telephone service providers differentiate ordinary calling costs using the relevant area code(s).
Until STD was introduced, only telephone operators could connect calls over the trunks (long-distance links between major exchanges). A subscriber would have to dial 0 for the operator and then request a long-distance call. As STD was introduced area by area the meaning of the 0 changed; it was now the trunk prefix used to raise a call automatically to the trunk dialling level, what telephone companies now call a National call. The new code of 100 was introduced for calling an operator. The leading 0 is not part of an area code,[citation needed] which is why international callers dialling into the UK must not dial it.
For historical and operational reasons, the area code plus local number can have varying total and composite digit lengths, but as a rule they do not exceed 11 digits in combined length.[citation needed] For readability, and to distinguish geographic location, telephone numbers are often spoken, displayed and published with a gap between the area code and local number, or with the area code in (parentheses). Problems may occur for the reader when this spacing or formatting is incorrectly applied by the publisher.
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UK telephone code misconceptions
Widespread UK telephone code misconceptions, in particular brought on by the Big Number Change in 2000, have been reported by regulator Ofcom since publication of a report it commissioned in 2004.
The telephone area code for most of Greater London and some surrounding areas is 020, not "0207", "0208" or "0203". A study was commissioned in 2005 which found that only 13 per cent of respondents correctly identified the 020 code for London without prompting: 59 per cent incorrectly identified it as "0207" or "0208". This is not just an issue of number appearance; the correct way to call a London landline number from a landline within the London telephone area is to dial the last 8 digits. The trunk prefix "0", and area dialling code "20", if included, are ignored.
Other area codes with similarly widespread misconceptions about the correct area code include Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Leeds, Leicester, Northern Ireland, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Reading, Sheffield and Southampton.
Owing to the marked increase in demand for telephone numbers to be available for allocation since the 1990s, the United Kingdom's telephone numbering system has been restructured several times on both a national and regional level, resulting in several modifications to the way British telephone numbers are written. As a consequence of these changes, many people were left with a misunderstanding of how the system of area codes and local numbers operates.
A standard United Kingdom fixed telephone number (i.e. a landline, or geographical number, as opposed to a mobile telephone number or special rate non-geographic fixed line) is divided into three parts, the trunk prefix code (0 in the UK), an STD code (area code) followed by a local number. The STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialling) code indicates the geographical area of the number, and is dialled before the local number. For the majority of calls dialled within the same area, the trunk prefix and area code need not be dialled, but are ignored if they are.
Owing to number-capacity constraints, fixed line callers in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch (01202) must dial the full STD code even when calling local numbers. From October 2014, similar schemes were implemented in Aberdeen (01224), Bradford (01274), Brighton (01273), Middlesbrough (01642) and Milton Keynes (01908). Specifically, the requirement to dial the full number allowed for numbers to be allocated in which the first digit after the area code begins with a zero or a one. This change makes about 200,000 new numbers available for each area code in which the change has been made. Some telephone service providers differentiate ordinary calling costs using the relevant area code(s).
Until STD was introduced, only telephone operators could connect calls over the trunks (long-distance links between major exchanges). A subscriber would have to dial 0 for the operator and then request a long-distance call. As STD was introduced area by area the meaning of the 0 changed; it was now the trunk prefix used to raise a call automatically to the trunk dialling level, what telephone companies now call a National call. The new code of 100 was introduced for calling an operator. The leading 0 is not part of an area code,[citation needed] which is why international callers dialling into the UK must not dial it.
For historical and operational reasons, the area code plus local number can have varying total and composite digit lengths, but as a rule they do not exceed 11 digits in combined length.[citation needed] For readability, and to distinguish geographic location, telephone numbers are often spoken, displayed and published with a gap between the area code and local number, or with the area code in (parentheses). Problems may occur for the reader when this spacing or formatting is incorrectly applied by the publisher.