Big Number Change

The Big Number Change was an update of telephone dialling codes in the UK in response to the rapid late 1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of numbers. The change greatly expanded the pool of available numbers while helping to retain 'local dialling' (the ability to dial local numbers directly, without needing to dial an area code first). The change affected the dialling codes assigned to Cardiff, Coventry, London, Northern Ireland, Portsmouth and Southampton, culminating in a large switch on Saturday, April 22, 2000. In addition to new area/city codes for many parts of the UK, the switch was also coupled with a move to eight-digit local numbers, the adjustment of all mobile phone numbers in the UK to the 07 prefix and the alteration of many non-geographic codes to the new 08 range.

Geographical number changes

The following changes took place in Great Britain:

Misunderstandings

Some widespread misunderstandings about area codes came about with the Big Number Change, most notably with London area codes. There is a widespread but erroneous assumption that London has two area codes 0207 and 0208, whereas in fact it has just one: 020. Similar misunderstandings came about with a few other area codes.

ee also

* Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom

External links

* http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/oftel/publications/1999/consumer/qanum999.htm