The London Area Code

[Samurai]

Dialling (020) 3 for London

London is going to get some extra telephone numbers, starting with (020) 3. These will be used alongside the existing (020) 7 and (020) 8 numbers. They will be given out to some residential and business customers who put in a new line or apply for a new telephone number from the autumn of 2005 onwards.

If you've got a (020) 7 or (020) 8 number - don't worry. You do not have to change your number.

All you need to remember is that when you see an (020) 3 telephone number, it's a London number, just like (020) 7 and (020) 8 - and of course the cost of a call is the same.

Section 56 of the Communications Act 2003 requires Ofcom to publish a National Telephone Numbering Plan and to review that Plan as required; Section 63 of the Act requires Ofcom to seek the best use of appropriate telephone numbers and to encourage efficiency and innovation.

Ofcom is introducing the extra (020) 3 numbers because London is growing, and more people and businesses want additional telephone numbers. Please find more information below on how Ofcom will allocate the additional (020) 3 numbers to telecoms companies - who will then in turn allocate these to their customers.

More Info At: OFCOM

I wonder, as (020) 7 covers Central London, and (020) 8 covers greater london, will (020) 3 cover both?

[DanB]

I'd have guessed so.

[Samurai]

They did this years ago... 081 and 071 changed to 0181 and 0171. Then they changed to 0208 and 0207. It was said at the time that the extra numbers would last 15 years or more. It hasn't been that long and they plan on adding another one

[DanB]

It could have only changed to 0208/0207 in 2000?

Tut tut 10 years out with their predictions

[4play]

they have only just allowed the phone companies to issue the new 0203 numbers. it does not mean you are gonna to see any for a long time since they are not quite needed yet.

[DanB]

Well surely if they are now allowing them to be issued we will see them as they will be getting issued to people getting new telephone lines installed?

[4play]

they have not run out of the old numbers just yet and probably wont for a while.

[DanB]

they have not run out of the old numbers just yet and probably wont for a while.

London is going to get some extra telephone numbers, starting with (020) 3. These will be used alongside the existing (020) 7 and (020) 8 numbers. They will be given out to some residential and business customers who put in a new line or apply for a new telephone number from the autumn of 2005 onwards.

[lynx]

The original change (split) from 01 to 071 and 081 theoretically doubled the numbers available. But since the old numbers were required to work for quite a while afterwards there was actually very little increase.

The change to 0171 and 0181 and subsequently to 0207 and 0208 did not add any new numbers, but the original doubling of the numbers was now achievable. If you look upon London numbers as now starting 020 this last change gave 5 times as many numbers with no disruption to existing systems.

Although they appear to have run out of numbers in a much shorter period than was stated, the actual changeover started quite some time ago. The increase in the requirement for new lines has completely outstripped the original expectations. The original predictions of 30-35 years were made back in the early 1980s. It looks like an esitmate of 20-25 years would have been better, but that isn't anything like as bad as predicting 15 years and running out in 5 years.

I have a feeling that the 15 year figure came from the fact that almost 20 years had passed since the original estimate. Probably from some guy in a PR dept, good at producing plenty of flowery words but not realising that estimates need revising as time passes.

[DanB]

Does Lynx work for BT?