UK Telephone numbers running out!

[Dos_Box]

It appears that as of next year, in some areas, if you want to ring someone in the same area code as yourself from a land line you will have to dial the code as well:

End of UK local dialling in sight as numbers run out ? The Register

I'm so glad home handsets store numbers these days!

[zag]

People still use landlines?

[Theblacksheep]

What is a landline?

[webman]

Landline: the thing you get your broadband through...

[Dos_Box]

You mean cable?

[webman]

You mean cable?

Ah, cable. A technology that's only available to around half of the homes in the UK For those unfortunate enough to live outside of a city centre we have to put up with a pair of copper wire installed and maintained by BT.

[nicholab]

This used to happen in London with 0181 and 0171 before 020. Still irritates me people that think 0208 is a dialing code it is not 020 is the dialing code!!

[jinnantonnixx]

Not again!
I remember 'The Big Number Change' in 2000 and PhONEday. Never again would we have to change anything. What a mess. But then Ofcom never had a good track record.

Big Number Change - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[LosOjos]

Am I being really dense, or will dialling the area code not make a blind bit of difference here? Surely the network assumes your area code as part of the number if you don't dial one, so dialling it will make no difference - it's the same number...

What am I missing here?!

[ZeroHour]

Landline: the thing you get your broadband through...

Ahh that thing

Ah, cable. A technology that's only available to around half of the homes in the UK For those unfortunate enough to live outside of a city centre we have to put up with a pair of copper wire installed and maintained by BT.

I wouldnt call being on Virgin *fortunate*

[teejay]

Am I being really dense, or will dialling the area code not make a blind bit of difference here? Surely the network assumes your area code as part of the number if you don't dial one, so dialling it will make no difference - it's the same number...

What am I missing here?!

Without the dialling code they can only use the numbers 2-9 as the first digit, with the dialling code they can also use 0 and 1 as the first digits of the local number.

[LosOjos]

Without the dialling code they can only use the numbers 2-9 as the first digit, with the dialling code they can also use 0 and 1 as the first digits of the local number.

That makes perfect sense, I was just being dense!

[SimpleSi]

What is a landline?

You need one to get out

Si

[elsiegee40]

This used to happen in London with 0181 and 0171 before 020. Still irritates me people that think 0208 is a dialing code it is not 020 is the dialing code!!

Ahem!

[pedant]01 became 071 / 081 then 0171 0181 then 0207 / 0208... we only lived in our flat four years and got the first three dialling codes over that period! [/pedant]

Without the dialling code they can only use the numbers 2-9 as the first digit, with the dialling code they can also use 0 and 1 as the first digits of the local number.

* Pennies drop * Of course!

My Mum lives in Buxton and still has a 5 figure telephone number... it causes so much confusion as everyone expects it be a minimum of 6 digits after the STD code now.

[j17sparky]

Maybe they should stop forcing people to have a landline phone then. Not one of my mates uses their laneline yet need one for broadband - with most actually being on Virgin Media! I'm just about to sign up to VM and don't want a phone but I have to get one as its cheaper than not having one.

I wonder how many numbers are actually in use.