Telephone number question.

bonerm

Simple enough one here. Does anyone know what year the 01 phone numbers started putting '8's in front of the 6 digit numbers that had existed up until then , eg overnight 734111 would have become 8734111 etc.

Thanks.

WindSock

I think it was around 1996 from memory. Messed up an awesome mathematical sequence with ours

bonerm

WindSock wrote: »

I think it was around 1996 from memory. Messed up an awesome mathematical sequence with ours

Really? Would you consider me forward if I asked for your number?

1996 tho? I was sure it was earlier than that....

WindSock

Not at all, it's perfectly safe to post my awesome number on a public forum, right? :pac:

Maybe it was earlier than that. I plucked that from memory as I was waffling about how great it was when I had my first excessive vodka experience on Junior Cert results night.

kelle

No, actually I remember it was in 1991.

WindSock wrote: »

I think it was around 1996 from memory. Messed up an awesome mathematical sequence with ours

Actually in the country we were 5 digits, and my parents number was easy to give out for the same reason as yours was and everybody remembered! Sadly, this was ruined when we all became 7-digits in 2003.

bonerm

kelle wrote: »

No, actually I remember it was in 1991.

I guess Windsock must be older than she's letting on.

Antenna

bonerm wrote: »

what year the 01 phone numbers started putting '8's in front of the 6 digit numbers that had existed up until then

as far as I recall, it was one of four digits (2,4,6,8) that went in front of existing 01 telephone numbers - depending on area

kelle

bonerm wrote: »

I guess Windsock must be older than she's letting on.

Is Windsock Female? For some reason, I thought she was a he!

I remember I was a final year student in London, my best friend was a Dub and we were doing out CV's. She had to re-do the page with her home phone number on because she had forgotten to add in the extra digit - which had just come into force! That was actually early 1992.

Aren't you glad to hear that bit of useless information???

WindSock

I am, I just lack a female looking avatar at the moment. Maybe it was much earlier then Didn't think it was as far back as '91 though.

Dudess

I'm quite nerdy about things like area codes, post codes etc (dammit, a person's allowed a nerdy leaning!) and I'm pretty sure it was 1990 - heard it announced on the radio and sat up and took notice...

gipi

It was introduced on a phased basis, so 1990 and 1991 could both be right.

I remember moving house and getting a new phone number in Feb 1990 with 6 digits (01 area), I think it was like that for almost a year before going to 7 digits?

Fouling up a handy number sequence or not, at least we had it easier than London who've had several changes of numbers in the past 20 years or so!

jackwogan

Hi I am looking to know if I can get a telephone number that can be dialled from Roi and N.Ireland and be answered in one office in N.Ireland. Is this something that can be done?

cml387

Now that's funny, I was thinking about area codes over the weekend.

As we switched over to STD in the early eighties some areas had an extra digit in the trunk number, e.g. 0902 for Athlone, there was an 0502 (portlaoise, I think).

Does anyone know why?

WindSock

jackwogan wrote: »

Hi I am looking to know if I can get a telephone number that can be dialled from Roi and N.Ireland and be answered in one office in N.Ireland. Is this something that can be done?

Hi jackwogan, you may not get an answer to this question in this thread or this forum, I suggest trying perhaps the Mobiles and PDA Forum. As far as I can see it is the closest forum on this site for your question, if not then someone might direct you to the right one.

L1011

cml387 wrote: »

Now that's funny, I was thinking about area codes over the weekend.

As we switched over to STD in the early eighties some areas had an extra digit in the trunk number, e.g. 0902 for Athlone, there was an 0502 (portlaoise, I think).

Does anyone know why?

Legacy of the era when you could call anyone with the same area code as a local call (and hence for free) I believe. Completely different now, often no difference in prices between local/national to begin with and if there is, its not like your entire code may be local, e.g. not all of 074 is 'local' to someone in Dungloe.

A number of areas that haven't run out of numbers yet are still 4-5 format. A lot of Wicklow is, 0402 and 0404. People in Ballinasloe still seem to assume they're 0906 when writing it down but the numbers won't dial if you drop the code. (they're 090- and old numbers all begin with 6).

Also, the 01 area going to 7 digits wasn't done by adding an 8 for everyone, only certain numbers. If your number already began with 8 it got a 2 and if it began with 2 it got a 6, from memory.

cml387

MYOB wrote: »

Legacy of the era when you could call anyone with the same area code as a local call (and hence for free) I believe. Completely different now, often no difference in prices between local/national to begin with and if there is, its not like your entire code may be local, e.g. not all of 074 is 'local' to someone in Dungloe.

A number of areas that haven't run out of numbers yet are still 4-5 format. A lot of Wicklow is, 0402 and 0404. People in Ballinasloe still seem to assume they're 0906 when writing it down but the numbers won't dial if you drop the code. (they're 090- and old numbers all begin with 6).

Also, the 01 area going to 7 digits wasn't done by adding an 8 for everyone, only certain numbers. If your number already began with 8 it got a 2 and if it began with 2 it got a 6, from memory.

In fact local calls were never free. Calls within your "local" area (e.g. 044) were charged at the local rate (for a long time is 20p). This was a flat rate for as long as you wanted to be on the phone.

L1011

cml387 wrote: »

In fact local calls were never free. Calls within your "local" area (e.g. 044) were charged at the local rate (for a long time is 20p). This was a flat rate for as long as you wanted to be on the phone.

My memory isn't as good as it used to be obviously. Remembered it as being free when it was just untimed as you say.

One of the main reasons my parents bought a house where they did was to stay within a local call distance of his work, having had a dial-in since the mid 1980s. Acoustic coupler modems, there's something that could make a topic on here...

cml387

MYOB wrote: »

My memory isn't as good as it used to be obviously. Remembered it as being free when it was just untimed as you say.

A hae ma doots MYOB.

I know I used to envy the US who had local free calls.And we got our first phone in 1983.

L1011

cml387 wrote: »

A hae ma doots MYOB.

I know I used to envy the US who had local free calls.And we got our first phone in 1983.

You're definitely right, I did some searching to make sure

Was 11.5p for landlines and I think the 20p was payphones.

cml387

The geographical spread of the dialling errors caused some incongruities.

Cashel was (and is ) an 06 area in a sort of enclave of 05 numbers, I'm sure there were others.

I was involved (only in a small way) in the installation of the new Limerick exchange in the early eighties that made it possible to direct dial the UK.
Funnily enough this required you to dial 030 + british area code (without the zero)

MYOB

MYOB wrote: »

Also, the 01 area going to 7 digits wasn't done by adding an 8 for everyone, only certain numbers. If your number already began with 8 it got a 2 and if it began with 2 it got a 6, from memory.

Yes, 8 was added to most numbers on the northside of the city. The southside was assigned 2, 4 and 6.