Phone numbers

UK Business Telephone Numbers

Orbtalk can offer phone numbers in more locations than almost every other VoIP provider worldwide. A guide to some of the most popular UK business numbers is given below.

0845 numbers

With an 0845 number, the cost of the call is shared between the business and the customer. The cost of the call is also set nationally, so your customers can be more confident to know exactly what they are paying.

0800 numbers

Free to call, these numbers can really improve responses to advertising campaigns. During busy hours, customers dialling in on an 0800 number tend to be more understanding about wait times than customers dialling in on a pay-per-minute number. 0800 numbers cost nothing to dial from a landline, although there can be charges from mobile phones.

0203 numbers & 0207 numbers (London, UK Numbers)

There's always some confusion surrounding London numbers. Starting in around 1999, the old 0171 and 0181 London area codes were merged into a new 020 area code. Some people have misunderstood this to think that there are London area codes of 0207, 0208 and now 0203 - 0203 is actually the code for Coventry! What has actually happened is that the local portion of the number has had an extra digit added to it. The old numbers were converted as follows:

• (0171) 123 4567 -> (020) 7 123 4567
• (0181) 123 4567 -> (020) 8 123 4567

New numbers since have been added in the following format:

• (020) 3 123 4567

Since 2005, all new London numbers added to the London code of (020) have started with a 3, as show above.

0300 Numbers

Telephone calls to 03 numbers cost the same as a standard national rate call to an 01 or 02 number. They must be included in any inclusive minutes, as with 01 and 02 numbers. These rules must be applied from any device, whether from a landline or mobile phone, it doesn't matter.