Dial the Code… The closure of “local dialling” in Brighton (01273) from the 1st of October.

Ofcom has announced that from October 1st people in the Brighton dialling code area (01273) will need to dial the area code as well as the number they are calling in order to be connected to a number in the same area.

This means that if you want to call 01273 123456 for example instead of dialling just 123456 you will need to dial 01273 123456 it’s important to remember to dial the local code as, if you called 118500, without dialling 01273 first you would be connected to the BT Directory Enquiries (118) as opposed to the intended recipient of the call. The action has already been taken by Ofcom to preserve the supply of numbers in this area (which is almost exhausted) without the disruption that a new area code could cause.

The Cellular Solutions advice: Ofcom do not anticipate any substantial disruption on the day. (Bournemouth had local dialling closed in 2012 without any major disruption.) However, we would encourage you to get into the habit of dialling the full area code from today; the calls will connect and there will be no difference in charges to you. You should also check with your PBX maintainer that your PBX is properly configured in anticipation of this change in conjunction with the equipment manufacturer. Whilst the full technical specification of what will happen to misdialled calls on the 1st of October is still being finalised, the current proposal is that callers will hear a message asking them to redial with the full area code; this message will be free of charge.

Ofcom is maintaining a page on its website (http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/numbering/dial-the-code/ ) which contains valuable information for consumers. Please do not hesitate to contact us directly if you have any queries on 01273 424220.