Telephone Numbers – A National Resource

From time to time Ofcom, the communications’ regulator, reminds consumers of the work that it does behind the scenes to ensure that the UK’s communications run smoothly. Its latest update talks about the allocation of telephone numbers and how they should be viewed as a national resource.

Whilst this claim might seem startling at first, a robust area and geographic telephone code helps to bring a sense of local identity. Although mobile numbers are not tied to geographic areas, having access to landline area codes does help businesses to establish a local presence, as well as fostering a sense of community when phoning contacts and friends within the local area.

Of course, some of the local areas are quite large. For example the code for London is 020, followed by a 7, an 8 or more recently a 3. However, those phoning 01234 numbers will know that they are ringing the Bedford area and are more likely to be dealing with a local business.

Luckily for national businesses, you don’t have to have a local presence to have a local number. Companies like Callagenix have a stock of local numbers available to issue to businesses. Combine these numbers with a routing service and your clients can dial a local number which will be routed to your office anywhere in the world.

Just taking a simple example, say your business was based in Bristol, area code 01179. You have decided to expand across the bridge into Cardiff but don’t yet want to set up a local office. Callagenix could allocate you a Cardiff number, starting 0292, with that number ringing in your Bristol office. This means that you can advertise your business with a Cardiff number and with prospective clients being more likely to be attracted to a Cardiff number than a Bristol one, your Cardiff venture should grow faster.

The availability of local codes is not just confined to within the UK. For those businesses which are looking to create an international presence, being able to offer a local number, for example in Spain, which is routed to the main office in the UK or elsewhere is a distinct advantage. Add a virtual switchboard to a range of local dialling codes and you can operate worldwide from either a single centre or switch calls around the globe as staffing levels dictate.

This ability to manage a global business with a local dialling code has benefited countless thousands of businesses and as business prospers so does the country. In that sense alone area codes are a valuable national resource.