"Rev Adrian Kennard" wrote in message
...
Paul Scott wrote:
"Graeme Wall" wrote in message
...

02 numbers actually come out at 5 digits eg Southampton 02380,
Portsmouth
02392

That is a weird one, Clive DW was going to try and get to the bottom of
it
for me, but the idea was surely that Southampton and Portsmouth are both
023
area code, with 80nnnnnn and 92nnnnnn numbers. But even the BT dialling
code site shows up 02380 and 02392 as separate codes, even though you
have
to dial 8 numbers for local calls? (I'm in 01489, so have 023 areas on
both
sides - weird)

They key factor as to where the are code ends and the local number
starts is what you can dial without dialling the full number. From any
(023) number you can dial an 8 digit number for any other (023) number.
So (023) is the area code. Just odd that it is two areas, blame OFTEL,
as was.

I reckon the long term plan is that 023 will become the Solent area, and the
codes inbetween (geographically speaking) will disappear when they need to
become 8 digit numbers. BTW the BT dialling code search recognises 023 ok
since I last checked, so that problem has gone away...

Paul