New 0204 Numbers in London Available Soon

0204 Numbers Set To Launch

Telecoms regulator Ofcom recently announced that it will be introducing a brand new number range for London, in order to cope with increasing demand in and around the capital.

The new number range of 0204 will join 30 million phone numbers already allocated with prefixes of (020)3, 7 and 8 ranges. An increase of requests in and around the London area in the past few years has left old ranges with less than a million numbers to be handed out. With around 30,000 numbers handed out every week in the London area from Ofcom, it means that supply will soon outstrip demand.

Liz Greenburg, Head of Numbering at Ofcom commented that they were “seeing [a] growing need for 020 numbers, as London expands and new homes and offices are built. These 10 million new numbers will allow us to meet demand and help keep the capital connected.”

The History London Numbers

London’s history with phone numbers goes right back to 1958 where the city was allocated a single 01 code which remained the same until 1990 when it was replaced by two codes. While 071 was used for inner London numbers, the 081 code was provided for outer London.

Five years later, all UK area codes were changed to start with an 01 prefix, which meant 071 and 081 changed to 0171 and 0181.

Fast forward to the year 2000 and the ‘Big Number Change’ occurred where London was once again provided with a single area code, this time 020. This removed the inner and outer London divide, with 0207 and 0208 replacing the old 0171 and 0181 ranges until 2005 when 0203 numbers were released in order to provide 10 million more alternatives. With the recent announcement and future implementation of 0204 numbers, the total number of phone numbers in London will increase to 40 million.

How to get an 0204 Number

Ofcom has started accepting requests from telecoms companies for the new 0204 numbers with the range set to launch shortly.

Windsor Telecom will be one of the providers at the forefront of 0204 numbers with the new number range available to our customers soon, which means a whole host of new and memorable phone numbers will be available.

Be the first to find out when they’re available and see how we can help you to make your number work harder for your business by filling in the form below.