Background to memorable numbers

The initial launch of 0800 and 0500 numbers in the early 1980 by Ofcom through BT and Mercury Communications involved the mass release of around 6 million numbers.

This later proved problematic as number allocation was not controlled, meaning that the best numbers were used very quickly, leaving the bulk of less attractive numbers for the majority of organisations.

With later releases, Ofcom have adopted a different approach to ensure more efficient and fairer use of number ranges. New ranges are now released in smaller blocks of either 1,000 or 10,000 numbers. Rules are in place to ensure that around 80% of a range is in use, or allocated, before a new range is released.

The relative scarcity of Memorable numbers means that such numbers have never been more precious and sought after.

If you would like one of our telecommunications consultants to contact you for further advice, please email contact@it-cts.com with your details.

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