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20|05|05

Ofcom launches public information campaign to support introduction of (020) 3 London telephone numbers

Ofcom today began a public information campaign to raise awareness of London (020) 3 numbers. Ofcom announced (020) 3 as an additional number range for London in July 2004 to meet the capital’s growing needs for new telephone numbers.

The additional (020) 3 number range will be used alongside the existing (020) 7 and (020) 8 numbers. (020) 3 will be given out to some residential and business customers who put in a new line or apply for a new telephone number from late summer onwards.

It is important to note that this is not a code change; existing residential and business customers do not need to change their existing telephone number.

Ofcom announced in November 2004 that it will release the first blocks of (020) 3 numbers to telecoms companies from 1 June 2005. Telecoms companies will then start to issue these numbers to residential and business customers in London later in the summer.

A public information campaign will begin today across London and the South East explaining the (020) 3 numbers. Ofcom is also working with telecoms companies who will begin to inform their customers over the next few months as part of their regular written communications.

Ofcom’s own campaign includes:

• 4,000 advertisements in London Underground carriages.
• Advertisements in the Evening Standard, Metro and 72 local newspapers across London and the South-East.
• Distribution of leaflets to public libraries, Citizens Advice Bureaux and doctors' surgeries.
• Information leaflet sent with every routine Ofcom licence mailing.
• Hot link to (020) 3 information from the home page of the Ofcom website at www.ofcom.org.uk.

Ends.

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