Within two years, there's a very real prospect of nearly every phone number in Ireland being changed. This is the preferred option in the proposed changes to the national telephone numbering plan, published by the telecommunications regulator this month.
The document from the regulator's office, entitled Numbering in Ireland for the 21st Century, details both long-term proposals for changes and short-term decisions which will be implemented immediately.
The changes are necessary, it says, partly due to a shortage of new numbers in certain "hot spots", and partly to prepare for new operators and new services which come online following deregulation next December.
The long-term changes are potentially the most profound, depending on which of two options is chosen. The first is to continue the current numbering plan, with variable-length area codes (more correctly called dialling codes since they can also refer to service types, such as mobile or freefone calls) and variable-length numbers.
This means existing phone numbers need to be lengthened as and when required to increase capacity.
The second option, favoured by the regulator, is a completely new plan, transforming the whole State to nine-digit numbers and scrapping the notion of separate prefixes. This means, for example, that Cork numbers due to move to seven digits soon would all be prefixed with the digits "21". Thus an existing number 9876543 would become 219876543, and this new number is then dialled from anywhere in the State, including from within Cork itself.
Likewise mobile, premium and freefone numbers would change. Call types, and hence charges, are then determined by the first two digits of a number.
Ten out of 19 organisations which responded to the regulator's consultative document published last March favoured the second option, while four including Telecom Eireann favoured the first.
The regulator says the second option offers long-term simplicity and ease of use, and "best meets Ireland's needs to build a strong information economy for the 21st century".
But, says the document, Telecom Eireann feels the significant disruption involved in this option outweighs the benefits. Not only would all phone numbers move to nine digits, but the current "07" prefixes in the north west would be replaced to allow numbers beginning with "7" to be used for new services.
The issue will be decided by a task force which the regulator's office is setting up. The Task Force on Numbering is being drawn from interested parties and is expected to first meet next month.
Regardless of the long-term plan, the deregulation of the market this year means some changes are due to come into effect immediately. Among these are the addition of new digits to numbers in Drogheda, Dundalk, Cavan, Ennis, Tralee, and parts of Cork.
Telecom Eireann says these changes will start in August, but existing numbers will continue to work until next December.
Any changes have to take into account that customers must be offered local number portability by January 2000, meaning they can switch operator or move and retain their existing numbers. Local number portability will be restricted to within numbering areas, which are due to be published before November.
Cellular service prefixes are also likely to change. Although the code "085" is reserved for Meteor, the third operator, the regulator favours moving all mobile services to "84" (the zero would be dropped under the favoured long-term option). This decision has been made "in principle", but will be reviewed when number portability plans are finalised.
Among the other short-term decisions made by the regulator are the use of five-digit codes beginning with "13" for carrier selection. This means, following deregulation next December, users can dial these codes before calls to use an alternative carrier to their own. In another change the access code for calls to Northern Ireland will change from "080" to "48".
The document is available on the regulator's Website (www.odtr.ie).
Eoin Licken may be reached at elicken@irish-times.ie
