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Monday, August 23, 2010

When it comes to mobile phone numbers, is the USA living in the past… or showing us the future?

Mark Bridge writes:

Last week the Wall Street Journal published a feature that explained how techies in New York wanted the city’s 212 area code as part of their mobile phone numbers. This may seem strange from a UK perspective until you realise that American mobile phone numbers – okay, I’ll call them cellphone numbers if you want – don’t have dedicated mobile ‘dialling codes’. Instead, they’re all prefixed with a local area code and cost the same to call as those landline numbers they mimic. The downside from a user’s point of view is that each mobile phone owner pays to receive calls. Here in the UK, the higher price of calling mobiles means we receive calls for nothing.

Anyway, back to the story. 212 is the original area code for New York, New York. So good, they named a fragrance after it. It’s rather like 0171 for central London.

As the demand for fixed-line numbers has grown, new area codes have been introduced. In the UK we went from 01 for London to 071 and 081, then 0171 and 0181, followed by the 020-prefixed groups of 020 7, 020 8 and 020 3. In NYNY, Manhattan added 646 and 917, while the other New York boroughs were given 718, 347 and 929.

The city’s run out of 212 numbers but that hasn’t stopped New Yorkers finding ways to acquire a 212 cellphone number, according to the article. A 212 number is a status symbol, says the WSJ, a mark of authority, a sign of the ‘early adopter’.

Here in the UK, the cellular mobile phone system has always had its own distinct mobile prefixes. The coolest people – and those who had friends in the number allocation department of service providers – tended to favour mobile numbers with repeating or sequential digits. And the introduction of Mobile Number Portability in 2001 meant they could take their memorable numbers to new networks; no more identifying Vodafone users by their 0836 prefix, Cellnet from 0850 or one2one from 0956.

A couple of years later, MNP – known to its Stateside friends as WLNP (Wireless Local Number Portability) – arrived in the USA. In many ways it’s more flexible than the UK system because numbers can be moved between landlines and mobile phones. The consumer also deals with the ‘pleased to meet you’ recipient network, not the potentially grumpy network they’re leaving.

However, all this leaves me wondering how long it'll all last. As households drop fixed lines in favour of mobile phones, it seems that the apparent location of a user and the area code they claim will become irrelevant. In fact, for many people, the country code is also becoming irrelevant. So… what happens next?  We already have a variety of services that can help – from the international network codes of +882 & +883 and the tel domain to call diversion services and the likes of Truphone Local Anywhere – but none of them have all the answers. At least, I don’t think any of them have all the answers. If anyone can convince me otherwise, we’ll turn it into a feature on The Fonecast. Until then, I'll cherish my current mobile number and its ancient Vodafone MetroCall prefix!

Put a phone in now - old BT advertisement

[Image shows BT advertisement from around 30 years ago]

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Opinion Articles

The PlayStation mobile has arrived... among others

Xperia Play

Xperia Play

James Rosewell writes:

Tonight Sony Ericsson announced an impressive four new Xperia handsets based on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and the Bravia graphics engine more commonly found in TVs. I got hands-on with the much anticipated Play, and its 3 siblings Neo, Pro and Arc. Here's what I thought.

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This week at The Fonecast: 12th February 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Next week is Mobile World Congress in Barcelona – I’m sure don’t need me to tell you that! – and Nokia has given us plenty to talk about when we get there.

Author: The Fonecast
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Nokia - a burning platform or a red-hot hoax?

Mark Bridge writes:

On Friday morning, Nokia is hosting a Strategy and Financial Briefing in London. And on Sunday evening, it’s holding a press briefing in Barcelona. CEO Stephen Elop is expected to make some significant changes to the company - but what will he say?

Author: The Fonecast
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Poor Nexus S sales? Blame the Carphone Warehouse's deals, says Carphone Warehouse subsidiary

Mark Bridge writes:

Last December we reported on the launch of the Google Nexus S, which was being sold exclusively in the UK by the Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy UK (which is run in partnership with the Carphone Warehouse).

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This week at The Fonecast: 6th February 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

Last year, mobile payments seemed a lifetime away. Even Visa Europe's head of mobile wasn't overly optimistic about the likelihood of the 'mobile wallet' becoming a reality in the short-term.

This week we have not one, not two, but three mobile payment announcements.

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Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

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Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

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Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

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Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

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A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

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