Conference 7.286::digital

Recommendation E.123


NOTATION FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE NUMBERS


1.	General

	The statements below apply specifically to the printing of 
national and international telephone numbers on letterheads, business 
cards, bills, etc. Regard has been giving to the printing of existing 
telephone directories. The standard notation for printing telephone 
numbers on letterheads, directories,etc., helps to reduce subscriber 
difficulties and errors.


1.1	The international number should be printed below the national 
number, with corresponding digits lined up one under the other to 
facilitate understanding of the composition of the international 
number as shown in the examples in �� 1.3 and 1.4 below.


1.2	The words "National" and "International" in the appropriate 
language should be placed to the left of the national and 
international numbers, and these should be separated by a horizontal 
line.


1.3	Either the symbol for telephone given in Recommendation E.121 
or the word "Telephone" in the appropriate language should be placed 
to the left of (or above) the national and international numbers (to 
avoid confusion with other letterhead numbers). The + (plus) signifies 
the international prefix (see � 4.1).

		     National		     (0607) 123 4567
Example:   Telephone ---------------------------------------
		     International	   +22 607  123 4567


1.4	Because the countries of World Numbering Zone 1 (North 
America) have the country code 1, the same number as is used for the 
trunk prefix, and because dialling between these countries is the same 
as long-distance dialling within them, subscriber difficulties are 
avoided by using an alternative notation that has been found superior 
for use within these countries and equally good for subscribers in 
other countries dialling to Zone 1.
This is to substitute for "National" on the upper line the phrase 
"Within N. Amer. zone".

		     Within N. Amer. zone     (302) 123 4567
Example:   Telephone ---------------------------------------
		     International	    +1 302  123 4567


1.5	If it is desirable to write only the international number, it 
should be written in the form:

Telephone International	   +22 607  123 4567


1.6	To show an extension number of a PABX without direct 
in-dialling, the nationally used word or abbreviation for "extension" 
should be written immediately after the telephone numbers and on the 
same line as the word "telephone", followed by the extension number 
itself.

		     Within N. Amer. zone     (302) 123 4567
Example 1:   Telephone --------------------------------------- ext.876
		     International	    +1 302  123 4567

Example 2:   Telephone International	   +22 607  123 4567 ext.876

	In this way, the extension number is separated from the digits 
to be dialled and, where it must be typed onto a letterhead, for 
example, it need to be typed only once.


....


4.2	Use of parentheses

	The symbol () (parentheses) should be used to indicate that 
the digits within the () are not always dialled.

	The () should enclose:
	-  the trunk prefix and trunk code in a national number,
	-  the trunk code when the trunk prefix is not in universal 
           use within a country.

	This is done to remind the user not to dial the enclosed 
digits for calls within the same numbering area.

	The () should not be used in an international number.


....


4.4	Multiple numbers without automatic search

	For a subscriber with multiple numbers who does not have 
automatic search, the symbol / (oblique stroke, solidus, or slant) may 
be used to separate the alternative numbers.

Example A:	(0607) 123 4567 / 123 7272 / 627 1876
		(0607) 123 4567 / 393 9844 / 564 1692
	      +22 607  123 4567 / 393 9844

	To avoid dialling confusion in Example A, it is especially 
important that there be a space on either side of the symbol/.

	When it is desired to abbreviate the alternative numbers and 
they are consecutive, only the last digit should be shown for the 
alternative numbers.

Example B:	(0607) 123 4567/8/9

	To avoid dialling confusion in example B, it is especially 
important that there be no space on either side of the symbol /.

	The general use of / is to indicate a choice when dialling. It 
may therefore also be used to indicate a choice of prefix codes as, 
for example, the choice of dialling personal or station calls.


...


6.	Spacing symbols

	Spacing symbols are symbols which are used solely to separate 
parts of a telephone number from each other. They cannot be diallable, 
procedural or information symbols.

...

6.2	In the international number, spacing shall occur between the 
country code and the trunk code and between the trunk code and the 
subscriber number.

6.3	The major separation among digits in a telephone number 
(national or international) should occur between trunk code and 
subscriber number. This separation should therefore always be wider 
than any other separation within the number...


7.	Facsimile number notation

...
		National	     (06) 123 4567
Example:   FAX  ----------------------------------
		International	   +49 6  123 4567


...
    

    ITU stands for INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION.
    
    For more informations: http://www.itu.ch
    
    Omitted parts of the recommendation are referred as ...
    
    I added this standard here as I've seen so many wrong ways to write a 
    phone number. Note: the recommendation seems to be old and a couple of
    paragraphs seem to be only applicable for phone books.
    
    Does someone within this company care for a "global" telephone 
    strategy ? Phone books, elf, flyers, letter paper...
    E.123 recommendation should the be publicized ! 
                                       

    Somebody really has too much time on their hands...
    

    Re .1 & .2, thanks for the information and the pointer.  In our
    dealings with international vendors, i've always had problems giving
    them our US phone numbers in a proper way so that they can call us from
    their home office.
    
    --svb

As someone who works outside the USA, by far the greatest
frustration related to phone numbers is the habit of
specifying a toll-free number only. These seem to come in
various styles, of course the 1-800 ones are common, but
there are others which "look" more like a local number.

Many toll-free numbers cannot be dialled from some countries.
So if a communication has an international audience (and
most do these days) then it should also have a "vanilla"
phone number specified as per the standard.

    Re: .5, toll free numbers not being worldwide...
    
    There was an article in Saturday's Boston Glob that indicated that
    international Toll-Free numbers are coming, at least to many countries.
    
    In the US you would dial 011 800 + 8 more digits (i.e. internal access
    code followed country code 800 followed by an 8 digit number).
    
    I'm sure this will cause confusion since the "proper" way to write
    these things would be +800 12345678 or something similar.  U.S. types
    th[A
    
    Also note that vanity numbers that spell out something (like 1-800
    DIGITAL) are less useful cause many phone don't have letters or have
    them layed out differently than other phones.
    
    Supposed to roll out soon (march/april this year I think).  As it
    depends on tarrifs and monetary negotiations, it's rolling out on
    different schedules in different countries.  The article mentioned
    that Europe, US, Japan, Singapore were on board.
    
    They also speculated that this might cause rates to lower in places
    where they are artificially high since big corporations might have more
    negotiating power than individual consumers.
    
    Steveg

    re .6: International toll-free numbers have been there for quite some
    time, at least in Europe.
    
    �In the US you would dial 011 800 + 8 more digits (i.e. internal access
    �code followed country code 800 followed by an 8 digit number).
    
    I haven't seen the article, but this would seem to be contrary to ITU
    rules... 80 is, I think, a "reserved" country code at the moment. The
    international toll-free numbers over here are just like the normal ones
    - you don't in fact know where the call ends up... (most likely in
    Ireland, if it's some kind of resevation/hotline/customer service
    number).
    
    The problem is national toll-free numbers, like the US 800 numbers,
    which can'n be generally dialed from other countries.
    
    For US, you heve a couple of workarounds though: if you're on the
    'physical' DTN, you can dial any US number, including 800 ones (the
    actual dial code probably varies from place to place, I'm sure John
    Covert will enlighten us; e.g. here in Munich, I dial 7-001-any US
    number).
    
    In some countries (apparently this works in UK; it doesn't here in
    Germany) you can dial US toll free numbers, but they're not toll free,
    you pay the same as you would for a normal call.
    
    Also, if you have an AT&T or other major service provider card, you can
    have the operator connect you to 800 numbers (but it's not toll free).

    The article mentioned the ITU was involved so I expect that any issue
    of "reserved" country codes can be worked.
    
    The goal of the scheme was to allow folks to have a single world-wide
    toll-free number.
    
    Steveg

    re .8: you're right, a quick look at www.itu.ch/uifn/ confirms it...
    
    UIFN stands for Universal International Freephone Number.
    

>    For US, you heve a couple of workarounds though: if you're on the
>    'physical' DTN, you can dial any US number, including 800 ones

It was just announced that the physical DTN in Europe is being replaced
in the next month or two by a virtual network; the ability to dial U.S.
800 numbers will go away for most locations as soon as that occurs.

/john

>    I haven't seen the article, but this would seem to be contrary to ITU
>    rules... 80 is, I think, a "reserved" country code at the moment.

Yes, 80 is reserved specifically by the CCITT so that country code 800 can
be used for toll-free service.

>The international toll-free numbers over here are just like the normal ones

But this is what the new service is about -- providing a uniform toll-free
service so that international companies can advertize a single +800 number
valid anywhere rather than having to advertize "From France call ..., from
Germany call ...", etc.

/john

    advertise.