The New Zealand telephone numbering plan describes the allocation of telephone numbers in New Zealand and the Pitcairn Islands.
By the early 1970s, New Zealand's telephone network consisted around 450 automatic telephone exchanges serving around 86% of subscribers, and around 170 manual telephone exchanges serving the remaining 14% of subscribers. It was not until 1990 when the last manual exchange, serving the Chatham Islands, was phased out.
Local telephone numbers on automatic exchanges varied from three to six digits, depending on the size of the exchange and the population of the local calling area. Rotary telephone dials in New Zealand were numbered in reverse to most of the world, with 9 closest to the finger stop and numbers descending anticlockwise to 0, farthest from the finger stop. Under pulse dialling, 9 sent one pulse, 8 sent two pulses, 7 sent three pulses, and so on, with 0 sending ten pulses. Numbers starting with 9 were not assigned, as the single pulse could be easily misdialled. The digit 0 was reserved for calling the operator and numbers beginning with 1 were used for special services (for example, emergency services on 111).
Complex dialling instructions were printed in the front of telephone directories, explaining the sequences required to reach subscribers in local âÂÂfree callingâ areas that were not part of a linked numbering scheme, and in some cases for short-distance toll calls (usually to a nearby city or town). In step-by-step exchanges, these short toll calls were metered manually. Local calls were free (and remain free for residential customers), while long-distance (toll) calls required the intervention of an operator, who accessed toll circuits via a cord board or a toll exchange.
Telephone numbers on manual exchanges were numbered sequentially, and could vary from one to four digits. Multi-party lines were suffixed with a letter corresponding to the individual subscriber's ring pattern in Morse code. For example, subscriber 193M would be signalled by two long rings (Morse code M), while 193S would be signalled by three short rings (Morse code S).
Early automatic exchanges primarily used rotary system equipment. There largely superseded by exchanges with step-by-step equipment after the Second World War. Crossbar exchanges began to be installed from 1973, and electronic exchanges from 1982.
Subscriber toll dialling (STD) was introduced to the New Zealand telephone network in the mid-to-late 1970s, following the installation of NEC crossbar-based toll exchanges capable of performing number translation. The first exchange to implement STD was Upper Hutt on 9 April 1976. Callers on STD-equipped exchanges could dial their own toll calls to any other automatic exchange by dialling 0, followed by the STD code and then the local number. Access to the operator moved to 010. Calls to manual exchanges continued to require operator assistance.
Rollout of STD continued through the late 1970s and 1980s. In some rural exchanges, full automation was not available: the call would be routed automatically, but an operator would briefly intervene to identify the calling number before the connection was completed. This was commonly due to the continued use of party lines, which could not be distinguished automatically by the exchange equipment.
The original STD codes were allocated roughly from south to north, with a few exceptions, and varied between one and five digits (excluding the initial 0). The shortest codes were assigned to the largest cities â 09 for Auckland, 04 for Wellington, and 03 for Christchurch. Small towns and rural exchanges with shorter local numbers had longer STD codes, such as 06927 for Shannon and 088758 for Opononi. The combined length of the STD code and the local number, excluding the initial 0, was usually seven digits, but could vary between six and eight digits. For example, in 1987 the Department of Statistics was listed with a six-digit number in Auckland ((09) 31-055), seven-digit numbers in Wellington ((04) 729-119) and Christchurch ((03) 793-700), and an eight-digit number in Dunedin ((024) 777-511).
A complete list of STD codes from 1987 is below:
With the introduction of NEC stored program control exchanges in the New Zealand telephone network during the 1980s, and the rapid growth in demand, the breakup of the New Zealand Post Office and the creation of Telecom, telephone numbers were standardised to single-digit area codes (excluding the initial 0) and seven-digit local number between 1989 and 1993. Seven-digit local numbers already present in parts of the Auckland and Wellington metro areas remained largely unchanged.
Where possible, the changeover in each area coincided with the annual telephone directory update. The first areas to switch to seven-digit local numbers as part of the changeover were central and south Otago in late 1989. In several cases, the former STD code was prefixed to existing numbers, e.g. Invercargil (021) xx-xxx became (03) 21x-xxxx and Sumner (0326) xxxx became (03) 326-xxxx. In Auckland, a new second digit was added to most existing six-digit numbers; e.g Devonport (09) 45x-xxx became (09) 445-xxxx.
At the same time, the opportunity was taken to move directory service from 100 to 018 and charge for directory service calls. The justification for doing so was the introduction of a directory service computer system that gave access to current New Zealand telephone number listings, not just those printed in the telephone book, and the need for a separate user pays revenue stream for Telecom Directory Services, which was separate to the 5 regional (local) telephone companies, TNI and Telecom Mobile that Telecom had split itself into, as part of the sale of Telecom and deregulation of New Zealand telecommunications services.
Since 1993, land-line telephone numbers in New Zealand consist of a single-digit area code and a seven-digit local number, of which the first three digits generally specify the exchange and the final four specify the subscriber's unique line at that exchange.
New Zealand implements an open numbering plan. The long distance dialing prefix is 0. In the international network Its telephone country code is 64. The international dialing prefix is 00.
New Zealand landline phone numbers have a total of eight digits, excluding the leading 0: a one-digit area code, and a seven-digit phone number (e.g. 09 700 1234), beginning with a digit between 2 and 9 (but excluding 900, 911, and 999 due to misdial guards). There are five regional area codes: 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9. These must be dialled, along with the domestic trunk prefix, when calling a recipient outside the local calling area of which the caller is located. For example, one calling Dunedin from Christchurch must dial 03, even though Christchurch is 03 as well.
The combined domestic trunk prefix and area codes are:
Telephone numbers for mobile phones begin with 02, followed by seven to nine digits (usually eight). The first few digits after the 02 indicate the original mobile network that issued the number.
Telephone numbers must always be dialled in full for mobile phones. In the late 1990s however, Telecom mobile phones could dial other Telecom mobile phones without the (then) 025 prefix, making 025 act like a landline area code.
The introduction of mobile number portability on meant that an increasing number of mobiles would be operating on a different network from that which originally assigned the number. To find out whether a particular number belongs to a specific network provider, one can text the mobile number of interest to 300. It is a free service provided by 2degrees. A reply will be sent to verify whether the number is operating on their network or not. , this service will work for Vodafone and Spark Active.
Toll-free numbers begin with 0508 or 0800, followed by usually six but sometimes seven digits. Premium-rate services use the code 0900 followed by five digits (some with six digits). Local-rate numbers, such as Internet access numbers, have the prefix 08xx, and are usually followed by five digits.
Numbers beginning with 01 are for operator services.
The "1" codes are used for local services, including activating exchange features. The emergency services number is "111".
The mobile network also recognises telephone numbers starting with *, including:
Text message numbers for mobile phones are 3 or 4 digits long.
The long-distance trunk prefix is 0. It is dialled before the national number for calls within the country. This digit is usually quoted as the leading digit of the area code. It is not dialing for calls into the country from other countries.
The international dialing prefix is 00. it is dialing before the desired country code and foreign national number.
New Zealand has no dedicated series of fictional telephone numbers. Television shows and movies generally use any available range of numbers (e.g. the TVNZ soap opera Shortland Street uses the unassigned (09) 4299 number range.).