My daughter is starting at Bristol Uni in Oct and they use the dognbone zone servive at the uni. when dialling her room I have to use an 0870 number. does any one know if there is a geographical code to use

TIA

Can you provide us with some more information?

Do you have the 0870 number (make sure you *** out the last three digits!). Does the room have its own 0870 or is it a system where you dial an 0870 and when that answers, you enter the room/ext number?

DogNBone Zone has been mentioned on here before for other university residencies. Search the forums, enter dog into the search box and change Max Age since last post to something like 3000. ;-)

The web address is www.dognbonezone.co.uk

This page gives information on the phone service, along with this page.

Bristol use Dog and bone
number format 0870 775 5***
Hope that helps, and that you can help us :)

oh and you dial direct in - the students can call other students internally 35**** or 355***(not sure)

(goodness, I am tired - spelt student as studant)

That number's registerd to Energis, and they have only one Bristol number:

0117 981

Try that with all the digits 0 to 9 and then the three-digit extension:

0117 981 0xxx
0117 981 1xxx
etc.

I have decided to use Skype - no charge at all

I've just looked at the Skype site and unless I'm mistaken, UK calls are 1.3p, Shared cost 0845 are 8.1p and Shared cost 0870 are 11.5p, all per minute. I'll try to add the link here http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/all_rates.html?currency=GBP#listing

Apologies if I've looked at the wrong details, so please correct if I've put off people getting free 0870! At least the description of shared cost is revealing. Bill

wrote on Oct 10^th, 2005 at 6:01pm:

I've just looked at the Skype site and unless I'm mistaken, UK calls are 1.3p, Shared cost 0845 are 8.1p and Shared cost 0870 are 11.5p, all per minute. I'll try to add the link here http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/all_rates.html?currency=GBP#listing Apologies if I've looked at the wrong details, so please correct if I've put off people getting free 0870! At least the description of shared cost is revealing. Bill

The OP means he/she and his/her daughter will both use Skype to talk directly between two PCs, which is free. No need to use the 0870 number.

Make sure Uni IT regs allow use of Skype.
It's banned at mine (Oxford) and they use an 0870 number for direct calls.  However, through the college lodge it's still 01865!

wrote on Oct 11^th, 2005 at 3:42pm:

Make sure Uni IT regs allow use of Skype. It's banned at mine (Oxford) and they use an 0870 number for direct calls.  However, through the college lodge it's still 01865!

Is it specifically banned by name, or is VoIP banned?

The new "in-room internet" service at Leicester says Skype is "not supported", which is different to not being allowed. I haven't found anyone who can try it for me yet to see if it's actually blocked.

Some of the chat clients that provide a voice option can't easily be blocked by the ISP, although I won't necessarily recommend them as they tend to be Windows-only.

Univerity of Bristol recommends Skype!!! :)

http://www.bris.ac.uk/is/services/homeusers/resnet/connect/config/voip.html

wrote on Oct 14^th, 2005 at 6:16am:

Univerity of Bristol recommends Skype!!! :) http://www.bris.ac.uk/is/services/homeusers/resnet/connect/config/voip.html

The residences network "ResNet" at Bristol seems to be provided by the University's information services. At many universities this is outsourced to the same company providing the phone service, hence the ban on the likes of Skype!

I cannot use skype and I tried using 0117 981 0xxx etc but no luck. I'm desperate for an alternative Bristol University 0870 number, thanks.

Of the universities we've found numbers for, Dog 'n' Bone Zone seem to have quite a few with geographical numbers allocated to Your Communications. In Bristol they have one prefix: 0117 333.

For Bristol, the internal and the last few digits of the 0870 numbers are the same, are they not? If they are different, it seems as though the geographical is likely to be appended by the internal extension number rather than the last few digits of the 0870, although we can't rule anything out.

The last few digits of the internal and 0870 number are the same. So I should try 0117 333 0-9xxx?

wrote on Oct 23^rd, 2005 at 1:36pm:

The last few digits of the internal and 0870 number are the same. So I should try 0117 333 0-9xxx?

Yes.

number not recognised  :(

I suggest you try Torch* Communications. They operate the following:

• 0117 311 06/1998
  
• 0117 314 12/1998
  
• 0117 000 03/2002*
  
• 0117 321 03/2004
  
• 0117 005 05/2004*
  
• 0117 006 05/2004*
  
• 0117 355 05/2004
  
• 0117 356 08/2005

The dates are the dates they became allocated to Torch. The ones with local numbers beginning 0 (marked with *) are "national dialling only" numbers. You will have to dial the 0117 prefix even from a phone line within the 0117 code. From reports on this forum, it appears that they can't be dialled from BT lines and only work from NTL lines and Orange mobiles.

If you have no joy with Torch, try Thus who have the prefix 0117 337, change date 04/2000. Also try NTL who have only one prefix: 0117 310, change date 01/1998.

I suggest you try each prefix with the last four digits of the internal number.

I have suggested these as they are common providers of university phone systems.  ;)

[edit]* Torch Telecom is now known as Affiniti.[/edit]

Tried every number last night...no luck :( I don't know if it helps but I noticed that the staff in my hall all have 0117 903 5xxx as their number.

wrote on Oct 25^th, 2005 at 9:36am:

I don't know if it helps but I noticed that the staff in my hall all have 0117 903 5xxx as their number.

Have you tried using the last 3 digits from the 0870 number ???

Mind you, most likely not going to work  :(

I already thought of that  ;) it calls a phone but not mine...

wrote on Oct 25^th, 2005 at 10:37am:

I already thought of that  ;) it calls a phone but not mine...

Darn it, thought I had made a mistake when I tried it just :(

wrote on Oct 25^th, 2005 at 9:36am:

Tried every number last night...no luck :( I don't know if it helps but I noticed that the staff in my hall all have 0117 903 5xxx as their number.

The 3 "national dialling" ones I indicated with a *, did you find that they were out of service/number unobtainable, or did they ring someone somewhere?

where did you ring from mobile/landline and what network? From what I've seen on this forum, these numbers can only be dialled from Orange mobiles and NTL landlines. If they were out of service, get someone on Orange/NTL to try them.

Ahh well it wasn't me dialling so i'd have to check but i'm sure they were using a bt line...i'll check it out.

I've tried those national dialling numbers from NTL with random extensions, and didn't get through on any of them.

Yep, none of the national dialing numbers worked at all...so what's next?

wrote on Oct 26^th, 2005 at 8:59pm:

Yep, none of the national dialing numbers worked at all...so what's next?

I'm after some clues as to what telecoms provider they use. Going by Southampton University's system, it's not forced to be 0117 numbers (as Southampton use Winchester numbers).

Dog 'n' Bone Zone is operated by Catalyst Management. Unfortunately their website gives no clues, infact it is only a few pages.

There is the question of whether the incoming comms provider has any connection to DNB/Catalyst or whether it is the university that decides who they want to provide the lines.

Can someone try dialling the 1470 prefix, and 1899 to see if we can get some clues?

Presumably making a call to an outside number gives a withheld number on the caller display/1471.

Dialling info for Bristol is here. From that page it appears you dial 1414<PIN>01234567 (Ive used 01234567 as an example of an outside number).
Try:-

• prefixing the outside number with 1470 (this releases the number of the line when it is set to be perminantly withheld). To do this dial 1414<PIN>147001234567 On the number you've dialled, see if a number comes up on caller display/1471.
  
• ringing the call provider 1899. When dialling from a number which isn't registered, it gives you the number you are calling from. You will have to stay on the line for a while to hear this. To try this dial: 1414<PIN>1899 There's no need to dial a number as 1899 is the number.

See what you get, theres nothing to loose.

Thanks to idb for putting in a FOI request to the University of Bristol. It gives some geographical prefixes which are provided by Telewest. It looks as though you might have to work out what your outside number is. See the response here and let us know how you get on.

Quote:

1) What are the equivalent geographic numbers re 0870xxxx: The University sets up each individual site with a range of numbers from an ISDX switch that will network with all other existing extension numbers around the University. Telewest then provide individual Direct Dial numbers for each extension, which is then programmed toward the 0870xxx numbering range. So if your ext is 36836, this would translate to 0117 3071236, which is then programmed onto 0870 8149976, each extension number is randomly "shuffled up" so that the original extension is hidden. The geographic equivalent within the University can be 0117 90 xxx Or 0117 95xxxx, or 0117 903xxx

I'm not quite sure that this makes sense, as we have 0117 307xxxx (allocated to Telewest), then 0117 903xxxx (also allocated to Telewest) and even 0117 95xxxx.

0117 95xxxx is one digit short, and all 0117 95 numbers are allocated to BT. They could, of course, have been ported to Telewest. 0117 905 is Cable & Wireless, however 0117 915 is Telewest, so to is 0117 985.

Well I tried the numbers anyway with no luck... I'm going to buy a phone card so I can ring out and try the method you suggested before.

wrote on Nov 3^rd, 2005 at 9:14pm:

Well I tried the numbers anyway with no luck...

What is the extension number (with the last 2 digits ** out)?

We know that extensions of the form 368xx => 0117 30712xx, assuming that all numbers have been shuffled uniformly, we should be able to work out what your prefix is.

352**

I just tried ringing out. The number is withheld. They won't let you dial anything that either doesn't have enough numbers or isn't a recognised prefix, which is harsh...

wrote on Nov 4^th, 2005 at 11:30am:

352**

So your number is 1600 before sample extension of 368xx.

Taking 1600 from 0117 30712xx gives 0117 30696xx. Unfortunately this different prefix (0117 306) is not allocated to Telewest, so I think it's gonna be one of those other prefixes.

The other suggestion from the FOI response is 0117 903xxxx. Could be 0117 90396xx.  :-/

If the clues from that email are correct, then it looks as though only the last 2 digits are the same as the extension number, so we are talking thousands of possibilities.

That said, if the FOI response has yielded some results like this, then maybe a further request asking for each geographical prefix to every extension block of numbers.

Hi everyone My daughter has just started Uni at Bristol and her phone in her room is an 0870 no. I don't realy know about dognbone thingies that I have read about for other Unis, I don't know what it means, but how do I go about finding out a landline number so that I can call her for free from my landline? She is a Badock Hall, Stoke Bishop, Bristol and her number is 0870 775 xxxx which goes direct to her room. If I do find a landline number, will the last four digits be the same to be connected to her room?
Thanks for any suggestions on how to go about it.

Soooperwoman wrote on Oct 7^th, 2006 at 12:39pm:

... how do I go about finding out a landline number so that I can call her for free from my landline? She is a Badock Hall, Stoke Bishop, Bristol and her number is 0870 775 xxxx which goes direct to her room. If I do find a landline number, will the last four digits be the same to be connected to her room? ...

Quite often the geographical numbers relate to the last few digits of the internal extension number rather than those of the 0870 number, where they are different. What is her internal extension number with the last two digits **ed out?

When you do find the number, please do post it here, with the last two digits **ed out. Also, say how this relates to the extension or 0870 number. We have had several university requests of late where we have suggested numbers to try. The requestor has come back and said that they have found it but neglected to mention how exactly to work it out. This means that when someone else wants their number, they will have to go through the same process of trying various combinations.

The number is 0870 775 22**
I am at the moment going thru last year's posts, but I have to admit I don't quite understand it all as yet

Soooperwoman wrote on Oct 7^th, 2006 at 2:14pm:

The number is 0870 775 22**

Please post the internal extension number for your daughter's phone, with the last two digits **ed out. This is the number that she can be contacted on from within the university. You will have to ask her for this.

My daughter is also at a UoB hall.  Her number is 0870 775 27xx for an internal extension number of 27xx or maybe 327xx.

Looking at the "contact us" web page for the hall I see that the external phone numbers for the warden/tutors are 0117 90 329xx or 0117 90 328xx or 0117 90 325xx where the internal extension is 329xx, 328xx or 325xx, and the 0870 numbers for the tutors are 0870 775 29xx/28xx/25xx.

Would 327xx extensions be handled differently from 329xx/328xx/325xx ones or should I expect 0117 90 327xx to work ?

... Just tried it and (as expected) 0117 90 327xx does NOT work :(   ... rings but no answer unlike ringing the 0870 775 27xx number.

leamphil wrote on Oct 7^th, 2006 at 4:16pm:

Looking at the "contact us" web page for the hall I see that the external phone numbers ...

Please provide a link to this page you refer to.


leamphil wrote on Oct 7^th, 2006 at 4:16pm:

Would 327xx extensions be handled differently from 329xx/328xx/325xx ones or should I expect 0117 90 327xx to work ?

There's only one way to find out, and that's to try it, but I very much doubt it.

You may be interested in this Freedom of Information response from the university.

"Contact us" URL is http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/HiattBaker/org/staff.htm

Ok have found out my daughter's internal ext. no. it is 322**
On the letter it has a contact no. for the Hall as 0117 90 32480 but they say they won't put calls through the internal switchboard. Hope this of help, thank you.

Generally, the phones in students' rooms are on entirely separate systems to the phones in other parts of the university, including the Warden or the office at the Halls. The latter will have been there a long time, so are either standard BT lines, or go through the university's central switchboard. The in-room phones will have been installed in recent years by a private company as a special package for students.

Sometimes the Hall's Warden will have two phonelines - a standard line, and one on the student system so that students can make free internal calls to the warden. (At least, that's the way it always was in Leicester).

This means the numbers for rooms are likely to be unrelated to numbers elsewhere in the university. It's also very probably impossible for staff to put you through to a student's room, even if they wanted to.

If seems that the internal and external extensions are the same in this case.

Try the following prefix - it's the only Bristol code allocated to "Cable and Wireless (Energis)", which is who the 0870 number is allocated to, and the Change date is the same for both: 05/2006

The number to try is: 0117 981 xxxx

Other numbers allocated to Cable and Wireless (but without "Energis" after it) might be worth a try:

0117 918
0117 940
0117 901
0117 976
0117 905
0117 984
0117 900
0117 975
0117 913
0117 988
0117 344
0117 322
0117 340
0117 324
0117 323
0117 366
0117 342
0117 160
0117 161
0117 101

The last three are the dreaded "national dialling only" numbers, which you probably won't be able to call from a normal BT line, so let's hope it's not one of those!

jrawle wrote on Oct 7^th, 2006 at 5:58pm:

Try the following prefix - it's the only Bristol code allocated to "Cable and Wireless (Energis)", which is who the 0870 number is allocated to, and the Change date is the same for both: 05/2006

jrawle I think that your logic is flawed because Energis is now owned by Cable & Wireless. My copy of Ofcom's spreadsheets which list number allocations are a few months old and they tell me that 0870 775 is Energis Communications Ltd, change date 08/2001 and 0117 981, also Energis Communications Ltd, change date 07/1994 which is the earliest date that ever appears in these documents.

So the change date must therefore refer to when any changes are made like a company name change.

I will review this thread and post back a summary of the useful information; sorting the wheat from the chaff as it were.

Unfortunately, Google shows lots of 0117 981 numbers in use by businesses, so I doubt it's the one we're looking for.

I tried the 0117 981 xxxx for my daughter's room this morning and it a business answerphone.
Thanks so far, am finding this really interesting.

Hi
I've been checking back on the forum, is there anything else I can do to try and find out the geographical number for Badock Hall? I am spending loads of money phoning at the moment. Any more tips thankfully received. Did the person who started this thread succeed in gettin a geographical number?
Thanks