My daughter has just started at Swansea Uni - all rooms have a phone (NTL) and the students have to buy a phone card for phone calls and internet. However, the numbers are 0870 numbers! Does this mean that it costs me more to phone my daughter than it would with a regular area code number?

I don't know the call costs, I'll have to ask her to find them out.

Yes, I am with BT.

NTL have registered the following codes in the Swansea area (assuming it's the area with an 01792 code):

01792 53
01792 52
01792 54
01792 61
01792 51
01792 60
01792 42
01792 55
01792 41

You just need to try each in turn.

For example if your daughter's number is 0870 xxx 1234, try dialling 01792 41 1234.

There aren't many to try, but you can eliminate some by entering the codes into Google and see if there are any businesses listed with that code.
For example, a few companies come up if you search for "01792 60" (you need the quotes when you use Google) so this range of numbers probably isn't used for the Uni.

If you find the number, the same code will work for everyone in the university. So make sure your daughter tells the Students' Union and advertises it about the campus!

You are lucky if this works. At Leicester they are using a "national dialling only" number for the university residences, so the geographical number can't be phoned from most phones 

Thank you

I tried all of those numbers but none worked for my daughter's phone 

Some of them had 'number not recognised', some sounded like fax noises....a couple rang out and one was answered. Any more ideas? 

I think I've found what the number used to be before they decided to rip people off. I found someone's CV where he quotes his phone number as 01792 52xxxx (his address is in one of the university residences).

This is a similar situation to Leicester, where the code was 0116 215 before they changed to 0870. Now the underlying number is 0116 005, which can't be dialled from BT lines. But surely if they are using one of these special numbers in Swansea, it would still appear on the Ofcom spreadsheet. Would it definitely have a 01792 code?

Quote:

Does the number still work?

If it does, it would be useful to know which 0870 it is connected to. I doubt the person on the other end will be too forthcoming about giving out a number to a stranger.

I still think that the last few (2?) digits may be the same. How many lines/rooms are there? Hundreds, thousands? If it's less than a hundred then it may only be the last 2 digits that are the same.

Johnathon (if the number still works), what is the first four digits of that number? Mumof1, try putting the last 2 digits of the 0870 with Johnathon's number.

Hi,
I'm trying to find out a geographic number for the same NTL setup at Oxford Brookes university.
Can you tell me where/how you found out that series of numbers NTL had registered?

Brad.

Dave, I've had such a laugh reading through this lot!  My daughter has just started at Leicester Uni, and I am busy trawling through phone sites to get the most economical way of keeping in touch with her i.e. landline and mobile access.  Then lists have to go up next to the two phones so as my husband and sons know what to dial to get through to her.  It's like jumping through hoops as we are dealing with Onetel, Planet Talk, 18866, 1899 and, of course, BT.  By the way, does anyone know the number to dial to bypass Onetel at the exchange so you revert back to using BT to make the call, if you know what I mean.  Thanks.