Get ready to say good-bye to 192

NEWS From the summer directory enquiries numbers will be six digits long and start with 118. Oftel has confirmed telcos will be allocated numbers in the revised format by the end of May. The 118 prefix is intended to standardise this type of enquiry and mean there are enough combinations for any company wanting to offer such a service. The enquiries market is worth around £300m a year and is dominated by BT. Niche operations including directory enquiries in languages other than English and automatic call routing once numbers have been given are expected.