Businesses in Bradford and district should prepare for the biggest-ever shake-up in UK telephone numbers, according to local communications company Link Telecom.

From April this year, major changes will be made to UK telephone numbers through an industry-led initiative tagged "The Big Number".

The UK telecoms regulator Oftel is introducing the changes and all UK phone companies have joined together to implement the reorganisation.

Mike Bower, a director of Link Telecom, which has six branches across West Yorkshire, including Bradford and Keighley, said: "The coming number change is the biggest reorganisation of our numbering system ever undertaken.

"The majority of businesses may think this is not going to have any great effect on the, but they should think again as the changes will affect every telephone user.

"The reason for these changes is to cope with the ever-increasing demand for additional telephone numbers.

"The nation's appetite for communications has exploded in recent years - demand for mobile phones, pagers, modems, faxes and Internet access is relentless and our current numbering system cannot accommodate this growth.

"The vital ingredient with the coming change is to better plan for them and for future business growth.

"Part of Oftel's regulatory responsibilities in overseeing the telecoms sector is to ensure an element of fair play among operators.

"Until recently, there were relatively few types of charge for telephone calls, but products now exist with so many different charge rates it's almost impossible to know the cost of a call in advance.

"An important part of the number change is to make understanding the type of call charge easier. Mobile phone users will be the ones most affected because virtually all numbers not issued recently will change.

"Companies with fleets of phones need to be proactive now and consider how they are going to manage this change.

A free explanatory guide on the changes is available from Link Telecom's showrooms in Kirkgate, Bradford, and North Street, Keighley.

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