SA Footy

Some years ago, they introduced the new number system for phones, adding an "8" to every phone number in South Australia (and Perth?).
This pissed me off at the time as it perceived it as senseless and illogical change.

"We are introducing this to increase the amount of numbers that can be used"

My question is, are there any numbers in South Australia that don't have an 8 in front?

And if not - how the hell does that increase the number of numbers that can be used?

If there were, for example, 100 phone numbers in Adelaide, 00 to 99 - and you thought by adding 8 to them all would increase the numbers that can be used, you'd still end up with 100 numbers; the same 100 numbers with 8 in front.

Unless numbers get a different digit in front (other than I don't understand how it works.

Mind you, at the time I was working for an offset printer on Flinders Street and the amount of work for new letterheads, business cards etc was HUGE.

Therefore, I think the whole thing is a scam by the printing industry.


(Note, if there ARE numbers without an 8 in front and use a different number, I apologise)

Wasn't it done to set up for the future?
IN any case I love it, despite not having an STD enabled phone at work I can ring my parents in the country where before the introduction of the extra 8 I couldn't!

If the 8 pisses you off more than morons that don't indicate at a roundabout or keep left unless overtaking on the bloody expressway then you have issues Diss!

Wedgie wrote:Wasn't it done to set up for the future?
IN any case I love it, despite not having an STD enabled phone at work I can ring my parents in the country where before the introduction of the extra 8 I couldn't!

If the 8 pisses you off more than morons that don't indicate at a roundabout or keep left unless overtaking on the bloody expressway then you have issues Diss!

Yes it was done for the future - but WHEN?
I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER!!!!!

By adding the 8 it means SA can have ph no's starting with 81, 82, 83, 84 etc etc whereas before SA could only use no's starting with 2 and 3 if I recall.

MW wrote:By adding the 8 it means SA can have ph no's starting with 81, 82, 83, 84 etc etc whereas before SA could only use no's starting with 2 and 3 if I recall.

but as my 3yo says "Why?"

Guess what Diss, they've just started phone numbers with the number 7 at the start! UGM printers at Prospect are one of the first to have them.

CENTURION wrote:Guess what Diss, they've just started phone numbers with the number 7 at the start! UGM printers at Prospect are one of the first to have them.

It's about time!!!!
I'm not so pissed off now.

Dissident wrote:

CENTURION wrote:Guess what Diss, they've just started phone numbers with the number 7 at the start! UGM printers at Prospect are one of the first to have them.

It's about time!!!!
I'm not so pissed off now.

lol, thank christ for that, we can all sleep now!

Wedgie wrote:

Dissident wrote:

CENTURION wrote:Guess what Diss, they've just started phone numbers with the number 7 at the start! UGM printers at Prospect are one of the first to have them.

It's about time!!!!
I'm not so pissed off now.

lol, thank christ for that, we can all sleep now!

YOU can, I still can't

Say for instance, SA could only use numbers starting with the number 2 and have 7 digits. That would mean we could only have 999,999 phone numbers. If you add the 8 in front and make it 8 digits, it means we could have 9,999,999 phone numbers. I think....

MW wrote:Say for instance, SA could only use numbers starting with the number 2 and have 7 digits. That would mean we could only have 999,999 phone numbers. If you add the 8 in front and make it 8 digits, it means we could have 9,999,999 phone numbers. I think....

No.

If you have 999,999 unique numbers, and you add 8 in front of all of them - you STILL have 999,999 numbers.

Only if you change the 8 to something else would you increase the amount of numbers.

Sorry, I mis-read that MW.

You meant assuming you could only start with "2". Then add 8 meaning 2 could be anything.

I guess I don't understand why you couldn't have anything before.

08 123 4567. I can't see an issue with that.

FWIW there were numbers starting with "4" before the change. But they had 6 numbers from memory. Many numbers in Croydon etc had 46 ____.

There are also numbers in victoria that start with 8 as well (normally start with 9 in the metro and 5 in the country) makes it even more confusing sometimes

Without knowing the situation exactly I presume that we went from a 7 digit to an 8 digit system so early because:

The other states were running out of numbers and DID need the extra digit, so it was easier to change every state over at (basically) the same time.
It happened (August 1996) before mobile phones became so popular. With many people now not having a home phone, the need for extra numbers for regular phones in the last 10 years would be less than what people predicted 10 years ago.

Sorry Diss, but I don't believe there was any conspiracy theory.

Diss, blame it on Grant Thomas.

mal wrote:Diss, blame it on Grant Thomas.

Bzzt wrong mal, its the TELSTRA Dome's fault!