Ring back codes for NTL?

[Bob Minchin]

Years ago I used to know the number that you could dial on a BT line in order to cause the exchange to ring you back to test the bell.

I've been doing some changes to my home phone installation on an NTL line and I'd like to test it in this way.

Yes I know I could use a mobile phone but does anyone know the ring back code please?

TIA

Bob

[Andy Cap]

If it the standard no. 17070

Andy C

[Peter Andrews]

BT is 17070.

I don't think that there is one on Virgin - it's such an amalgam of cable operators using different manufactures switches (Nortel DMS, Ericsson AXE, Marconi System X, Nokia, etc) that I doubt one common number exists ...and all linesmen now have mobiles! 1579 (Telewest Nortel DMS) will tell me the number that I have called from; but doesn't appear to have a ring back test.

Peter

[Bob Minchin]

Thanks Peter, The BT one does not work on my line and you are correct in that the Virgin network has a lot of varied history. I think we started off as Comtel. i was a BT customer then and did not pay much attention to the cable network at the time.

174 gives me the number called from. Perhaps using a moby is the easiest way after all!

Cheers

Bob

[R]

[Bruce]

In days of yore, when we had letters as well as numbers on the telephone dial, I think the GPO Telephones ringback code was FRX.

Letters/numbers were subsequently abandoned and numbers only became the rule. Some telephones were later sold with letters/numbers, but using the US key layout rather than the UK layout.

I remember when STD codes were first introduced, allowing direct dialling of trunk calls. They were alphanumeric at first. For example, Belfast was OBE2, Brighton was OBR3.

They later became 0232 and 0273.

[showing my age here!]

[Andrew Gabriel]

Even before STD, we had things like EUSton (387) which became

01 387 xxxx and then 020 7387 xxxx

And of course TIM was originally on 843.

[Tinkerer]

And the lovely made up names. My grandfather in Kentish Town, North London was on GULliver exchange. WELlbeck was another in the Hanwell area. My parents had a FELtham number and the numeric part was the same as Hanwell Police Station on WELlbeck so they got some interesting calls at times.