Overdialling occurs when a person dials a phoneword that is longer than the standard length of a 1300, 13 or 1800 phone number.
Here’s an example:
Most 1300 numbers have a 10-digit primary number. If you dial 1300 MR PHONEWORDS you are actually dialling a 12-digit number (1300 677 466 396 737). Phonewords allow for this by giving a business an extra 2 to 4 numbers. The extra numbers are effectively “ignored” by the phone carrier who reads only the first 6-10 digits pressed hence bringing the phone number back in line with the standard phone number length.
Here is a quick overview of overdialling allowances on phonewords:
|
13 prefix |
1300 prefix |
1800 prefix |
Standard length of word (letters) |
6 |
10 |
10 |
Extra letters allowed (overdialling) |
4 |
4 |
4 |