Dialing Kanpur Landline vs. Mobile Phone Numbers

Phone Number Formats to Call Kanpur

To make an international telephone call to Kanpur, you need to dial a phone number formatted correctly for either a landline or mobile phone. Each is a 10-digit number, but the format is slightly different for landline numbers vs. mobile numbers. The proper phone number formats are as shown below.

Continue reading below for further details on landline and mobile dialing.

Format to Dial a Kanpur Landline Phone

ddd	91	512	nnn nnnn
international access code	country code	area code	local subscriber number

Format to Dial a Kanpur Mobile Phone

ddd	91	9x nnn nnnnn
international access code	country code	10-digit mobile number

In addition to '9x' series mobile numbers which have been in use for many years, India now also issues '8x' series mobile numbers in the same 10-digit format:  8x nnn nnnnn. Confusingly, the area codes used for landline numbers in some parts of the country also start with '8x' (example: Bangalore area code is '80'). read more >>>>

Dialing Kanpur Landline Phone Numbers

When making an international or a domestic long distance call to a Kanpur landline phone, you need to dial a 10-digit phone number that consists of a 3-digit area code and a 7-digit subscriber number.

3-Digit Kanpur Area Code

India area codes can be 2-, 3-, or 4-digits long. India's largest cities tend to have 2-digit area codes. Mid-size cities and larger towns usually have 3-digit area codes. Smaller towns and villages normally have 4-digit area codes.

Kanpur has a 3-digit area code: ' 512 '.

You need to dial this 3-digit area code along with a 7-digit local subscriber number for all inbound international calls to Kanpur landline phones.

More area codes in Uttar Pradesh East telecom circle.

7-Digit Kanpur Subscriber Numbers

India local subscriber numbers can be 6-, 7-, or 8-digits long. They are matched with 4-digit, 3-digit, and 2-digit area codes, respectively, to form a complete 10-digit landline phone number.

All subscriber numbers for landline phones in Kanpur are 7-digits long. They are typically written as a solid string, as in ' nnnnnnn ', but can be broken into 2 parts, too.

You need to dial this 7-digit subscriber code, along with the 3-digit area code, for all inbound international calls to Kanpur landline phones.

Note that landline subscriber numbers are generally assigned in blocks to specific carriers, so if you are curious, you can generally tell what carrier services any given number. For instance, all BSNL and MTNL landline phone numbers start with a '2'. more on India carrier codes

Written Landline Numbers

Written landline numbers may or may not include the full 10-digits. That's because with landline numbers you only need to dial the local number for local calls within most telecom circles.

That said, it is also very common to see Kanpur landline numbers written to include the area code ('512') and/or the national direct dial code ('0'). For instance, like this: ' 512 454 8180 ' or like this ' 0512 454 8180 '

In such cases, you obviously already have all 10-digits and are ready to begin dialing - but be sure to remove the '0' from your dialing sequence as this is used only within India and will cause an inbound international call to fail.

If your number just has the 7-digit local number, then please add the 3-digit area code: 512.

Dialing Kanpur Mobile Phone Numbers

India mobile phone numbers are much more standardized than landline numbers are. Mobile numbers are always 10-digits long and do not have separate area codes.

To reach a Kanpur mobile number, you simply dial the given 10-digit phone number.

Most India mobile numbers start with a '9x' which makes them easy to spot. However, in late 2009, India started issuing '8x' mobile phone numbers. Since there are many '8x' landline area codes in use, too, this makes differentiating between mobile and landline numbers a bit harder.

Written Mobile Numbers

India mobile numbers are always written with the complete 10-digits. That's because dialing even a local mobile call requires dialing all 10-digits.

Click here for more information on mobile phone numbering in India.

How to Tell the Difference Between a Landline and Mobile Number

When all India mobile numbers started with '9x', it was pretty easy to distinguish landline from mobile phone numbers.

Now with the introduction of '8x' series mobile numbers, it is a bit more challenging -- but the rules below should help:

You definitely have a Kanpur landline phone number if you have any of the following:

• An 7-digit number - that starts with a '2', '3', '4', '5', or '6'
• A 10-digit number if it starts with ' 512 '
• An 11-digit number if it starts with ' 0512 '

You definitely have a Kanpur mobile phone number if you have either of the following:

• A 10-digit number that starts with a '9'
• An 11-digit number if it starts with ' 09 '

You may have a Kanpur mobile phone number if you have either of the following:

• A 10-digit number that starts with a '8'
• An 11-digit number if it starts with ' 08 '

However, in the case of '8x' numbers, it is harder to know for sure whether they are for mobiles or not because many landline area codes also begin with '8x'. If you are calling an India location that does not have '8x' area codes and you have an '8x' 10-digit number, then you can be pretty sure it is a cell phone.

Also, a small point: Since mobile numbers do not have area codes, you can't know what region a mobile number belongs to simply by the starting digit. However, if you are curious, you can tell this by looking at the starting 4-digits - and then looking that 4-digit code up on master list of all assigned mobile codes. Click here for more on how to check 4-digit mobile codes.

'8x' Series Mobile Numbers

In recent years, India mobile phone use has exploded. This, combined with a somewhat inefficient system for allocating mobile numbers, has created a shortage of available mobile phone numbers. There should be plenty, but there aren't.

For some time, it appeared that this shortage would be resolved by changing mobile numbers over to an 11-digit numbering plan. This would have been highly disruptive, so alternatives were sought and this led to the creation of '8x' series mobile numbers.

The '8x' series mobile numbers have been made possible by raiding the existing '8x' series landline area codes and carefully pulling out specific 4-digit '8x' numbering sequences which are not used for area codes. These new 4-digit mobile codes started being assigned to carriers in late-2009.

So whereas '9x' series mobile numbers are assigned to mobile phones exclusively, '8x' series mobile numbers are intermingled with existing '8x' landline area codes. In regions where '8x' area codes are in use, this makes distinguishing between mobile and landline numbers a bit more complicated.

However, both '9x' and '8x' series can be assigned to any location within the country. This is in contrast to landline area codes which are assigned to a specific location. But that said, you can trace both '9x' and '8x' numbers to specific telecom circles by using the starting 4-digits of the mobile number. more on 4-digit mobile codes.

Additional information on '8x' series mobile numbers:

• The Hindu: New mobile number series to begin with '8'
• DNA India: Now, your mobile number will start with '8'

Potential Change to 11-Digit Mobile Numbers

For several years, there has been talk of India mobile phone numbers changing from 10-digits to 11-digits long. This is due to exceptional growth in demand for mobile phones in India - combined with an inefficient method for allocating mobile numbers to carriers.

However as of a March 2009, focus has shifted from the 11-digit plan to one of maximizing utilization of numbers under the existing 10-digit numbering scheme. If better use is made of existing numbers, then 11-digit can be avoided for many years, and perhaps altogether.

Using existing numbers more efficiently involves a couple of steps:

• Reclaim and reassign underutilized '9x' mobile numbers that have already been assigned to carriers
• Selectively repurpose codes that had been reserved for landline phones and assign them to mobile numbers instead. The '8x' mobile numbers discussed above is an example of that - and this same principle can be applied to other area code series, too. Since most codes were originally assigned to landline numbers before mobile even came into being - e.g., '1x', '2x', '3x', etc. - there is potentially ample room to intermingle landline and mobile codes.

For additional information on 11-digit numbering and related efforts, please consult these sources:

• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI): National Numbering Plan (pdf) - a revised approach suggested by TRAI for achieving greater transparency and efficiency
• Financial Express: Your Cell Number Could Be 11-Digits in Two Years
• DNA India: 11-digit mobile nos in 9 months