New series cause chaos

If you’ve been avoiding that pesky relative from Bengaluru for a while now, the new cellphone number series may become your biggest nightmare. The incoming call that flashes +9180... on your cellphone can lead you to believe that it’s a landline number from Bengaluru. But before you decide to divert the call to your voice mail, know that the latest cellphone number series to hit the country begin with eight. This is resulting in much confusion and chaos, say Hyderabadis, who feel the new series needs much “getting used to”.

C. Sandeep Kumar, HR trainee, Integrated Software Solutions, says, “I had to make calls to inform people about their interview schedules and for the longest time, I avoided using my cellphone to call the numbers which started with eight since I thought they were Bengaluru landline numbers. I called them from the office landline to avoid escalating my phone bills.”

In another case, R. Venkatraman, a senior consultant working at Keste, says, “When I got a call from a number starting with 80, I assumed that my relatives from Bengaluru are calling me. So, I rushed out of my seat during office hours to take the call, assuming it was something urgent, only to be told it was my friend’s local number.”

It’s the poor owners of these numbers however, who bear the brunt of the confusion. RJ-turned-playback singer Anuj Gurwara was forced to discontinue his new eight-series connection, thanks to all the chaos it was causing. “After I sang in a Telugu movie, I got a lot of calls from filmwallahs who assumed I live in Bengaluru. Everyone is so used to the nine-series that the eight-series only register as landline numbers in their heads. I had a tough time explaining to everyone who enquired that I’m very much based in Hyderabad.”

It’s not just the people who are confused. Many online payment websites, which are programmed to accept cellphone numbers that begin with nine, refuse to accept the new series. Even voice response services accept only cell phone numbers that begin with nine.

“Every time I punched my new number that starts with an eight, an ‘invalid number’ error popped up. Fed up with the inconvenience it was causing me, I got back to my old connection.”