What are national numbers?

National numbers are also sometimes called non-geographic phone numbers (NGN).

As with geographic numbers the calling party pays. These are not similar to freephone numbers where the called party pays.

These are phone numbers in separated out ranges that are reachable from the entire country at the same price from a caller anywhere in the country.

Unlike geographic phone numbers, which are tied to a particular city or region, national phone numbers are not tied to a particular local area.

As such, the view from callers is that a national number is for a business that operates countrywide and is being typically answered by a call centre.

In certain countries this is how VoIP specific number ranges had been introduced to the market as VoIP is typically a nomadic technology and not constrained to a set geographic point.

Additionally, in some countries, national numbers can only be reached from within the country, meaning that calls from outside of the country will not be accepted. In certain use-cases this assists in managing who is able to call the number.

Examples in Latin America:

• Costa Rica has area code 4 reserved for VoIP use and the market refers to this as a national number range.
• Argentina has the 810 area code set as a national number range for calls from any area within Argentina chargeable at local rate but cannot be called from outside of Argentina.