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AMCA Numbering System API (Smartnumber Searches)

AMCA Numbering System API (Smartnumber Searches)

It's no secret we're fans of the (1300 and 1800) patterned Smartnumbers made available by the Australian Communications and Media Authority via the TheNumberingSystem website. As one of Australia's leading marketing groups we optimise the entire sales experience in order to maximise conversions, and Smartnumbers are just one of many tools we use to achieve our customers' extraordinary conversions.

The Smartnumber differs from your everyday 'pedestrian' numbers because it spells a relevant word on your alphanumeric telephone keypad. Our own name - 1300 BELIEF (or 1300 235 433) - is a good example of how the number becomes a memorable touch-point.

Because there's a latent mistrust of anything digital-media/online service related, using a Smartnumber as the point of contact for digital marketing campaigns are said to improve upon conversions by at least two times - although we’ve seen much higher (and it's up to six times more effective when used on other mediums). Additionally, the integrated analytics across split numbers makes assessing the success of offline campaigns an easy task.

From our last article on Smartnumbers:

Conversion Rate Optimisation is not (and was never) a term reserved for use in the online world. Belief has always believed that any online campaign is only as effective as the weakest point in its conversion cycle, and many sales often reach a roadblock not because of the inefficiencies of digital efforts, but rather because an inquiry makes its way into the real world and isn't handled by way of best-practice or standard procedures ... BeliefMedia takes a holistic approach to marketing and assesses business practices to ensure digital leads will convert.

In every business there are multiple points of failure, or areas in a weakened state that potentially provides some sort of barrier against lead-generation. While not a mainstream consideration, your phone number may be one of these areas – not because it's ineffective necessarily, but because there is a means of improving upon its effectiveness.

Australian Smart Numbers (or those starting with 1300, 1800, and 13) are said to convert TV conversions by 5.5 times, radio 14 times, and print media by 6 times. A good Smart Number is said to be 5 times more memorable than standard phone numbers, and may attract 5 times more leads. The statistics go on and on depending upon where you source them; Roy Morgan research, however, have determined that overall the use of a Smart Number will decrease the cost per lead by 66%. The simple truth is almost indisputable: Smart Numbers work.

The Smartnumbers are an integral component of any serious marketing program, and vital for any business concerned about how their brand is represented.

Introduction

For those that sensibly opt for a branded or relevant Smartnumber (despite the small additional fee), actually finding a relevant number via TheNumberingSystem website can be a challenge. It's not uncommon for a consumer to sit in front of their computer for hours trying multiple number combinations until they find one that they like... not necessarily the one that's best suited. A commitment to your Smartnumber is a marriage; settling doesn't work.

With the expectation that BeliefMedia will be introducing some seriously exciting client opportunities into our business next year, we decided that we absolutely needed to build a few tools to make the 1300 purchase experience an easy one. So, with our own needs in mind, and those of our clients, we built an API that returns the following data:

  • Smartnumber data for individual number lookups
  • A tool to browse all available and allocated Smartnumbers (in addition to all other numbers administered by the AMCA).
  • A search feature to find numbers matching certain criteria
  • Daily Smartnumber statistics
  • Phone Number Word "Exploration"
  • Return all dictionary Smartnumbers with pricing via JSON

Additionally, and probably more importantly, we wanted to produce a downloadable PDF document (updated daily) listing all available Smartnumbers that might match dictionary or combination words.

This article details, in brief, some of the features of the API.

AMCA Data Source

The entire numbering system database may be downloaded from the AMCA website . Because the download is a static snapshot of daily data it's essentially invalid as soon as it's made available... but it's more than adequate for our purpose.

The Result

Requests for basic phone number information should be made to https://api.beliefmedia.com/platform/sources/numbering-system/ns.json. An API Key is required.

Single Result

Using the URL parameter of ?id=1300235433&apikey=xxx (with a full phone number as the id) returns relevant details.

1
Array
2
(
3
    [code] => 200
4
    [status] => 200
5
    [message] => OK
6
    [source] => AMCA
7
    [api_version] => 0.1
8
    [data] => Array
9
        (
10
            [id] => 1300235433
11
            [service_type] => Local rate
12
            [prefix] => 1300
13
            [number_details] => Array
14
                (
15
                    [length] => 10
16
                    [number_from] => 1300235433
17
                    [number_to] => 1300235433
18
                    [range] => Array
19
                        (
20
                            [0] => Array
21
                                (
22
                                    [number] => 1300235433
23
                                    [phone_word] => 1300 [abc][def][jkl][ghi][def][def]
24
                                )
25
 
26
                        )
27
 
28
                    [status] => Allocated
29
                    [quantity] => 1
30
                    [cost] => Array
31
                        (
32
                            [basis_allocation_charge] => Low or no specifically identified numeric pattern or word value
33
                            [number_classification] => Standard
34
                            [allocation_charge] => $250
35
                        )
36
 
37
                )
38
 
39
            [erou] => Array
40
                (
41
                    [allocatee] => PRIMUS TELECOMMUNICATIONS PTY LIMITED
42
                    [allocation_date] => 2017-11-12
43
                    [latest_holder] => PRIMUS TELECOMMUNICATIONS PTY LIMITED
44
                    [latest_transfer_date] =>
45
                    [current_erou_holder] => BELIEFMEDIA
46
                    [erou_assignment_date] =>
47
                )
48
 
49
            [numbering_area] =>
50
        )
51
 
52
)

Note the following:

  • The status field determines if the number is allocated or a spare.
  • If no date is provided for any date field, no date information is returned.
  • Each number is registered in the AMCA numbering database with a From (number_from) and To (number_to) field. If a single phone number is returned our number_from and number_to field are identical. Any results that includes a range of phone numbers will include the full range array in the range array.
  • All word combinations can be returned via an alternative endpoint (as detailed later). However, for reference we include the appropriate letters associated with each numeric character.

Browsing Numbers

To browse all results, use the parameter of ?type=browse. Pagination is determined via pg and number. An example result (snipped to just two results) is as follows:

1
Array
2
(
3
    [code] => 200
4
    [status] => 200
5
    [message] => OK
6
    [source] => AMCA
7
    [api_version] => 0.1
8
    [page] => 200
9
    [number] => 10
10
    [pages] => 66053
11
    [total] => 660526
12
    [search] => Array
13
        (
14
            [type] => browse
15
        )
16
 
17
    [results] => Array
18
        (
19
            [0] => Array
20
                (
21
                    [service_type] => Local rate
22
                    [number_details] => Array
23
                        (
24
                            [prefix] => 133
25
                            [number_length] => 6
26
                            [number_from] => 133525
27
                            [number_to] => 133525
28
                            [range] => Array
29
                                (
30
                                    [0] => Array
31
                                        (
32
                                            [number] => 133525
33
                                        )
34
 
35
                                )
36
 
37
                            [status] => Allocated
38
                            [quantity] => 1
39
                        )
40
 
41
                    [erou] => Array
42
                        (
43
                            [allocatee] => AAPT LIMITED
44
                            [allocation_date] => 1970-01-01
45
                            [latest_holder] => TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED
46
                            [latest_transfer_date] => 1970-01-01
47
                            [erou_assignment_date] =>
48
                            [current_erou_holder] => TAL DIRECT PTY LIMITED - smart-insura-1143
49
                        )
50
 
51
                    [numbering_area] =>
52
                )
53
 
54
            [ .. snip .. ]
55
 
56
            [9] => Array
57
                (
58
                    [service_type] => Local rate
59
                    [number_details] => Array
60
                        (
61
                            [prefix] => 133
62
                            [number_length] => 6
63
                            [number_from] => 133536
64
                            [number_to] => 133536
65
                            [range] => Array
66
                                (
67
                                    [0] => Array
68
                                        (
69
                                            [number] => 133536
70
                                        )
71
 
72
                                )
73
 
74
                            [status] => Allocated
75
                            [quantity] => 1
76
                        )
77
 
78
                    [erou] => Array
79
                        (
80
                            [allocatee] => SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LIMITED
81
                            [allocation_date] => 2003-08-12
82
                            [latest_holder] => PRIMUS TELECOMMUNICATIONS PTY LIMITED
83
                            [latest_transfer_date] => 2013-05-04
84
                            [erou_assignment_date] =>
85
                            [current_erou_holder] =>
86
                        )
87
 
88
                    [numbering_area] =>
89
                )
90
 
91
        )
92
 
93
)

Searching Numbers

Searching data may be performed with the following URL parameters:

prefix

The telephone prefix. For example, 1300, 1800, or 13. there are several hundred prefixes available (all available via the stats result detailed below).

number_length

The complete length of the number. For example, 1300 and 1800 numbers are 10-characters long. The 13 numbers are 6-characters in length.

number_from & number_to

The number_from & number_to are used to search numbers in a certain range. If only number_from is provided we set the number_to as the upper limit.

status

The status of the number.

allocatee

The allocatee is the upline organisation providing the service.

allocation_date

The allocation_date is the date the number was allocated. If no date is available nothing is returned. Dates should be formatted as a 6-figure group (0180405). A UNIX timestamp, or a date/time string is also acceptable (formatted exactly as follows: 23-december-2018).

latest_holder

The latest_holder is the latest Telco holder of the number.

latest_transfer_date

The latest_transfer_date is the date the number was last transferred. If no date is available nothing is returned. Date formatting is as per allocation_date.

current_erou_holder

The current_erou_holder is the current Enhanced Rights of User (EROU). This is essentially the entity that holds the 'licence' to the number.

erou_assignment_date

The erou_assignment_date is the date the EROU was assigned to the user. Date formatting is as per allocation_date.

numbering_area

The numbering_area' is the geographic region associated with a number allocation.

A request to type=search&prefix=1300&status=Spare&number=5&pg=350&apikey=xxxx returns the following (snipped to just two results):

1
Array
2
(
3
    [code] => 200
4
    [status] => 200
5
    [message] => OK
6
    [source] => AMCA
7
    [api_version] => 0.1
8
    [page] => 350
9
    [number] => 5
10
    [pages] => 22716
11
    [total] => 113578
12
    [search] => Array
13
        (
14
            [type] => search
15
            [params] => Array
16
                (
17
                    [prefix] => 1300
18
                    [status] => Spare
19
                )
20
 
21
        )
22
 
23
    [results] => Array
24
        (
25
            [0] => Array
26
                (
27
                    [service_type] => Local rate
28
                    [number_details] => Array
29
                        (
30
                            [prefix] => 1300
31
                            [number_length] => 10
32
                            [number_from] => 1300010360
33
                            [number_to] => 1300010371
34
                            [range] => Array
35
                                (
36
                                    [0] => Array
37
                                        (
38
                                            [number] => 1300010360
39
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][mno]0
40
                                        )
41
 
42
                                    [1] => Array
43
                                        (
44
                                            [number] => 1300010361
45
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][mno]1
46
                                        )
47
 
48
                                    [2] => Array
49
                                        (
50
                                            [number] => 1300010362
51
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][mno][abc]
52
                                        )
53
 
54
                                    [3] => Array
55
                                        (
56
                                            [number] => 1300010363
57
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][mno][def]
58
                                        )
59
 
60
                                    [4] => Array
61
                                        (
62
                                            [number] => 1300010364
63
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][mno][ghi]
64
                                        )
65
 
66
                                    [5] => Array
67
                                        (
68
                                            [number] => 1300010365
69
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][mno][jkl]
70
                                        )
71
 
72
                                    [6] => Array
73
                                        (
74
                                            [number] => 1300010366
75
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][mno][mno]
76
                                        )
77
 
78
                                    [7] => Array
79
                                        (
80
                                            [number] => 1300010367
81
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][mno][pqrs]
82
                                        )
83
 
84
                                    [8] => Array
85
                                        (
86
                                            [number] => 1300010368
87
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][mno][tuv]
88
                                        )
89
 
90
                                    [9] => Array
91
                                        (
92
                                            [number] => 1300010369
93
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][mno][wxyz]
94
                                        )
95
 
96
                                    [10] => Array
97
                                        (
98
                                            [number] => 1300010370
99
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][pqrs]0
100
                                        )
101
 
102
                                    [11] => Array
103
                                        (
104
                                            [number] => 1300010371
105
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][pqrs]1
106
                                        )
107
 
108
                                )
109
 
110
                            [status] => Spare
111
                            [quantity] => 12
112
                        )
113
 
114
                    [erou] => Array
115
                        (
116
                            [allocatee] =>
117
                            [allocation_date] =>
118
                            [latest_holder] =>
119
                            [latest_transfer_date] =>
120
                            [erou_assignment_date] =>
121
                            [current_erou_holder] =>
122
                        )
123
 
124
                    [numbering_area] =>
125
                )
126
 
127
            [ .. snip .. ]
128
 
129
            [4] => Array
130
                (
131
                    [service_type] => Local rate
132
                    [number_details] => Array
133
                        (
134
                            [prefix] => 1300
135
                            [number_length] => 10
136
                            [number_from] => 1300010388
137
                            [number_to] => 1300010389
138
                            [range] => Array
139
                                (
140
                                    [0] => Array
141
                                        (
142
                                            [number] => 1300010388
143
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][tuv][tuv]
144
                                        )
145
 
146
                                    [1] => Array
147
                                        (
148
                                            [number] => 1300010389
149
                                            [phone_word] => 1300 010[def][tuv][wxyz]
150
                                        )
151
 
152
                                )
153
 
154
                            [status] => Spare
155
                            [quantity] => 2
156
                        )
157
 
158
                    [erou] => Array
159
                        (
160
                            [allocatee] =>
161
                            [allocation_date] =>
162
                            [latest_holder] =>
163
                            [latest_transfer_date] =>
164
                            [erou_assignment_date] =>
165
                            [current_erou_holder] =>
166
                        )
167
 
168
                    [numbering_area] =>
169
                )
170
 
171
        )
172
 
173
)

A large number of additional search attributes will be added over time.

Statistics

Using the URL parameter of ?type=stats returns a large array with as many statistics we could think of pulling from the data. It includes arrays such as all prefix types, the top 100 EROU holders, and a count of all registered 1300 and 1800 numbers. We save this data locally for data comparisons over a defined date interval (the historical features will be discussed another time).

Phone Keypad Word Combinations

It's not uncommon to have a phone number and not realise that it has name recognition value. The Words API returns all possible 6-letter word combinations for a given phone number. If any word matches a dictionary word we'll return it in a separate array.

The API Endpoint for the Words API is https://api.beliefmedia.com/platform/sources/numbering-system/ns.json. Use ?type=words&num=1300235433&apikey=xxx in each request.

When calculating word options it's important to remember that each numeric digit represents either three or four letters on a phone keypad so standard word permutation obviously don't apply. Also, remember that the range of numbers that have associated letters are those between 2 and 9; the numbers 1 and 0 are excluded.

Where a standard 4-letter word will have 24 combinations (4 x 3 x 2 x 1), the phone keypad returns around 143 combinations. Since the number of results exponentially grows with the addition of each character, and considering we use the API primarily for 1300 and 1800 numbers, we limit the results to just 6 characters. If you provide 10 characters we assume that you've provided one of the typical numbers and we'll only evaluate the last 6 digits.

The result is shown below.

1
Array
2
(
3
    [code] => 200
4
    [status] => 200
5
    [message] => OK
6
    [source] => BeliefMedia
7
    [api_version] => 0.1
8
    [data] => Array
9
        (
10
            [number] => 235433
11
            [result] => Array
12
                (
13
                    [dictionary] => Array
14
                        (
15
                            [0] => belied
16
                            [1] => belief
17
                        )
18
 
19
20
                        (
21
                            [0] => adjgdd
22
                            [1] => adjgde
23
 
24
                            [ .. SNIP .. ]
25
 
26
                            [398] => belidf
27
                            [399] => belied
28
                            [400] => beliee
29
                            [401] => belief
30
                            [402] => belifd
31
 
32
                            [ .. SNIP .. ]
33
 
34
                            [726] => cflifd
35
                            [727] => cflife
36
                            [728] => cfliff
37
                        )
38
 
39
                )
40
 
41
        )
42
 
43
)

Most of the words created by the reconstruction of letters are just garbage. For this reason we compare each word against a dictionary and return those dictionary words in a dictionary array. It's using this API that we discovered the less than flattering belied as an additional dictionary word for 'Belief'.

We actually purchased our 1300 number from an individual through The Numbering System's EROU transfer system. The former holder used it because the number spelled out ADLIFE. At this stage the API doesn't include combination words.

Note that you can provide the API with a phone number or phone word.

Return All Dictionary Smart Numbers

We process every available number individually for 6, 7, 8 9, and 10 letter word matches. We then match up pricing, syllable data, availability, and anything else provided in the initial AMCA dump of data; it's this data that we use to build a daily Smart Number booklet. If you'd like to make use our daily dump of data use the parameters of ?type=complete&apikey=xxx with your request.

The returned JSON data is extremely large and contains thousands of results. If you're going to use the service, make a daily request and then cache the result for 24 hours.

Sample data is as follows:

1
Array
2
(
3
    [code] => 200
4
    [status] => 200
5
    [message] => OK
6
    [source] => BeliefMedia
7
    [api_version] => 0.1
8
    [data] => Array
9
        (
10
            [6] => Array
11
                (
12
                    [abacus] => Array
13
                        (
14
                            [word] => abacus
15
                            [length] => 6
16
                            [number] => 222287
17
                            [1300] => Array
18
                                (
19
                                    [phone_number] => 222287
20
                                    [1300_phone_number] => 1300222287
21
                                    [1300_status] => Spare
22
                                    [syllables] => Array
23
                                        (
24
                                            [count] => 3
25
                                            [syllables] => Array
26
                                                (
27
                                                    [0] => ab
28
                                                    [1] => a
29
                                                    [2] => cus
30
                                                )
31
 
32
                                        )
33
 
34
                                    [pricing] => Array
35
                                        (
36
                                            [basis_allocation_charge] => Numeric Pattern
37
                                            [number_classification] => Gold
38
                                            [allocation_charge] => $4500
39
                                        )
40
 
41
                                )
42
 
43
            [7] => Array [ .. snipped .. ]
44
            [8] => Array [ .. snipped .. ]
45
            [9] => Array [ .. snipped .. ]
46
            [10] => Array
47
                (
48
                    [adjuration] => Array
49
                        (
50
                            [word] => adjuration
51
                            [length] => 10
52
                            [number] => 2358728466
53
                            [1300] => Array
54
                                (
55
                                    [phone_number] => 2358728466
56
                                    [1300_phone_number] => 1300235872
57
                                    [1300_status] => Spare
58
                                    [syllables] => Array
59
                                        (
60
                                            [count] => 4
61
                                            [syllables] => Array
62
                                                (
63
                                                    [0] => ad
64
                                                    [1] => ju
65
                                                    [2] => ra
66
                                                    [3] => tion
67
                                                )
68
 
69
                                        )
70
 
71
                                    [pricing] => Array
72
                                        (
73
                                            [basis_allocation_charge] => Low or no specifically identified numeric pattern or word value
74
                                            [number_classification] => Standard
75
                                            [allocation_charge] => $250
76
                                        )
77
 
78
                                )
79
 
80
                            [1800] => Array
81
                                (
82
                                    [phone_number] => 2358728466
83
                                    [1800_phone_number] => 1800235872
84
                                    [1800_status] => Spare
85
                                    [syllables] => Array
86
                                        (
87
                                            [count] => 4
88
                                            [syllables] => Array
89
                                                (
90
                                                    [0] => ad
91
                                                    [1] => ju
92
                                                    [2] => ra
93
                                                    [3] => tion
94
                                                )
95
 
96
                                        )
97
 
98
                                    [pricing] => Array
99
                                        (
100
                                            [basis_allocation_charge] => Low or no specifically identified numeric pattern or word value
101
                                            [number_classification] => Standard
102
                                            [allocation_charge] => $250
103
                                        )
104
 
105
                                )
106
 
107
                        )
108
 
109
                )
110
 
111
            [updated] => 20th December 2018
112
            [updated_time] => 1545307224
113
        )
114
 
115
)

The key for each returned array is the numeric character length of the dictionary words.

Again, number results are only included if they match our dictionary terms. As our dictionary grows to include more 'urban' language the number of of results and choice of Smart Number will also increase.

API Access

Clients receive full access to the API (via their lifetime Key) even though it's one service they're unlikely to actually use. Others that would like access to the API or the daily Smartnumber booklet should make contact with us. Details of the Smart Number booklet will be published after we've checked a few days worth of results for accuracy.

Overdialing

All 1300 and 1800 numbers come with the standard 4-digit prefix and a 6-digit suffix making a total of 10-digits. Phone carriers will ignore every number after the first 10 numbers making longer phone word combinations available. For example, Harvey Norman promotes the number of 1300 GO HARVEY (1300 464 278), meaning that the E and Y (translating to a 3 and 9 respectively) are ignored. Both the 1300 and 1800 numbers provide for an additional 4 characters (so 10 numbers) after the prefix, while 13 numbers provide for an additional 4 numbers. This is why we return words up to 10-characters in length.

While overdialing is available, it's always better to have a shorter phone number where possible.

Daily Smart Number Booklet

As mentioned a few times, one of the reasons we build the data is to produce a several-thousand page long PDF document of all dictionary Smart Numbers with available results highlighted in green or orange for 1300 and 1800 numbers respectively. When ready for release we'll make information available here.

■ ■ ■

 
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