This week’s breaking news that British Telecom is to be the pioneer UK telephone business to ensure calls to 0870 numbers and 0845 Numbers are without charge, is expected to be welcomed with rapturous applause from consumers and campaigner organisations alike.
0870 numbers particularly, have been the subject of much negative media coverage over the past few and this is predominantly because of the high cost to ring them the fact that a few businesses make cash from phone calls to these numbers (specifically annoying for clients lines and after-sales services).
Using these phone numbers in the public sector has also faced a great deal of scrutiny and the Department of Health has at this point begun a consultation in an attempt to look at the application of them in the National Health Service.
There are even groups that have been specifically set-up to campaign against these phone numbers, for example saynoto0870.com.
When they were introduced, 0845 numbers used to be billed at local rate, whereas 0870 numbers used to be national rate to ring. This is not the case anymore with the bringing in of free quota minutes and call packages offered by mobile and landline businesses and is possibly the main reason for BT’s new billing scheme for its residential clients.
British Telecom currently has about a 60% market share so it seems likely that the other normal players in the telecoms arena will go the same way – this includes Sky, Virgin Media, Talk Talk and Tiscali, who currently charge between 26 pence and ?1.07 for a 10 minute phonecall to an 0870/0845 number (as of 8th January 2009).
Now, although this gigantic step is in the right direction for BT’s residential clients, it’s important to note that forty percent of all UK phone calls made in 2007 were from mobile phones (Ofcom 2008). This means that, while some of BT’s landline callers look ready for a great deal, mobile callers will continue to pay between 20-30 pence per minute to call 0870/0845 numbers.
Businesses that would like to provide their landline and mobile callers an exceptional deal, 03 Numbers are going to be the clear answer.
03 numbers cost clients the same to call as normal landline numbers– even when calling from a mobile phone – at any point. They are also included in the free minutes bundles that are optional with all large mobile and landline providers.
The 03 number range is split into three segments:
-0303/0300 numbers entirely for charities and public sector organisations.
-0333 / 0330 Numbers for any business or organisation.
-03 equivalent numbers for businesses that already have an 08 number and want to swap it for 03.
Organisations are at present taking advantage of the enormous potential of 03 Numbers, including the BBC, the Metropolitan Police, Pioneer, Oxfam and the RSPCA.
03 numbers are also being backed by the Department of Health as the perfect alternative to 08 numbers for National Health Service services that want to help from the additional functions that 08 numbers offer (like caller options and call queuing etc.) and at the same time offering their callers a improved deal.
In all, BT’s newest move will save its residential clients an estimated ?24m a year. This new business plan not only shows up the significance and reputation of non-geographic telephone numbers, it also reinforces the argument for offering consumers a fairer deal at all times. And for this, 03 Numbers still have no equal.
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