British Telecom Providing Phone calls to 0870 and 0845 Numbers Cost Nothing
Today’s landmark news that BT is to be the pioneer United Kingdom telephone company to make calls to 0870 numbers and 0845 numbers are free, is expected to be welcomed with delightful applause from users and campaigner groups alike.
0870 numbers particularly, have been the subject of a great deal of off-putting press over recent years and this is predominantly due to the large price to ring them the reality that some businesses make cash from phone calls to these numbers (particularly annoying for customers calling help numbers and after-sales services).
Using these phone numbers in the public sector has also under gone a large amount of scrutiny and the Department of Health has at this point launched a consultation in a bid to review the application of them in the National Health Service.
There are even groups that have been particularly 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 now with the bringing in of free quota minutes and call packages offered by mobile and landline companies and is possibly the main reason for British Telecom’s new charging scheme for its residential clients.
BT currently has about a sixty percent market share so it appears likely that the other main players in the telecoms arena will go the same way – this includes Sky, Virgin Media, Talk Talk and Tiscali, who at present bill between 26 pence and £1.07 for a 10 minute call to an 0870/0845 number (as of 8th January 2009).
Now, although this gigantic leap is in a beneficial direction for BT’s residential customers, it’s must be noted that forty percent of all UK calls made in 2007 were made using mobile phones (Ofcom 2008). This means that, while some of British Telecom’s landline callers look set for a great bargain, mobile callers will continue to pay between 20-30 pence per minute to call 0870/0845 numbers.
Businesses that would prefer to provide their landline and mobile callers an exceptional bargain, 03 numbers are going to be the obvious answer.
03 numbers cost callers the same to dial as standard landline numbers- even from a mobile phone – at any time. They are also incorporated in the free minutes packages that are offered by all large mobile and landline providers.
The 03 number category is split into three parts:
-0303/0300 numbers entirely for charities and public sector organisations.
-0330 / 0333 numbers for any business or organisation.
-03 comparable numbers for businesses that already have an 08 number and want to exchange it for 03.
Many organisations are at present enjoying the massive potential of 03 numbers, including the British Broadcasting Council, the Metropolitan Police, Pioneer, Oxfam and the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
03 numbers are also being backed by the Department of Health as the perfect alternative to 08 numbers for NHS services that want to benefit from the additional functions that 08 numbers offer (like caller options and call queuing etc.) whilst providing their callers a better deal.
To round up, British Telecom’s newest decision will save its residential customers an probable £24m a year. This new business plan not only shows up the significance and reputation of non-geographic telephone numbers, it also reinforces the case for providing clients a fairer deal at all times. In this instance, 03 numbers still reign supreme.
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