This week’s breaking news that British Telecom is to become the pioneer United Kingdom telephone business to make calls to 0870 numbers and 0845 Numbers are free, is expected to be welcomed with delightful applause from users and campaigner organisations alike.

0870 numbers in particular, have been the subject of much negative press over the past few and this is mainly due to the large price to ring them the fact that a few businesses make money from calls to these numbers (specifically annoying for customers calling] help numbers and after-sales help).

Using these phone numbers in the public sector has also great deal 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 NHS.

There are some groups that have been specifically organised to work against these numbers, for example saynoto0870.com.

When they were introduced, 0845 numbers used to be billed at local rate, alternatively 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 provided by mobile and landline companies and is possibly the main cause for British Telecom’s new billing structure for its residential customers.

British Telecom at the moment has around a 60% market share so it seems probable that the other normal players in the telecoms arena will go the same way – including Sky, Virgin Media, Talk Talk and Tiscali, who currently charge between 26 pence and ?1.07 for a 10 minute call to an 0870/0845 number (as of 8th January 2009).

Now, although this massive leap is in a beneficial direction for British Telecom’s residential customers, it’s important to note that forty percent of all United Kingdom calls carried out in 2007 were made using mobile phones (Ofcom 2008). So, though some of British Telecom’s landline callers look set for a great deal, mobile callers will still 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 still the clear answer.

03 numbers cost callers the same to dial as normal landline numbers– even from a mobile phone – at any point. They are also incorporated in the free minutes bundles that are offered by all major mobile and landline providers.

The 03 number range is split into three parts:

-0303/0300 numbers exclusively for charities and public sector bodies.
-0333 / 0330 Numbers for any business or organisation.
-03 comparable numbers for businesses that at present have an 08 number and would like to exchange it for 03.

Many organisations are at present taking advantage of the massive potential of 03 Numbers, including the British Broadcasting Council, the Metropolitan Police, Pioneer, Oxfam and the RSPCA.

03 numbers are also being advocated 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 transaction.

To round up, British Telecom’s newest move will save its residential customers an probable ?24m a year. This development not only shows up the importance and reputation of non-geographic telephone numbers, it also strengthens the case for providing clients a better deal at all times. In this instance, 03 Numbers still have no equal.

1. 03 Numbers promoting business You may have seen in the news recently that calls...
2. 0800 number or 0845 number 0845 numbers and 0800 numbers are accepted telephone numbers for...
3. By providing 0300 numbers northampton police are able to provide a better service You may have seen that Northamptonshire Police is now using...
4. 03 Numbers keeping the cost away from your customers Non-geographic telephone numbers (e.g. 0845 numbers) have long been popular...
5. The Best Jobs Go To Skilled Computer Users - How Good Are Yours? For older adults who have long since graduated from college,...