I complained to them about their use of 0870.  They specifically  stated that they "do not receive any income from the use of this number".

So, why is the number used?  Any thoughts?

wrote on Mar 28^th, 2005 at 5:51pm:

I complained to them about their use of 0870.  They specifically  stated that they "do not receive any income from the use of this number". So, why is the number used?  Any thoughts?

I suppose this could be a frequently asked question.

It all comes down to the fact that the telco originating the call, eg BT, TalkTalk, OneTel, is only allowed to keep a small amount to carry the call and must pass the rest to the terminating communications provider (TCP). The TCP is the telco providing the NGN.

This is the reason the cost of calling these numbers cannot fall, as TCPs require their cut. Thus, the caller is in effect subsidising the NGN by paying the TCP.

In some cases, TCPs share this revenue with the called party. Basically, the revenue sharing between the telcos and the terminating party is only the tip of the iceberg.

Thanks, Dave.  What's still not clear to me is, what is the benefit/incentive/sweetener to Hastings in using 0870?  Hastings insist they do not receive any income from the use of such numbers.

One would presume that they should receive income in cash per minute or in kind. This latter might take the form of enhanced facilities, redirection and so on - all of which are now available on geographic numbers, particularly combined with IP networks. But no income? They should find a better provider.

Better still publish a Hastings number   ;)

The benefit of 0870 over 0845 is that the number is subsidised more, so the service provider (SP; Hastings Direct in this case) doesn't have to pay [as much] to receive calls.

The benefit of NGNs in general over geographical numbers, I'm not fully sure. Of course, the telcos would have these companies believe that NGNs are better, but they would say that because they can make far more money by getting Joe Public to pay for the SP's service.

If you search the internet you will find loads of providers, so you can see for yourself what advantages the NGNs have, apart from not being related to one geographical location.

wrote on Mar 28^th, 2005 at 8:36pm:

Thanks, Dave.  What's still not clear to me is, what is the benefit/incentive/sweetener to Hastings in using 0870?  Hastings insist they do not receive any income from the use of such numbers.

It's not all about receiving income on NGN numbers, sometimes it's about the ability to use advanced network functionality that you cannot get on geographic numbers, e.g Routing by time of day, or by geography, or to enable disaster recovery scenarios to be managed. Sometimes to overflow to other locations rather than have you get a busy signal or to have to re-dial.

wrote on May 10^th, 2005 at 9:48pm:

It's not all about receiving income on NGN numbers, sometimes it's about the ability to use advanced network functionality that you cannot get on geographic numbers...

Yes, but the current way of working things is that the caller has to pay extra to call these numbers. The technical aspects and financial aspects are two separate issues.

Saying that 0870 is a bad thing is not saying that a NTS is bad. A NTS should be available which doesn't more than a "normal" geographical number. That way companies could have the advantages of NTS, and pay for it themselves.

Ditto ;D :D 8)

But there is no "benefit" in 0845 or 0844 as against 0870 or 0871. They are still NGNS with revenue sharing potential and they cost the caller much more than a normal call (particularly from public call telephones) and they are excluded from so-called integral monthly call tariffs.

To the consumer they are still anathema!

wrote on May 10^th, 2005 at 9:59pm:

But there is no "benefit" in 0845 or 0844 as against 0870 or 0871. They are still NGNS with revenue sharing potential and they cost the caller much more than a normal call (particularly from public call telephones) and they are excluded from so-called integral monthly call tariffs. To the consumer they are still anathema!

As there is less e-bit available in 0845/44 vs 087x the odds are that for Hastings it is the more economical option. If they can't save money on telephony they will have to get recompence elsewhere, primarily in premium hikes.  

Also let's get the Public Call Telephones in pespective, hardly anyone uses them these days, that's why if you look around the streets you'll only ever see BT call boxes unless the site is in a heavily used pedestrianised location such as Oxford Street or Airports. The profit has gone right out of them. People appear to prefer Mobiles and are using them in preference to fixed line services.