Just wondering what's the deal with 0808 numbers , I know 0800  are free from landlines , but also 0808 numbers are as well !!!

Would have thought it would be less complicated to have just 1 free phone number, rather than 2 , or is there more?  but the whole telecom industry is just baffling.

Free numbers (from landlines) are 0500, 0800 and 0808.

Some 0800 numbers are 10 digits and some (newer ones) are 11. 0808 numbers are all 11 digits as these are newer ones.

More digits means more numbers. 1 more digit means a ten-fold increase in the number of numbers available.

jimjim wrote on Jan 31^st, 2007 at 9:15pm:

Just wondering what's the deal with 0808 numbers , I know 0800  are free from landlines , but also 0808 numbers are as well !!! Would have thought it would be less complicated to have just 1 free phone number, rather than 2 , or is there more?  but the whole telecom industry is just baffling.

It is however a testament to Ofcom's total incompetence that most members of the public are utterly unclear which call tariffs are associated with which call prefixes though.

The growth of 0871 as the new replacement premium rate tariff while 0870 is charged from 1st Feb 2008 at geographic call rates seems deliberately designed to make this whole shambolic situation of public confusion far, far worse.