I wonder if anybody knew this (sorry if it has come up before - it is from a while back...)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/554072.stm


Quote:

Oftel is also to introduce two new numbers for internet access only - 0844 and 0871 - for the new charging structure.

Where did it go so horribly, horribly wrong?!

Ofcom has said that the different pricing points that 0844/0871 can be set it is to allow for competition of telephone services on price. To have retail price competition with 0844/0871 numbers:

1. The price must be known (displayed) to the prospective customer.

2. The call rate must be the "deciding factor" for a customer to choose a particular service provider from its competition.

There is a good selection of dial-up ISPs and cheap dial through providers at different prices on these numbers and this is probably because the call rates are clearly shown. This is also the main income for these service providers from their customers (the callers). Customers of these services have chosen them on the retail call price of the telephone number.

For other types of businesses, such as mail order ones where 0844 is for customer services is not the main source of income, so the call revenue is relatively tiny. That's not to mention that this sort of use may be described as a "locked in" use. Add to this, customers may perceive that there is a low likelihood of calling such customer services numbers, if they have a problem with their order, for example.

The blatant scam was obviously that telco loving bedfellow Oftel allowed these numbers to be launched on 0844 and 0871 codes making them looking practically identical to 0845 and 0870 and thus easily missold as "local rate" and "national rate"

Whereas they should have been launched on 09 and subject to normal ICSTIS controls for below 25p per minute premium rate numbers.

Ofcom clearly are completely in bed with the telcos since they do nothing at all to impose regulations making it an offence punishable by large fines to let 0844, 0845 or 0870 or 0871 to be described as local rate or national rate and have done nothing whatsoever to promote or explain the launch of the 03 access code to the general public or the call centre industry.

NGMsGhost wrote on Oct 5^th, 2007 at 6:57pm:

Ofcom [...] have done nothing whatsoever to promote or explain the launch of the 03 access code to the general public or the call centre industry.

But of course, there is a whole section on London numbers starting 3. See here. Note that this is in the under the heading "Information for Telecommunications Industry".

Ofcom has apparently given up on the "User's Guide to Telephone Numbering" (discussed here), which also, bizarrely was also under "Information for Telecommunications Industry".