After years of ducking and diving to get the least expensive calls from my home landline (so many thanks are due to my Orchid V4+ and to my Penny Mobile 2 Carrier PreSelect calls package - both of which have saved me bucket loads of cash), I have now come to the conclusion that now is the time to cut and run and give in to an inclusive calls package.

So, "Goodbye BT" and "Hello PlusNet" with 18 months' free unlimited (18½ to 22Mb/S non-fibre) broadband, £17.99/month line rental and Unlimited UK and Mobile calls (60 minutes redial).

With 0845 and 0870 calls included as well, I'll be preparing a very slimmed down Orchid program!

Deals with inclusive calls generally include:
- geographic numbers starting 01 and 02
- non-geographic numbers starting 03
- mobile numbers starting 071-075 and 077-079.
The last of these is the result of Ofcom reforms quietly introduced some while ago.

Some landline providers (including Plusnet) are still also offering inclusive calls to 0845 and/or 0870 numbers, but this is on the decline.

Landline and mobile numbers in CI and IoM are generally excluded and expensive but there are numerous dial-through providers offering various 03, 0845 and 0870 access numbers meaning these calls can still be made at no charge.

There are also numerous dial-through providers offering 0870 access numbers that can be used for calling 084 numbers and 087 numbers with a Service Charge of up to 10p per minute.

While most landline providers (including Plusnet) offer inclusive calls to mobile numbers, BT is conspicuous in not (yet!) doing so. However, there are various dial-through providers offering 0845 and 0870 numbers for contacting mobile numbers.

If you can avoid calling premium rate numbers starting 087 with a Service Charge of more then 10p per minute and numbers starting 09 and 118 there should be nothing further to pay each month.

I forgot the 99p for Caller Display!

I guess that's not going to break the bank!

Re 0845 numbers being included, whilst Plusnet will not be charging you the access charge, won't you still  be liable for the called parties ppm?


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That's the crazy thing about these types of deal.

You pay Plusnet around £8 per month for inclusive calls and they will pay out up to £4.20 per hour when you call an 0845 number or up to £7.80 per hour when you call an 0870 number. If you were to call an 0870 number for 1000 minutes, Plusnet would pay out up to £130.

If you were to make the same calls to other 084 or 087 numbers you would have to pay around 10p per minute Access Charge to Plusnet plus the Service Charge to the benefit of the called party and their telecoms provider.


BT also includes 0845 and 0870 numbers. BT Business promotes 0845 and 0870 numbers to businesses as being free to call from BT landlines. When a business adopts an 0845 or 0870 number, BT receives the Service Charge revenue when people on other landline providers and on mobiles call those numbers, but waives these charges when BT customers on inclusive callplans call these numbers.

BT does have to pay out to other providers when a BT customer calls a number that is not hosted by BT. The amount of 'free' calls given to BT customers calling 0845 and 0870 numbers hosted by other non-geographic providers is very small compared to the number of calls made from other landline and mobile providers to 0845 and 0870 numbers hosted by BT. Additionally, BT's revenue share out-payments on numbers hosted by BT are very low. BT retains most of this revenue.

BT is conning businesses as to the true nature of the arrangement, but the splitting of call charges in to Access and Service elements does make it a bit easier to see what is really going on.

BT doesn't include calls to other 084 or 087 numbers in allowances because the vast majority of these numbers are hosted by companies other than BT. For those prefixes, BT is mostly having to pay out to other hosting companies and rarely earning from numbers they host themselves.

I do believe that Plusnet is part of or a subsidary of BT!

If this is true it just makes one wonder how they can make different charges for the same services.

PlusNet is a part of the BT Group, much like EE and Openreach.  All separately managed but all part of the same parent group.