tripleeight wrote on Dec 13
th, 2005 at 11:04pm:
I believe you've missed some key points:
When you call from your geographic number (eg 0209999999) to another geographic (eg 01419999999), your call is delivered landline to landline. The call is direct. There is no middle-provider. [...]
The point I was making was in connection with the cost associated with the number. When I referred to calling a number 'direct' or via 0870 it had nothing to do with how many providers it might go through.
When calling the number direct, you are charged
market price for a
telephone call from one landline to another. When you call via 0870 you are charged for the NTS which routes your call to the underlying number. Therefore, the caller is paying, on a per minute basis for the provision of the NTS.
tripleeight wrote on Dec 13
th, 2005 at 11:04pm:
[...] I suspect alot of the smaller SME telcos will choose to close the service, as alot of NTS users are SoHo/SME companies who simply CANNOT afford to pay for incoming calls. This will lead to job losses in the telecom industry, closure of telcos and an increase in market share by BT, leaving both individuals and businesses less product and service choice in the telecom market.
Oh, that's alright then! Let's keep prices high
just to keep these smaller telcos in existance and their employees in work.
I believe that alot of this competition in providers of NTS is at the
direct expense of the caller, who is the general consumer who the competition is supposed to be benefitting!!!
Such competition is not driving down prices, but helping to keep them up at the old BT national rate.
tripleeight wrote on Dec 13
th, 2005 at 11:04pm:
Let me back this up by giving you a real-life example:
1) I have an 0870 number, an 08445 number and an 0845 number. I do not receive outpayment on any of these numbers, so I am NOT USING THEM FOR REVENUE SHARE.
...But the increased cost pays for the routing benefits it brings, thus you are receiving services in kind.
tripleeight wrote on Dec 13
th, 2005 at 11:04pm:
1.2) The 08445 number is given out to friends and some family members. They have the benefit of getting hold of me anywhere, anytime and I don't see why I should pay to receive their call. [...]
2) I change location several times a week and need the flexibility which NTS provides me, including instant rerouting.
2.1) Some of the sites I visit do not allow me to give out any of their geographic numbers. Using an NTS number allows me to assure the sites that any calls I receive will not reveal their TLI.
See
this thread where bloggs uses an 0870 for a similar purpose.
If your callers were charged normal geographical rate and you had to pay, you would not be paying for receiving their call. You would actually be paying for
routing their call to you.
Of course, it is your choice, and the issue has never been whether a caller
should pay extra to call someone or a company. It is the
covert benefits of the number, whether they be by being paid revenue, by receiving services in kind or both. Or to put it another way, the numbers are/have been portrayed as being 'national rate', when this couldn't be further from the truth.