Ofcom has just published its conclusions on 0871 and 0872:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/087prs/087statement/statement.pdfThey include this on 0870:
2.25 In conjunction with the [0871 and 0872] Consultation, in May 2008 we also published a consultation setting out our proposals for the final steps to implement changes to the way in which 0870 calls are charged. At the time, we aimed to announce our conclusions on this by autumn 2008.
2.26 However, it has since become clear that our work needs to take place alongside an ongoing dispute about wholesale termination rates, the rates that operators charge each other to end 0870 calls on each others’ networks. Until recently, Ofcom’s work on the dispute was suspended in light of stakeholder concerns about its linkage with an appeal being heard by the Competition Appeals Tribunal (‘CAT’). The CAT published its judgement on 20 May 2008 and on 15 August 2008 the CAT published its judgement on the rates in dispute. Work on the 0870 termination rates dispute has since restarted.
2.27 We are continuing to assess our May 2008 proposals for 0870 calls and the responses to that consultation in light of these developments. We aim to publish a final statement setting out our conclusions shortly.