Somewhat different from the NEG "Schools Line", which seems to have been abandoned.

This is provided by Ovation Tele.com using a quite different business model to that of NEG.

The service is subsidised by the revenue share on 0844 numbers, but they appear to be more honest in their suggestions about costs.

Stating a belief that telcos should provide you with a subsidy without passing on the cost to callers may be fair enough. Many of us believe that Santa Claus should exist, it is only people like NEG who claim that he does.


The politics of fighting this one are also more tricky. Many parents are very happy to contribute small amounts of money towards the running costs of schools. They are actively encouraged to do so through various schemes, which are not even frowned upon, let alone prohibited in the way that those of us who believe in a taxation-funded public education system would wish.

I am almost inclined to suggest that this scheme is OK, so as to highlight the differences with Surgery Line, which (in the context of the NHS) is not. Fellow campaigners may be pleased to note that I would not quite go that far. Stating a wish that there "should" not be a premium charge could be taken as an admission that there will be. The term "lo-call" means a lower premium than in other cases. There is however quite enough confusion in these statements for some callers and users to be misled.

Dave wrote on Nov 5^th, 2009 at 11:17am:

Are you saying that it would be better value if the £600 was increased to replace the income from the revenue share?

Use of revenue sharing numbers is commonly improper. That does not however mean that everything to do with those who provide and use them is necessarily bad in some way, of poor quality or poor value.

Dave wrote on Nov 5^th, 2009 at 3:52pm:


I am not quite sure of the basis for this comment. The revenue sharing number does not seem to be necessary in this case, unlike the NEG business model which is totally dependent on it. As for use of network based technology being out-of-date, I am not sure that the current move is towards locally based equipment because this offers better value for money. My knowledge of the market for small business telephone systems does not enable me to comment on the cost, although I can only say that the same system would be more expensive without the revenue share. At a rough guess I would think that they chose 0844 over 03xx or 0845 numbers to keep the cost down, but without straying into PRS.

Indeed.  I've not checked the website, but if it's mainly an IVR supplying pre-recorded information, I could provide a similar system for them at considerably less cost, using open-source software!  If they supply a PC, it'd just cost about an hour or two of time for the setup, although they'd probably want the services of somebody with a more seductive voice than me to record the initial messages..   Plug it into any readily available internet connection and away they go.  They can then update their own daily information.   Choice of geo or non-geo number as required, from free, depending on supplier.

Cor that sounds like an ad!  Certainly it sounds like a fairly inexpensive facility to provide.

Well in my case, it's because I'm what is often described as "a techy" and able to turn my hand to pretty much anything when it comes to computers, networking and telecoms.  What I am not, however, is a salesperson, and I don't want to be.  I'd rather be honest.  So, the lying scumbags that overcharge and underperform get work and I get to keep this as just a hobby.

ikr2 wrote on Nov 9^th, 2010 at 1:08pm:

If the callers are mostly parents, they may be happy to help the school by subsidising the cost of providing this (probably over-priced) service. As always with parent participation in Education it will generally be those who are ready and able to pay who will be the most vocal, however that is life!

If this is the NEG SchoolsLine, then experience suggests that a good service will be provided, but costs are likely to be greater than initially expected and contractual conditions more than tight. There may well be other providers able to provide a similar service more cheaply, but they are unlikely to have been so effective in the the market.

I would suggest taking all claims about the cost of calling with a barrel of salt. Please contact me (or ask others in the forum) if you would like a table of call costs from various commonly used telephone service providers. I believe that the cost should be made obvious to callers; if they are happy to pay, then what could be the objection in publishing a summary of typical call costs? (BT rates for these calls are regulated and so wholely atypical.) It should also be understood that by failing to benefit from low rates and inclusive packages, which are now the standard for ordinary calls, the premium paid is generally much greater than the 4.5p per minute which goes to subsidise the cost of providing the service.

Experience suggests that the system will be configured so that the underlying geographic number will give access to most, if not all, of the services. If this is used, then the subsidy available to the school will be diminished, resulting in higher operating costs. As the provider will be keen to make the service appear as cheap as possible, it will be likely to fight any attempt to publicise this number.

Setting aside formal classifications and regulatory measures, this is a PREMIUM RATE service. If the school and the parents are happy with this, then there is little more to say. If they fail to understand it, then there is plenty more to say.

ikr2 wrote on Nov 9^th, 2010 at 3:46pm:

I have assumed that the 0844 number in question is one in band g6, the most expensive type (some providers, typically landline ones, charge different 0844 numbers at different rates). Rates below are those which apply during each provider's daytime period.

• BT
  01/02/03: inclusive/zero fee (or 10.9p call set-up fee plus 6.4ppm)
  0844: 10.9p call set-up fee plus 5ppm
• Virgin Media
  01/02/03: inclusive/zero fee (or 11.99p connection fee plus 8.5ppm)
  0844: 11.99p connection plus 10.19ppm
• TalkTalk
  01/02/03: inclusive/zero fee (or 10.9p call connection plus 6.4ppm)
  0844: 10.9p call connection plus 5ppm
• T-Mobile - Pay Monthly
  01/02/03: inclusive (or 30ppm)
  0844: 40ppm
• T-Mobile - Pay as you Go
  01/02/03: 25ppm
  0844: 40ppm
• O2 - Pay Monthly
  01/02/03: inclusive (and then 20ppm)
  0844: 20ppm
• O2 - Pay as you Go
  01/02/03: 20ppm or 25ppm for first three minutes of day, then 5ppm
  0844: 25ppm
• Vodafone - Pay as you Go
  01/02/03: 21ppm
  0844: 25ppm
• 3 - Pay Monthly
  01/02/03: inclusive (and then 12ppm, 20ppm or 25ppm, depending on tariff)
  0844: 20ppm