CJT-80 wrote on Aug 27
th, 2014 at 10:15am:
... NATIONAL RATE.. there is no such rate! (well not for 95% of the UK)
I am happy to be corrected, but I understand that whilst local calls and national calls remain distinct, it is the distinction between the rates charged for calling them that has now disappeared from residential landline tariffs. It is right to say that the term "national rate" is meaningless if it is being used to create a distinction from "local rate", because that distinction no longer exists.
The Ofcom statement covers the possibility that telcos may (as Talk Talk did for a time) re-introduce a distinction between charges for local and national calls by residential customers. I understand that the distinction remains in some business tariffs.
We use the term "geographic rate" and now "basic rate" to refer to that charged for calling 01, 02 and 03 numbers. It will be interesting to see what terms Ofcom will use in the upcoming communications activity about the 26 June 2015 changes.