For more than a decade, the
sayNOto1890.com website has performed a similar function in the
Republic of Ireland as has been performed by the sayNOto0870.com website in the UK - helping callers find inclusive or geographic-rate numbers to call in place of non-inclusive or expensive non-geographic numbers.
Non-geographic numbers in the Republic of Ireland have a variety of prefixes and charges including:
- 1800 - free-to-caller from landlines and from mobiles
- 1850 - non-inclusive "shared cost", "CallSave", "fixed fee" numbers - roughly equivalent to UK 0844 or 0871 numbers before Ofcom's 2015 reforms
- 1890 - non-inclusive "shared cost", "LoCall" numbers - roughly equivalent to UK 0845 numbers before Ofcom's 2015 reforms
- 0818 - non-inclusive "universal access", "national rate" numbers - roughly equivalent to UK 0870 numbers before Ofcom's 2015 reforms
- 076 - VoIP numbers - similar charges to geographic rate calls but nevertheless non-inclusive in allowances
- 15xx - premium rate charges.
Numbers starting 1xxx cannot be called from outside of the Republic of Ireland.
Calls to 1850, 1890, 0818 and 076 numbers do not count towards inclusive allowances and call charges are hard to find leading to bill shock and consumer harm. Calls to 15xx numbers are also non-inclusive but the premium rate call charges are required to be communicated clearly.
The Irish implementation of the EU Consumer Rights Directive failed to protect consumers as discussed here:
https://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1401134744ComReg proposes to make some changes to non-geographic number ranges in the Republic of Ireland:
- 1800 to continue as free-to-caller in all circumstances, i.e. much the same as how 080 numbers work in the UK
- 0818 to count towards inclusive allowances otherwise charged at the same rate as calling a geographic number, i.e. much the same as how 03 numbers work in the UK. However, I see no restriction on revenue sharing.
The various 15xx premium rate ranges will continue as before. However, there is no sign of any of those ranges being changed to an unbundled-tariff arrangement.
The 1850, 1890 and 076 ranges will be phased out and cease to exist.
This would appear to put Ireland ahead of the UK in terms of non-geographic numbering with just 1800 (similar to UK 080), 0818 (similar to UK 03) and 15xx (similar to UK 09) ranges and nothing similar to UK 084 or 087 numbers.
A video summarising the changes can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgzc8pUtP7oThe full consultation document can be found here:
https://www.comreg.ie/industry/licensing/numbering/ngn-review/With the closure of the 1850 and 1890 number ranges and inclusion of 0818 calls within call packages and bundle allowances, the whole rationale for the existence of the sayNOto1890 website would be swept away in an instant.