Google Voice now available in UK - free calls!!!

Paul_Varjak wrote: »

Appears to include all UK landline and mobiles (including Channel Islands) plus (03/05/080/084/087. Will not have to use saynoto0870.com ever again.

While numbers starting 01, 02, 03, 071-075, 077-079 and 080 are expected, it is unlikely that numbers starting 084 and 087 are included This is because the called party can earn up to 7p (084) or 13p (087) per minute from these calls.

Including 084 and 087 numbers at no charge is a huge fraud risk with people making long and frequent calls to their own premium rate numbers to earn revenue.

BT includes calls to premium rate numbers starting 0845 and 0870 in some call plans but only because their market position as the largest supplier of these numbers to businesses allows them to manipulate the market.

BT owns most of the numbers in use and receives the Service Charge revenue when any of their numbers are called from other landline providers and from mobiles. On the retail side less than 20% of all calls made are made from a BT landline. More than 80% of such calls are made from other providers and from mobiles.

When a BT caller makes such a call, it is more likely to be made to a number owned by BT than not. This means that BT rarely has to pay out Service Charge to other providers.

The mathematics works such that most of the money flows to BT Wholesale and very little flows elsewhere. This gives BT the means to waive the call charge when the small number of BT retail customers calls an 0845 or 0870 number.

It doesn't make sense for other landline providers to offer inclusive 0845 or 0870 numbers as they are paying out on every call - mostly to BT, but sometimes to other non-geographic providers.

Some retail providers continue to offer inclusive calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers at a loss. They make up for this by increasing other call prices. TakTalk woke up and smelt the coffee and stopped offering inclusive 0845 and 0870 in July 2015. Several other landline providers have followed suit.

No-one offers inclusive 0843/0844 or 0871/0872 numbers in their standard call plans as every call made would represent a loss due to the Service Charge revenue having to be paid out.

In any case, usage of 084, 087 & 09 numbers is now banned for customer services, financial services and public services. A large number of 084 and 087 numbers are now devoted to missed call "wangiri" scams, 'call connection service" scams, and other assorted malarkey.

For Google to be offering inclusive calls to 084 and 087 numbers makes no sense whatsoever. Every call will be made at a significant loss and it is an open invitation to arbitrage fraudsters to fill their boots.

voice.google.com/messages

still doesn't seem to work

The service offered is for calling out only so you do not have an incoming phone number. Therefore no need for voice mail etc.
If you want people to call you then you need to have a landline or use a VOIP provider.