Cheaper calls to Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man are coming

Ian011

Whenever you call a number on another network, your provider has to pay a Termination Fee to that other network. Only those calls with a low termination rate are inclusive in call allowances. This is why the price plans offered by mobile operators have inclusive calls to standard UK mobile numbers but not to 070 and 076 numbers, nor to some other 07 numbers such as those used for mobile phones in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man.

The 07 prefix is divided by Ofcom across several different types of service:
070 is used for personal numbering charged at a premium rate with termination rates of 40p per minute or more.
076 (except 07624) is used for pagers, also with various high termination rates.
Mobile phones use 071-075 and 077-079 but this also includes mobile numbers allocated in Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man, which are not part of the UK.

Termination fees for calls to mobile numbers were once (back in the 1990s) 25p per minute or more. Mobile contracts originally had no inclusive calls. It didn't matter that the 07 range was used for a mix of services. They all had high termination rates and were all expensive to call.

Later on, some mobile contracts began to have a small number of inclusive calls, but only to the same mobile network. As termination rates for calls to mobile numbers fell, cross-network inclusive calls became possible. At the same time, personal numbers and pagers were left exposed as being much more expensive non-inclusive calls. Bill shock became an issue as did various scams involving 070 numbers. Revenue sharing was banned on 070 numbers in 2009 but a plan to move these numbers to the unused 06 range was abandoned. Providers were told to list the cost of calling 070, 084, 087 and 09 numbers in close proximity to the costs for calls to 01, 02, 03 and standard mobile numbers.

Also by 2009, termination rates for ordinary mobile numbers had fallen to about 4p per minute. At this point, Ofcom intervened in the market. Since April 2010, Ofcom has imposed a cap on mobile termination rates and has reduced it annually. As the rate fell, the number of inclusive minutes has dramatically increased. The rate cap originally applied only on calls made to the main mobile networks. Other networks were told to charge 'fair and reasonable rates'.

On 1 May 2015, Ofcom reduced the Mobile Termination Rate from 0.84p to 0.68p per minute. Crucially, the cap was extended to cover calls made to all UK mobile phone numbers, not just to those on the main providers. This meant that from that date, deals with inclusive calls should cover calls to all UK mobile numbers starting 071-075 and 077-079, irrespective of provider.

On 1 April 2016, Ofcom further reduced the cap to 0.51p per minute, making it slightly less than the termination rate for calls to 03 numbers. There's now no excuse for any landline or mobile provider to charge more for calling a UK mobile number than for calling a UK landline number. Ofcom plans to reduce the cap to 0.50p per minute from 1 April 2017.

However, it is important to note that Ofcom's termination rate cap does not apply to mobile numbers allocated in Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. These prefixes include:

074184, 074520, 074521, 074522, 074523, 074524, 074525, 074526, 074576, 075090, 075091, 075092, 075093, 075094, 075095, 075096, 075097, 07524, 07624, 077003, 077007, 077008, 077810, 077811, 077812, 077813, 077814, 077815, 077816, 077817, 077818, 077819, 077977, 077978, 077979, 078297, 078298, 078299, 078391, 078392, 078397, 078398, 079111, 079117, 079240, 079241, 079242, 079243, 079244, 079246, 079247, 079248, 079249, 079370, 079371, 079372, 079373, 079374, 079375, 079376, 079377, 079378, 079379.

In September 2014, the termination rate for CI mobile numbers was around 4.11p per minute, hence when called from the UK these numbers remain non-inclusive and charged at a higher rate than when calling a UK mobile number.

The Channel Islands regulator has subsequently imposed termination rate caps as follows:
- 2 pence per minute (from 31 July 2015 until 31 August 2016),
- 1 pence per minute (from 1 September 2016 to 31 August 2017), and
- 0.507 pence per minute (from 1 September 2017).
All but the final one are significantly higher than the equivalent UK rates in force on those dates.

http://www.cicra.gg/_files/CiCRA%20Consultation%20on%20mobile%20termination%20rates.pdf
http://www.cicra.gg/_files/MTR%20IN.pdf

Similar work is ongoing in the Isle of Man.

In 2009, mobile termination rates were 11p per minute daytime and 9p per minute evening and weekend.
In 2013, mobile termination rates were around 8p per minute daytime, 6p per minute evening and 2p per minute weekend.

The regulator proposed further cuts.
- 4 pence per minute from 1 May 2013
- 2.5 pence per minute from 1 May 2014
- 1.25 pence per minute from 1 May 2015
All of these are higher than the equivalent rates in force in the UK on the same dates.

https://www.gov.im/lib/docs/cc/consultations/mobileterminationratesconsultatio.pdf
https://www.gov.im/lib/docs/cc/consultations/mobileterminationratesresponseto.pdf

The IoM termination rate cap of 1.25p per minute continues at the same level until 2017 when it will be reviewed.

https://www.gov.im/lib/docs/cc/consultations/mtrannualreview2016anddraftdec.pdf
https://www.gov.im/lib/docs/cc/consultations/mtrannualreviewandfinaldecision.pdf

The final figure (for CI) is significant. By September 2017, the termination rate for calls to mobile numbers allocated in the Channel Islands will be the same as that for calls to mobile numbers allocated in the UK. This means all landline and mobile providers in the UK should be able, once again, to offer inclusive calls to landline and mobile numbers allocated in Jersey and Guernsey. Some UK providers may seek a competitive advantage by re-introducing these calls before then.

The rates for calls to the Isle of Man remain higher than for calls to the UK, hence and unless there is a significant cut made in 2017, there may be a delay in these calls becoming inclusive.

In the meantime, there are a number of dial-through providers operating on 03 numbers and several others on 0845 or 0870 numbers. If you have an inclusive allowance covering calls to those numbers, you can make these calls without further charge.

Roger1

Thanks, Ian.

One of my roaming SIMs (from https://swiss-mobile.swiss.com/ ) uses an 07624 code. Although it offers good roaming rates worldwide, I have refrained from using it much because of the potential higher cost for people calling me.

i think your news will let me use it without this concern.

Ian011

That concern will be around for perhaps another year. Most UK providers still exclude calls to those numbers (e.g. your Isle of Man 07624 number) from inclusive allowances, but from September 2017 they will have no excuse to do so.

boatman

So maybe we might be able to buy a sim only deal from the CI thats cheaper than UK.. AND it won't cost any more for people to call you, hopefully!!

redux

I must have missed this thread when it first appeared.

Can I ask Ian where are the Guernsey and Jersey rates, as I can't find them in anything I've seen, and the links in the OP seem to go to just a front page.

I can find something called T1236GJ - Final Notice - Mobile Call Termination 2017 - Market Definition and Dominance, which coincidentally with me looking was published on 2nd Nov

It mentions the 4.11p rate from Sept 2014, then discusses a consultation starting in Nov 2016 (for which it is the result). A search shows the word pence only once.

So whilst there might have been hopes for the rates in the OP, I'm not sure whether these have actually happened.

Against the chances of the calls going back into UK bundles, in one document I did see that there are no direct connects from UK mobile networks to the Channel Islands, and all calls go via BT, so things also depend on how much BT is charging.

redux

Thanks to Ian011 for the PM the other day, hinting where to find the info.

But apparently rates are still around 4 pence, so whilst the proposals mentioned earlier are an aim they haven't been enacted yet. The finding published the other day seems to be an intermediate stage, like a point used in an argument along the way to the final position.

boatman

I guess its important for all those tax dodgers to get cheap calls to these islands. With the amount of tax they save, I would of thought they could afford the odd call! ;-)