Ofcom propose that 0870 calls should be charged at normal Geographical Rate.

pricefighter

Ofcoms latest proposals regarding the charging of calls to ngn numbers can be read in these two Ofcom press releases.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2005/09/nr_20050928

and http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/mofaq/telecoms/nts

gizmoleeds

Ironically these proposed changes would mean 0870 calls (to be charged at the real geographical rate) would become cheaper than 0845 (which would stay the same).

Steve_xx

gizmoleeds wrote:

Ironically these proposed changes would mean 0870 calls (to be charged at the real geographical rate) would become cheaper than 0845 (which would stay the same).

There is nothing ironic about 0870 being charged at 'national rate'. It's a good start and it should be welcomed.

bunking_off

Steve_xx wrote:

It's a good start and it should be welcomed.

Perhaps so. Unfortunately, I fear that the peeps on saynoto0870 may have won somewhat of a hollow victory. Time will tell how things develop...come back in a year's time, but;

- The consultation actually proposes that 0870 numbers have to be charged at national rate, unless a pre-amble announcement is played warning callers. I know of no telephone network that's planning to implement these announcements. In brief, today's networks are about to be replaced, and no-one is going to pay to upgrade kit that's obsolete. Also, there's a problem of who applies the announcement - the terminating network can't because they don't know what the originator will charge, and the originators won't because, well, what's in it for them? So, chances are that in most cases 0870 calls will indeed be charged at national rate, and may be incorporated into the call allowances.

- This leaves those customers who are using 0870 with a 3 way choice.
a)They can stay where they are, and lose their revenue share...indeed, chances are in most cases they'll have to pay to receive calls. Some customers have already said that the revenue they receive is neither here nor there when compared to the cost of running a call centre, so they'll take the hit.

b)They can move to 0871, in which case prices will probably rise to 10ppm (the ceiling), but there's a side effect that they'd be covered by ICSTIS, and in reality most of our corporate friends would have problems with this not least because I don't think ICSTIS allows callers to be held in a queue.

c)Finally, they can move to 0844, which is price capped at 5ppm. From the little I know, many telecoms networks are gearing up for a mass migration from 0870 to 0844.

I imagine that Ofcom may face a backlash from corporate customers about what they'll view as a forced number change. Back in 1999, the then head of Oftel got a bloody nose from a Parliamentary committee because it was proposed that customers who had 0800 + 6 digit numbers would have to change their number to harmonise the number length at 11 digits. Expect that if the corporates exercise their clout, there may be some issues in this area.

So, in general, I guess the consumer wins because we'll be paying slightly less for calls to the bank etc - so long as your bank doesn't move to 0871. However, don't be under any illusion that they'll all flick onto geographic style charging, or that this means an end to revenue sharing.

pricefighter

bunking_off wrote:

c)Finally, they can move to 0844, which is price capped at 5ppm. From the little I know, many telecoms networks are gearing up for a mass migration from 0870 to 0844.

So the consumer would be worse off in a way,at least if you ring 0870 during evening and weekends you get a cheaper rate.

Why do you think 0844 will be the way they will go?,is their any revenue sharing involved on these numbers?

bunking_off

Potentially yes, potentially no. I don't think anyone really knows.

0844 is up to 5ppm, so there is (limited) scope for revenue share. Not as much as there is at 8ppm, but nevertheless there's scope - at least for corporates who can bring high call volumes.

My personal view is that most corporate customers will shy away from being governed by ICSTIS, so that rules out 0871. This leaves 0844 as the "least worst" option for them. I guess the $million question is what's the biggest pain...losing the revenue share by staying on 0870 (an ongoing issue), or the marketing/promotion cost of changing number to 0844 (immediate one off pain). I'll be interest to see what happens...

Phonix

Although welcomed, a change in how 0870 numbers are charged is not what 'we' really need.

What 'we' need is a law that states corporations must reveal their geographical number upon request from a consumer and we as a group can do the rest.

I do not know a great deal about these issues so I have the following questions.

1) Do all 0870 numbers have associated geographical numbers?

2) Are corporations already in anyway obliged to reveal these numbers to 'some organisation'?

DonnyDave

bunking_off wrote:

- This leaves those customers who are using 0870 with a 3 way choice.
a)They can stay where they are, and lose their revenue share...indeed, chances are in most cases they'll have to pay to receive calls. Some customers have already said that the revenue they receive is neither here nor there when compared to the cost of running a call centre, so they'll take the hit.

So they'll accept loosing revenue, but the tide will turn completely. Finally, they will have to pay for the services they receive!

So when Ofcom was surveying companies, it asked about loss of revenue, did it ask about having to pay for the NTS?

Steve_xx

Phonix wrote:

Although welcomed, a change in how 0870 numbers are charged is not what 'we' really need.

What 'we' need is a law that states corporations must reveal their geographical number upon request from a consumer and we as a group can do the rest.

I do not know a great deal about these issues so I have the following questions.

1) Do all 0870 numbers have associated geographical numbers?

2) Are corporations already in anyway obliged to reveal these numbers to 'some organisation'?

1. Yes
2. No

pricefighter

Steve_xx

Your answer to 1. is incorrect .Not all all non geographical numbers including 0870 have geographical numbers associated with them .Most of them do piggy back on geo numbers,but ngn calls can be delivered by other means eg Private Circuits.

Steve_xx

pricefighter wrote:

Steve_xx

Your answer to 1. is incorrect .Not all all non geographical numbers including 0870 have geographical numbers associated with them .Most of them do piggy back on geo numbers,but ngn calls can be delivered by other means eg Private Circuits.

Private circuits are normally used inter-company or between two companies who have excessive traffic between them. I would say that the majority of 0870's would be delivered to a geographical numbers.