It is complete nonsense, because the consumer is no better off in understanding the cost in a simple way. Since every telco has its own rates, the caller will need his network price guide and go down to the 5th digit to discover the cost, of the connection, then factor in the per minute cost for the rest - Ah, but then charging is based on not when they answer, but on the gateway, and is it pro rata or rounded to the next minute? Possibly VAT extra too? Clear as mud. You criticised providers claiming calls were equal to a local or national call long after even BT dropped these delimiters ending charging by distance. A complaint to the ASA to outlaw such descriptions got absolutely nowhere as they said it was ‘generally accepted’ a useful indicator of costs.

The networks too got on the act, saying that all calls to 01,02 and 03 were the same cost. No they weren’t! If the 01 code connected to the CI or IoM you paid more, NOT the 01 cost promised. Other exceptions meant 07 was split into multiple charge rates and the only time you knew the true cost was when the bill came in. In 2019, clairvoyance is still required and you have to ask if this is satisfactory after such a long time.

Lastly, back when I had an ISDN 30 connection (1990) I found I could programme my terminals to present any number I wished (now called ‘spoofing’) in those 30 years no network has done anything to prevent the C7 signalling being used to modify the presentation numbers displayed by Caller Display devices - it has always been open to abuse, and now is a major concern as small switching systems make this potential for fraud as easy as pressing a few keys.

Having knowledge of some of OFTEL/OFCOM perverse decisions over the last 30 years makes you realise its mostly a mess, with reactive decisions often having to be unwound later - ‘premium’ rated phone calls being the star.