[Asterisk-biz] Question about phone charges in UK ?

[Rob Pickering]

Craig,

Your analysis is exactly correct. The way that the 0845 and 0870 
ranges are described and charged for is an anachronism. The tie 
between charges for these numbers and what subscribers actually pay 
for local/national calls was broken ages ago. The fact that they are 
still allowed to be marketed as "local rate" etc is a regulatory 
scandal. Many consumers are now wise to this and there is an 
increasing amount of backlash.

Geographic calls within the UK are basically 1-2p/minute with most 
carriers, many have free geographic calls (either off-peak only or 
on/off-peak) bundled in monthly line rental.

By contrast "local rate" 0845 numbers are up to 4p/min because of the 
kick-back that has to be paid to the terminating provider, and 0870 
"national rate" are up to 8p. For the same reason they are also 
almost always excluded from "free calls" type packages.

Avoid.

--
    Rob Pickering, http://www.ipcortex.co.uk/

--On 25 March 2005 21:00 +1130 Craig <asterisk at nihost.net> wrote:

>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Greetings,
>
> We are looking to set up a UK inbound service for a client in
> Australia.
>
> I am hoping a UK local can help me out with the prefixes..
>
> I see a number of offerings for 0845 xxxxx numbers, which are
> supposedly a local call from anywhere in the UK. However from
> poking around it would appear that many providers consider the 0845
> numbers to be a premium and I suspect that many people in the UK
> may have them barred from access.
>
> I have also come across the 0870 xxxx numbers, which are called a
> national number and seem to be even more expensive for the caller. I
> suspect that many people may also have these barred from access.
>
> I gather that 0800 xxxx numbers are freecalls and would therefore be
> accessible from pretty much anywhere in the UK, I have come across a
> couple of people that say they can do 0800 numbers, but information
> is thin on the ground and I am awaiting some responses from sales
> departments.
>
> My impression is that calls within the UK are pretty cheap, and it
> might be just as good to get say a 0207 xxxxx London DID and people
> wouldn't worry too much about the small cost.
>
> Appreciate any feedback and let me know if I am on track ?
>
> Regards, Craig
>
>
>
>
>
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