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

[Linus Surguy]

> 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.

Other than a small hardcore of objectors, no consumers have a problem with 
calling 0845 and it is not common for access to 0845 to be barred. However, 
for the average consumer, they will pay around a penny a minute more to call 
an 0845 during the daytime than a geographic number, and they will not be 
included in any 'unlimited calling' or '1000 inclusive minutes' type 
bundles. However, very few callers are actually aware of these differences.

You are likely to have more flexibility with an 08xx number than a 
geographic (DID) number to cover if you have problems with your initial 
configuration, for example, you could always ask your 0845 provide to point 
the number (for free) to a geographic DID number behind the scenes, 
something which would only be a chargable option if you wanted to point one 
geographic number to another.

Unless representing a geographic location is important, I'd recommend either 
an 0845 or a free to call 0800 number.

Linus
Magrathea Telecommunications