At midnight on January 31, 2008 the cost of calling a 0870 number will plummet. Currently charged at 7.91p per minute peak (including VAT) from February 1 this will fall to around 2p per minute, a massive price drop of almost 75%. This is great news for the consumer, but potentially devastating to the business that has invested heavily in advertising its 0870 number(s) not only in the short term but also in ‘longer term’ media such as the Yellow Pages and other directory advertising. Many companies have built their businesses around a memorable 0870 number – so future strategy must be carefully thought through in order to minimise the impact.

From February 1, for those companies that received it, there will no longer be any revenue share on 0870 numbers. So whether it’s 1p, 2p or 3p minute a company was getting, this will all end on January 31^st.  Obviously, for the majority of organisations not receiving revenue share this is of little consequence.

The real blow however is that companies wishing to retain their 0870 numbers will, from February 1, have to pay on average 3p minute to receive calls. So not only will there be no revenue share but organisations seeking to retain 0870 number(s) will have the added cost of paying for incoming calls. BT has stated that it will be charging its customers 3.5p per minute (+ VAT) for a standard 0870 number or 4.5p per minute (+ VAT) for a 0870 number that is routed to different destinations.

Depending on your monthly traffic here is what the changes will mean for you – unless you do something about it.

How the Changes Came About

Most businesses are aware of these changes and the reasons for them. They have been written about extensively elsewhere. For this reason we won’t repeat the details other than to say that the changes were brought about by a media driven consumer campaign protesting the price differential between calling a non-geographic 0870 number and a standard long distance geographic number (calls to which originally cost the same as calling 0870, but which is no longer the position). The case was strengthened by anecdotal evidence that some companies appeared to be keeping callers on hold for lengthy periods simply as a way of making money. In the end Ofcom was forced to respond. They held ‘consultations’ and then published their ‘findings’. Many would argue that they went over the top without considering all the ramifications, but the impact on organisations using 0870 numbers is going to be considerable.

For more information on these changes you might like to consult the following pages:

Your Options

You have five options and these are:

1. Carry on as usual.  Keep your existing 0870 number and receive calls as you do at the moment. You need to be something of a financial masochist to favour this approach but it is an option if, and here is the caveat, your carrier will allow you. It is also an option if your call volumes are very low so that your monthly charges may not be all that great. However, many carriers and resellers do not have the expensive billing software that will enable them to give you a computer generated monthly bill and for this reason may no longer support 0870 numbers. It is important that you check with your carrier as soon as possible.
    

2. Divert to a new non-geographic number after first terminating your 0870 number at a carrier-provided voice mailbox (using a recorded message to announce your new non-geographic number). Some carriers can provide this service. Others don’t. BT has announced that “due to the enormous volume of 0870 number changeovers, a Changed Number Announcement is unlikely to be available for everyone”. Your new non-geographic number options would be 0844 / 0845 or 0871 numbers. By following this course you retain the ‘goodwill’ built up in your 0870 numbers. Numbers beginning 03 are also a possible option, but there is very little public awareness of them and we don’t know of any plans to mount an awareness campaign whether by Ofcom or any other organisation. So the public may be distrustful of an unfamiliar range. While some carriers are looking at these, many are not.
    

3. Divert to a new non-geographic number after first terminating your 0870 number at a voice mail box which you set up. Here you would get a new phone line with BT and connect to Call Minder or a cheap non-message taking Answering Machine. You then get your carrier to divert your 0870 number(s) to this line. The recorded message would then tell people to ring your new number which would be given in the recorded message. The disadvantage of this is that you will have the BT line rental of £41.15 per quarter, the Call Minder charge (£2.50 month) plus the cost of calls to the mailbox which should each be less than 1 minute. You should allow 3p-4p per call. The big advantage is that you lose none of the goodwill built up in your 0870 number.
    

4. Discontinue your 0870 number altogether and simply get a new 0844 / 0845 or 0871 number. This may be your only option if your carrier can’t provide you with a voice mailbox and you don’t want to set one up yourself. The obvious disadvantage is that you’ll lose the goodwill built up by your former use of the 0870 number and the cost of this could be significant. So, unless you feel there is no ‘goodwill’ in your 0870 number then treat this approach with care. Remember also that even if you think there is no value in your 0870 number, your competitors may think differently – and may very well seek to acquire your number should you decide to relinquish it.
    

5. Use a local geographic number. The big disadvantage here is that by giving up your 0870 number you will lose:

   Any goodwill built around your number as well as future calls to that number unless you combine this approach with (3) above The national identity that a 0870 number has given you Portability, since the local number can only be moved within the area served by your local exchange. In major metropolitan areas this could mean a radius of no more than 1 or 2 miles from the exchange Any special features that you may have enjoyed with your 0870 number such as call queuing, fax to email, IVR, etc.

The relative Merits of 0844 / 0845 / 0871

For a discussion on the merits of 0844 numbers please click here

For a discussion on the merits of 0845 numbers please click here

For a discussion on the merits of 0871 numbers please click here

Links

Over the course of the coming months leading up to the changeover we’ll post links which you may find worthwhile. You might like to check back with this site from time to time to see if there have been any new postings.

Further Information

For further information on these changes and possible solutions for your business please feel free to call Telecom Solutions at any time on 0845 222 0033 or visit our website www.TeamTelecomEurope.com.