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0845 number

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An 0845 number is a non-geographic number used within the United Kingdom. Ofcom have defined these numbers as Business Rate Services[1], although they may still be known as Special Services: Lower Rate, and have been at various times been listed in BT's price list as Premium rate numbers. Due to their price originally being the same as a local call, they may still be erroneously referred to as local rate numbers, but now that BT have changed their pricing structure and there is much lower-priced competition from other providers 0845 and other NGNs are much more expensive than normal calls from the least expensive providers, particularly relative to the cost from public telephones and mobiles, and in any case there is no longer any distinction between "Local" and "National" call charges, since they are all now charged at the same rate.

0845 is called a non-geographic number because it is not related to a specific geographical location, but is routed to a particular number by a Number Translation Service (NTS). With a 01 or 02 geographic number the first four, five or six digits define a specific locality within the UK. 0845 is one of a series of so-called Non-Geographic telephone Numbers (NGNs) which have been abused since their introduction originally as pure NTS numbers, to be used as covert Premium numbers with call queuing allowed. These abused NTS numbers include: 0870, 0871, 0845, 0844 and 070 PNS. The principal attraction of these numbers to companies, entities and the UK government (who increasingly are using them for additional stealth tax purposes) is that call queuing is permitted whilst revenue is being generated, which can allow call centers particularly to generate very large amounts of revenue with high call volumes. Questions have been asked in the UK House of Commons concerning the amount of revenue which the UK government is generating from using call queuing on these numbers. They are even using them for calls from Welfare benefit claimants and Retirement Pensioners, which must be seen as at the very least questionable? 0845 numbers are also used by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to collect the revenue for their casual dial-up services in the UK. This it seems was the first application of NGNs to be used effectively as Premium numbers.


History

0845 numbers were formerly known as 0345 numbers, which were operated by BT and were described as "Lo-call" numbers (play on the word "local"). Mercury Communications Ltd, now Cable and Wireless, operated a similar scheme using the 0645 code. When the 0345 and 0645 codes were abolished, 0345 numbers were prefixed with 7 to become 0845 7xx xxxx and 0645 numbers were prefixed with 9 to become 0845 9xx xxxx. There are also other prefixes for different 0845 number providers.

Until 2004, 0845 numbers were known as local rate numbers, since they were charged at the same rate as a local call (a number within the same area code). Since 2004, the cost of calling geographic numbers has dropped, but the cost of calling 0845 numbers has remained more or less the same. There is also no longer a distinction between local and national calls, with calls to numbers anywhere in the UK being cheaper than calling an 0845 number (see the Call charges section for details).

The terminating subscriber of an 0845 number can receive a share of the revenue generated from the Premium cost. This is what allowed the situation where dial-up ISPs generate their revenue entirely from the Premium cost of calls to 0845 numbers.

Call charges

From UK landlines

  • The cost of calling an 0845 number is significantly higher than calling a geographic 01 or 02 number, and these numbers are not any longer included in inclusive call plans, due to the Premium costs.
  • All prices shown below include VAT.
Operator Day per min Eve per min W/E per min Date checked
BT[2] 2p 0.5p 2p Day/0.5p Eve 29 November 2007
SkypeOut[3] 8.4p 8.4p 8.4p 27 September 2007
Virgin Media[4] 5p 4p 3p 26 October 2007
Vonage[5] 5p 3p 2p 27 September 2007

From UK mobiles

  • The charges shown generally apply to calls from pre-paid mobile plans ("pay-as-you-go") with VAT included.
  • The charges may be lower on post-pay ("pay monthly") plans, but can be more expensive on other mobile providers.
  • There are no longer any mobile providers that include 0845 numbers in their "free" minutes plans.
Operator Cost/min Date checked
BT 10p[6] 09 January 2007
dot 20p[7] 10 January 2007
3 15p[8] 4 November 2007
O2 25p[9] 02 September 2007
Orange 25p[10] 26 October 2007
TalkTalk 15p[11] 10 January 2007
Tesco 20p[12] 26 October 2007
T-Mobile 10p[13] 12 March 2007
Virgin 10p[14] 08 January 2007
Vodafone 30p/10p[15] 09 January 2007

From abroad

When calling from outside the UK (i.e. +44 845) some operators charge the call as a "Premium Rate Service" or "Mobile call" (sic), costing several times more per minute than a call to a geographical number. (Examples: Cingular[16], CommuniTel[17], SkypeOut[18]). It is evident that foreign telcos are not accepting any supposed nuances of the UK numbering plan and are clearly passing on the per minute Premiums levied by the connecting UK telco for connecting the call.

No telco providers charge +44 845 at the same rate as a geographical number any longer, (e.g. +44 20 for London).[citation needed]

With many pre-paid phonecards calls to +44 845 are blocked. The reason for this is in some dispute, but is clearly in fact due to the per minute cost of the Premiums to be transferred [19].

How 0845 calls are handled

In the UK, the 0845 number range is handled by all carriers - this is a requirement written into Ofcom licences. Some providers have been charging as much as 39 p per minute for calls to 0845 numbers.

When an 0845 number is dialled, the NTS determines the physical destination. This is achieved using the intelligent network capabilities embedded into NTS.

In the simplest case, the 0845 number is translated into a regular geographic number. This number is then routed by the telephone exchange in the normal way. Other routing features include routing by time of day, location of caller, day of week, capacity, etc. These features are sometimes referred to as static routing features - that means that they are put in place and are not usually changed. If changes are required, a customer usually has several options to make changes. Some providers provide a website where changes can be made, or a special number can be called to make the changes.

Opposition to 0845 numbers

The current call costs for 0845 numbers have resulted in increasing consumer opposition, principally because of call queuing whilst being charged the per minute Premiums over normal geographic calls, with some media reports[20][21] mentioning people attempting to circumvent these numbers by sharing information on alternative geographic numbers[22][4].

References

  1. ^ Telephone Numbering - Safeguarding the future of numbers, Ofcom
  2. ^ Non-geographic numbers | Pricing | Personal | BT.com
  3. ^ SkypeOut Price list
  4. ^ a b Say no to 0870! Cut call costs to these hideous numbers, MoneySavingExpert.com
  5. ^ Vonage Price list
  6. ^ BT Mobile Price list
  7. ^ dot Price list
  8. ^ 3 Price list
  9. ^ O2 Price list
  10. ^ Orange Price list
  11. ^ TalkTalk Price list
  12. ^ Tesco Mobile price list
  13. ^ T-Mobile price list
  14. ^ Virgin Mobile Price list
  15. ^ Vodafone price list
  16. ^ Cingular price list
  17. ^ CommuniTel price list
  18. ^ SkypeOut price list
  19. ^ Terms and conditions, Alpha Telecom
  20. ^ "Calls that are a big earner". The Guardian. 2005-03-26. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  21. ^ "Your number's up, webmaster tells the 0870 rip-off firms". Daily Mail. 2006-10-05. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  22. ^ SAYNOTO0870.COM
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