1. Freephone changes
are both good and bad news
Communications Team - News Flash
Forecasting the actual cost increase is virtually
impossible. Even if the current proportion of calls
that originate from mobiles versus those from
landlines is known today, the call pattern after next
June could be totally different. Most mobile users
know how expensive it is to call 0800 and 0808
numbers and so use a landline where possible but
after this change comes into effect it is likely that
they will now call from their mobile. Hence the
proportion of mobile originated calls will increase
significantly.
It is not unreasonable to expect
that the cost of operating a 0800
or 0808 number will double from
June 2015.
There are alternatives numbers that can be used
to avoid this increase but as the current 0800 and
0808 numbers are widely publicised in manuals,
brochures, websites etc making any change is a
major excise and requires a significant amount of
notice. Planning for this change should start as
soon as possible.
Ofcom have announced that from
25th June 2015 all calls to 0800
and 0808 numbers will be free of
charge.
This is really good news for mobile users who for
years have had to put up with paying between 14p
and 40p per minute for calls to freephone
numbers.
However the news is not so good for the owners of
the 0800 and 0808 numbers as the rate that they
pay per minute to receive the call is going increase
sharply.
Currently 0800 and 0808 owners pay the same
rate per minute to receive the call regardless of
whether it originated from a landline or from a
mobile, but from next June calls originating from a
mobile will be charged at around twice as much as
those from a landline, possibly more. The exact
new rates have yet to be published but Network
Operators have indicated the rates that they
expect to be charging.
For more information please contact:
Simon Webb
07710 143624
s.webb@erauk.net