Designation of 08 special service numbers

1. Designation of 08 special service numbers Elizabeth Greenberg Numbering Policy Adviser elizabeth.greenberg@oftel.gov.uk

2. The issue • amongst Oftel’s objectives is to ensure consumers have reliable information and are adequately protected • are consumers calling special service numbers receiving a good deal in terms of pricing transparency? • is the designation of 08 numbers confusing and misleading consumers? • links to Melanie Johnson MP’s initiative for increased tariff transparency for 0870 numbers

3. Current designation of 0845 and 0870 numbers • first few digits should indicate tariff • 08 ranges use a relative charging structure linking non-geographic tariffs to that operator’s geographic local and national rates • designed to give consumers a reliable indication of tariff • consumers might expect calls to local and national NTS services to be priced the same as geographic local and national numbers

4. The problem • there is evidence that originating OLOs are not aligning geographic and non-geographic local and national rate tariffs • at certain times of day, some operators charge up to 3 times as much for non-geographic calls • there is a consumer protection issue if consumers are being misled and confused over the tariff • tariffs may be advertised as local/national rate but if that promotion is misleading it may be an offence under the Consumer Protection Act 1987

5. Oftel’s considerations • an examination of operators’ price lists found that basically only BT aligns geo and non-geo tariffs • Convention A6.2 provides that non-geo local and national rate tariffs should be aligned to geo tariffs, however, the Conventions are applied to the range holder and not the originating operator • OLOs cost of call origination may be valid • a fixed rather than relative charging system may better protect consumers • therefore, Oftel plans to consult on the merits of adopting on 08 charging system based entirely on fixed charges

6. Fixed tariff vs relative charging in support of fixed tariffs • confusing to link tariffs of separate markets • terms ‘local’ and ‘national’ imply tariffs match • operators increasingly structure geo tariffs according to time-of-day gradients rather than distance • calling circle discounts might not be applied equally • a tariff ceiling gives indication of maximum cost in support of relative charging • majority of consumers originate calls with BT, where geo and non-geo local and national rates are aligned • operators may raise tariffs to the fixed ceiling

7. Summary Oftel is interested in views on: • whether consumers are being misled and the level of consumer detriment • the best approach to ensuring consumers are adequately protected • re-designating 0845 & 0870 ranges and will be consulting during the summer