Have You Got My Number?

HAVE YOU GOT MY NUMBER Deregulated utilities require regulators - to check they follow the rules. But who benefits from regulation – providers or consumers? Telephone numbering is a case in point. Phone numbers seem to change every few weeks. Recent British examples include new London exchanges beginning with a ‘3’, an ‘05’ code for ‘corporate numbers’ and the introduction of ‘03’ for number translation services (NTS). If you’re not a phone-number anorak (believe it or not there are people who collect telephone numbers!) you might not be familiar with the concept of translated numbers. Here’s how it works: everyone with a fixed line has a geographical number (with an STD code beginning ‘01’ or ‘02’). However, there are many codes beginning ‘08’ or ‘09’. These are not ‘real’ numbers in the sense that they identify specific lines, but indicators for special charging rates: they ‘translate’ into geographical numbers. Some (0800 or 0808) are freephone: the ‘owner’ foots the bill for all in-bound calls, while most others cost more than you’d normally pay (to see how complicated this is, look at BT’s two-volume charging manual – also available on their web site). Every ‘08’ or ‘09’ number has an underlying geographical one. Some companies use terms like ‘local-‘ or ‘national-rate’ to give consumers the feeling they are not paying much, but the rates charged vary a lot. Others disguise codes by changing the format, such as the BBC’s ‘08700’. Or ’087’. An added attraction is that these numbers are shared-revenue: each time you call an ‘0870’ number, for example, the organisation you are ringing gets a cut of the cost. This can be a significant revenue stream. Recent scandals (such as tv ‘phone-in’ cons), as well as press exposés and the influential Say ‘No’ To ‘0870’ campaign (to help people find alternative freephone or geographical numbers) have given translated numbers a bad name. Often, consumers have no idea how much they pay for calls. In an effort to overcome this negative view, Ofcom, the British regulator, came up with a new ‘03’ code (charged at geographical rates or included within ‘minutes’) to replace the unpopular ‘0870’. The change was due on 1st February and consumers applauded the move. But the plan has stalled. Why? Take-up has not been high. One web site had warned of a ‘number stampede’ for the ‘03’ code – with unscrupulous number dealers making a fortune. But this has not happened. Many companies have objected to the change. They like 0870: as well as allowing them to hide or change their location, they don’t want to lose a good source of income. Another problem has been Ofcom’s ruling that every NTS call costing more than one to a geographic number must be preceded by a free warning message. This idea was tried with 070

(‘follow-me’) personal numbers last summer and proved difficult as some of these numbers are used by emergency-type services and the extra time taken could have risked lives. The result? Even more confusion. And less respect for the regulator. Can you tell your ‘03’ from your ‘0870’? Ralph Adam 11.01.2008