UK, like most other nations, uses the 0800 free phone numbers. This was subsequently appended with 0845 numbers that were charged at the same value as a local call even if the address was outside the local area.

These numbers enabled communication between what is known as the north-south divide. 08 numbers were used to bridge this tendency towards insularity.

Then in the mid-nineties British Telecom decided to try out what were represented as national value numbers that, as the name implies, charged callers the same value as for a national call. The experiment was immediately booming with hundreds of thousands of calls being received within the first few weeks of the campaign.

Thus promoters began utilizing 0800 free phone numbers for sales and 0870 national rate numbers for customer service. All went well for numerous years until the big users began to mistreat the system by putting callers on hold for long periods. Callers objected they were being billed for the doubtful privilege of being held in a line. To add insult to trauma, the 0870 calls were not given deductions like the 0800 calls and surcharges were added to the account. Of course, the companies using these numbers said it wasn’t intentional; they had just misjudged consumer response. But they would say that wouldn’t they? And it wasn’t just big companies. Government departments and charities also became key users of 0870 numbers, attracted by the rebates as well as the number routing facilities.

As time went by, Ofcom, the UK regulatory body, received an ever increasing number of charges from the public. Radio phone-ins and newspaper columns soon noticed this dissatisfaction and Ofcom was forced to implement an enquiry. As anticipated, the phone companies and advertisers protected themselves. The final verdict was that the cost of calling a 0870 number would be decreased to that of a normal call. Concurrently rebates would end.

This does not indicate that 0870 will be terminated. Indeed it may take on a new lease of life. By the end of 2007, the consumers will be billed with a rental fee although the call routing will still be in effect. Since great quantities have already been expended by corporations for the 0870 number, they’ll probably think twice before changing it.

As the expression goes, “the small dot is more discernible than the entire white page”. Numerous small businesses in the UK availed of this 0870 numbers because of their call routing feature even if the calls that they get is limited in number. Small businesses tend to be careful when it comes to answering calls. They are also very meticulous when it comes to assigning a substitute in manning the phone if the person usually responsible is absent. One benefit for small businesses is the ease of reconnecting the 0870 number to a new phone in case they transfer their place of business. And 0870 virtual switchboards make it easy for small businesses to enjoy the same facilities as a much larger company.

These small and medium size businesses will go on employing 0870 numbers for the foreseeable future and remain to enjoy the number routing facilities. The only difference is that there will be a monetary value for their calls starting 2008.