Ofcom has today published an evaluation of changes made in 2015 to the regulation of calls to non-geographic numbers.
There were two parts to the changes:
- making 080 numbers free from mobiles as well as landline telephones; and
- introducing a new “unbundled tariff” structure for calls to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers.
The unbundled tariff involved two separate charges:
- an access charge from the caller’s communication provider; and
- a service charge from the service provider, i.e. the company providing the service using the number (for example, a ticket booking agency or mail order company).
The lessons we take from this evaluation will inform future policy making.