What impact will these changes have on my business ?

It is clear that the changes to Number Translation Services proposed by Ofcom will result in a period of increased confusion and disruption.  Indeed, most UK businesses will need to conduct a comprehensive review of their telecoms strategy, taking into account the various options available before deciding on the most appropriate numbering strategy for the future.

Each business will have differing needs, budgets and caller dynamics.

Clearly, Ofcom’s proposals mean that any business that currently generates income through 0870 numbers will soon lose this revenue stream and instead be charged for calls received.

Therefore, those businesses will need to choose between keeping their existing 0870 numbers and paying a charge for calls received or introducing new contact numbers.

Potentially, this decision will depend on the pain, effort and cost involved in promoting new contact numbers on websites, brochures, other printed material, signage etc.

If the choice is to look at migrating away from 0870 then a number of viable options are available from freephone to premium rate and even reverting back to 01/02 geographic numbers.

This decision may well depend on whether businesses have (and rely on) network level services such as call queuing, IVR or call recording.  If this is the case, any move back to geographic numbers will have to include budget for replacing these services with in-house equipment.

The choice of NTS alternatives may well depend on caller dynamics and the nature of calls received.  Potentially, businesses may wish to promote certain types of calls through the use of 0800 or 0845 numbers, but maintain a revenue share from other calls by utilizing 0844 or 0871 numbers.

Again, other factors must be considered when making this decision.  For example, your choice may depend on whether you receive calls from overseas or need to queue calls at the network level – which may rule out the use of 0844 and 0871 numbers.