The History behind Ofcom’s review of NTS and 0870 numbers

Over the years, the rapid growth and popularity of NTS numbers has resulted in confusion about their pricing structure. There have been complaints from public and consumer lobbies about the lack of price transparency and general dissatisfaction regarding the higher price of non-geographic numbers compared with local alternatives.

Of particular concern is the lack of clarity surrounding 0870 and 0845 which, while advertised as national and local rate respectively, are in essence usually charged at rates exceeding the costs of a typical geographical national or local rate. For example, a caller on a standard package could pay 7.59ppm (pence per minute) for an 0870 call (equivalent to a BT standard national rate) but only pay 3ppm for a geographical national number.*

This confusion has, to a certain extent, been due to the way in which NTS has evolved. When first introduced, 0870 and 0845 numbers did adhere to market prices. In subsequent years, geographic numbers became more competitive while many NTS numbers evolved to fulfil a different function - that of providing an enhanced customer service.