This week’s breaking news that British Telecom is to become the first United Kingdom telephone company to ensure calls to 0870 numbers and 0845 numbers are without charge, is likely to be welcomed with delightful applause from consumers and campaigner groups alike.

0870 numbers in particular, have been the topic of much negative media coverage over recent years and this is mainly due to the high cost to call them the reality that some businesses make money from calls to these numbers (specifically grating for clients calling help numbers and after-sales services).

The use of these phone numbers in the public sector has also faced a large amount of scrutiny and the Department of Health has at this point launched a consultation in a bid to look at the use of them in the National Health Service.

There are even groups that have been particularly organised to campaign against these numbers, like saynoto0870.com.

When they were brought in, 0845 numbers used to be billed at local rate, alternatively 0870 numbers used to be national rate to ring. This is not the fact now with the introduction of free quota minutes and call deals provided by mobile and landline companies and is likely to be the particular cause for British Telecom’s new billing scheme for its residential customers.

BT at the moment has around a sixty percent market share so it appears probable that the other main players in the telecoms arena will go the same way - this includes Sky, Virgin Media, Talk Talk and Tiscali, who at present bill between 26 pence and £1.07 for a 10 minute call to an 0870/0845 number (as of 8th January 2009).

Now, although this gigantic step is in a beneficial direction for BT’s residential clients, it’s must be noted that forty percent of all UK phone calls carried out in 2007 were made using mobile phones (Ofcom 2008). So, while some of BT’s landline callers look set for a brilliant bargain, mobile callers will still pay around 20-30 pence per minute to call 0870/0845 numbers.

Businesses that would like to offer their landline and mobile callers an fantastic bargain, 03 numbers are going to be the clear solution.

03 numbers cost callers the same to call as standard landline numbers- even when calling from a mobile phone - at any time. They are also included in the free minutes bundles that are optional with all major mobile and landline providers.

The 03 number category is split into three parts:

-0303/0300 numbers exclusively for charities and public sector organisations.
-0330 / 0333 numbers for any business or organisation.
-03 comparable numbers for organisations that already have an 08 number and would like to swap it for 03.

Many organisations are now enjoying the massive potential of 03 numbers, including the British Broadcasting Council, the Metropolitan Police, Pioneer, Oxfam and the RSPCA.

03 numbers are also being advocated by the Department of Health as the best choice to 08 numbers for NHS services that want to help from the extra functions that 08 numbers offer (like caller options and call queuing etc.) and at the same time providing their callers a improved deal.

In all, BT’s newest move will save its residential customers an estimated £24m a year. This new business plan not only shows up the significance and popularity of non-geographic telephone numbers, it also strengthens the case for providing clients a better deal at all times. And for this, 03 numbers still reign supreme.