UK, like most other nations, uses the 0800 free phone numbers. They also had the 0845 which charges the same value as a local call even if your call is actually outside the boundaries set for local calls.

But whereas free phone had been used in the States to reduce distance, in the UK it had more to do with the so called north-south divide that made it very hard for corporations to do business outside their area. The insularity developed by the north-south divide was united by the 0800 numbers.

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

Thus advertisers started utilizing 0800 free phone numbers for sales and 0870 national value numbers for customer service. All went well for several years until the big users started to mistreat the system by putting callers on hold for long periods. Callers protested they were being charged for the doubtful prerogative of being held in a line. To add affront to trauma, the 0870 calls were not given deductions like the 0800 calls and surcharges were added to the bill. The companies defended their position by claiming that they underestimated the number of response from the consumers. Of course, that’s what they’ll say. And it wasn’t just big corporations. The discounts offered by the 0870 numbers, as well as the number routing facilities, urged government departments and charities to use those numbers as well.

More and more complaints poured in to the UK regulatory body, the Ofcom. Radio phone-ins and newspaper columns soon noticed this dissatisfaction and Ofcom was forced to implement an enquiry. Inevitably the phone corporations and advertisers fought back and one enquiry led to another. Eventually Ofcom passed the decree that from the end of 2007 the price of calling a 0870 number would be decreased to that of a normal call. Simultaneously rebates would end.

This does not mean that 0870 will cease to be. Indeed it may get a new lease of life. By the end of 2007, the users will be billed with a lease fee although the call routing will still be working. Since enormous quantities have already been spent by corporations for the 0870 number, they’ll probably think twice before changing it.

Just like most things in life it is the few that spoil things for the many. There are hundreds of thousands of small businesses in the UK using 0870 numbers for the power to change number routing even though they never receive sufficient calls to make the rebate worthwhile. They respond to their calls readily and don’t put callers on hold. When a one-man band goes on vacation, arrangements can be made for someone else to get the calls. One advantage for small businesses is the simplicity of reconnecting the 0870 number to a new phone in case they shift their place of business. With the 0870 virtual switchboards, big and small corporations get to enjoy the same advantages.

These small and medium size businesses will go on employing 0870 numbers for the foreseeable future and remain to enjoy the number routing facilities. Except from the end of 2007 their customers will be able to call them for the price of a local call.