UK Telephone numbers explained

GEOGRAPHIC NUMBERS

These are standard landline numbers. When used with Enet5 Telephone VoIP, these numbers give amazing rates and flexibility for both national and international calls.

Although Enet5 VoIP numbers look and operate just like standard landline numbers, they do not require a dedicated BT line - and so do not involve the rental costs and installation costs of a BT line.

The Geographic number can be called using the inclusive minutes provided on a mobile phone, by all non-BT telephone companies and from any country.

They have the additional advantage that they give callers the impression that you are based in a particular city regardless of where you are in the UK or overseas. Using multiple geographic numbers gives the impression that your company has a UK network of offices, even if you are actually based in a single location or even overseas.

For more information on this exciting service, go to the Enet5 VoIP section.

0800 FREEPHONE

Anyone calling from a landline telephone in the UK (and selected mobile suppliers) can call an 0800 telephone number free of charge. An 0800 number is used when you are prepared to pay the cost of incoming calls.

As the call is free from UK landlines, an 0800 number is proven to generate sales enquiry calls; attracting responses to online and printed advertising campaigns. Also useful when a high level of customer service is important by emphasising your commitment to a cost-effective business relationship.

more information & charges

0870 NATIONAL RATE

Organisations use 0870 numbers when they want to either portray a national image or hide the true location of the call destination (such as an off-shore call-centre). It is commonly used as the main contact number for a company.

0870 numbers are often used for marketing and fund raising campaigns as a temporary number so that the main telephone service does not become swamped with calls.

0845 LOCAL RATE

0845 is known as a ‘local rate’ number. This is typically used where your company wishes to allow callers to contact you at a local call rate from anywhere in the UK. This provides the customer with a cheaper way of calling you, even though they may be calling from another region.

0845 numbers are often used for marketing and fund raising campaigns as a temporary number so that the main telephone service does not become swamped with calls.

more information & charges

There are some number types that Enet5 will never provide:

090 PREMIUM RATE

The 090 Premium Rate number means that you can receive unlimited simultaneous call on a single number. This is used by chat-lines and other revenue raising services. It is never used for normal telephone calls.

It is not possible to know in advance how much a call to an 090 number will cost. It is often with less scrupulous services providers requiring you to listen through a long-winded pre-recorded messages for competitions or information such as horoscopes, weather forecasts etc.

090 Premium Rate numbers are charged at from 20p to £1.50 per minute and the service provider retains around 90% of the call, potentially earning in excess of £100 an hour for doing nothing.

ENET5 will never provide 090 numbers.

070 PERSONAL NUMBER

070 is known as a Personal Number. It is used by companies or individuals who wish to promote a single number upon which they can always be contacted. Your callers dial your Personal Number and are routed to your office, home or mobile numbers seamlessly. 070 Personal numbers are often used by suppliers of call response systems who provide sophisticated automated telephone answering systems free of charge for receiving these calls. Sounds OK but, yes there is a catch.

Calls to 070 numbers are often stated to be at local call rates (3.5p a minute). This is frequently untrue. Calls to 070 numbers are re-routed free of charge to the call receiver, often to mobile telephones or an overseas number. The caller pays for this which means that it is not possible to know in advance how much a call to an 070 number will cost and hidden call costs can easily exceed 50p per minute. The receiver of the call to an 070 number pays nothing and usually benefits in some way either via income from the call or perhaps a free manned call centre to take the call.

Be aware that 070 Personal numbers can, at a glance, look like a mobile number but they will not be included in your mobile provider's standard rate or in your free minutes.

ENET5 will not provide 070 numbers.

[ Top of page | Close window ]