“0800 numbers should be free to call from mobiles, says Ofcom”

0800 numbers should be free to call from mobiles, says Ofcom

Posted: 16 Dec 2010 09:56 AM PST

Communications regulator Ofcom has launched a consultation that could force mobile phone companies to make calls to 0800 numbers free, as well as regulate the way call charges for directory enquiries and phone voting are advertised.

Ed Richards, Ofcom's chief executive, said that the current environment was "opaque, confused and uncertain" as he announced that the regulator was proposing to make all calls from mobile and landlines to 0800 numbers free by 2012.

The regulator has also added that it would like to introduce a transparent system of pricing for all phone numbers. The move could mean, for instance, that phone voting on popular televisions shows such as The X Factor would display common symbols to indicate how much a call would cost.

Research by Ofcom has suggested that the public routinely underestimate some costs to premium rate numbers beginning 09, while they overestimate the costs of calling 08 numbers from both mobiles and landlines.

Under new proposals, the regulator would force phone companies and service providers, such as banks and electricity companies, to indicate how much a call costs to make and how much the recipient charges. The result could be on-screen messages that tells users how much as call costs, and indicates that it was also subject to a mobile company's "access charge".

Directory enquiries services will also be clarified under new regulations, although Ofcom is not proposing to force a standard price on all operators.

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