Ofcom today published an update explaining the withdrawal of a requirement for calls to 070 numbers priced at more than 20 pence per minute to carry a free pre-call announcement which informs consumers about the cost of the call.

Ofcom continues to investigate how the use of free pre-call announcements may disrupt important services, used for protecting human life and property, running on such numbers.

See Ofcom’s letter to industry dated 14th November 2007 at:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/numbering03/

070 prefixed numbers offer a “find me anywhere” service whereby individuals can arrange to receive their calls at different locations at different times of the day. Ofcom is concerned that such services can be used to scam consumers, based on the risk of confusion with mobile numbers and the higher cost of calling 070 numbers.

Ofcom wants to ensure that consumers get stronger protection in this area. Last year, Ofcom announced its decision to end the 070 personal numbering range by the end of July 2009. It will now be considering whether this timetable can be brought forward. Separately Ofcom will continue to take enforcement action where we find evidence of abuse.

Full details of Ofcom’s approach to 070 and today’s update can be found at

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/numbering03/070precall/

Earlier this year, Ofcom announced that the 0871 number range is planned to come under the regulation of PhonePay Plus (formerly ICSTIS) on the 1^st February 2008. However, due to a delay in the publication of the Code of Practice that will apply to this number range, the implementation of this regulation has also been delayed to later in 2008.

Some of the proposed changes to 0871 number range include;

• 0871 numbers will be treated as Premium Rate 09 numbers and therefore be regulated by PhonePay Plus
• Wherever 0871 numbers are displayed, the cost of the call (in pence per minute) must also be displayed
• In addition, for broadcast material, where calls will exceed 50p, the pence per minute rate would also need to be spoken as well as visually displayed
• Some services will require authorisation from PhonePay Plus, such as gambling lines and consumer credit services

TTNC has kept all customers informed about these proposed changes for the last 18 months and will continue to do so via emails and the News page and 0871 page in the TTNC main Web site – www.ttnc.co.uk

For more information about 0871 numbers please see;

0871 Numbers

Ofcom

PhonePay Plus

Earlier this year, Ofcom announced some major changes to the 0870 Number Range which were due to be implemented by the 1^st February, 2008

• There will no longer be any Call Revenue on 0870 numbers
• Mobile and Fixed-Line providers have to charge the same or less for 0870 calls as they do for National Rate Calls to UK Geographic Numbers (01 or 02).

Following an industry meeting last week, Ofcom have now advised TTNC and all other Operators that the date to implement these changes has slipped to later in 2008.

At the moment, it is unclear how long this delay may be, but it is likely to be in the region of 3 to 6 months.

The delay is linked to Health & Safety issues that have been identified in relation to the pre-call announcements which some Communication Providers were planning to provide to callers.

Mark Burcher of TTNC commented “We agree with Ofcom to delay the implementation of the proposed changes to 0870 numbers ranges, but in our view the proposed changes are not welcomed anyway, there are technical, financial and practical issues which we believe have still not been considered properly.”

For more information about the delay to implement proposed changes to 0870 Number Ranges please see;

Ofcom announces delay to changes to 0870 numbers (New!)

For more information about the proposed changes to 0870 Number Ranges please see;

Changes to 0870 numbers

Ofcom has written to TTNC and other Operators informing us that a critical development means that there will be a delay in implementing the changes to the regulation of calls to 0870 numbers, previously intended to take effect on 1^st of February 2008.

Operators and Ofcom have recently identified certain 0870 services, many of which protect human life and property, where the option to use pre-call announcements causes them to fail.

This potentially endangers the life and security of people who depend on the reliability of such services.

The problem relates to important alarm and security services which use automatic dialling systems and are often used to communicate directly with the Police and fire stations.

Industry estimates that there are hundreds of thousands of these services in use in the UK.

These systems eventually “time out” if a recognised phone signal is not heard. Use of a preannouncement may cause these safety services to fail with potentially catastrophic and life threatening consequences.

To read Ofcom’s letter in full, please click on the link below

Next steps on 0870 numbers

For more information about 0870 numbers please see;

0870 Numbers

Ofcom

PhonePay Plus

ICSTIS, the phone-paid services regulator, has today become PhonePayPlus and has set itself the task of boosting public awareness about how to use services safely and how it can help people who encounter problems.

Phone-paid services – the goods and services that we can buy by charging the cost to our phone bills and mobile pre-pay accounts – have moved from a niche market to become a mainstream part of everyday life.

The list of services available is as long as the range of information and entertainment on offer is wide, with the public spending a staggering £1 billion a year on services such as help lines, voting, competitions, downloads, news alerts, charitable giving and interactive games.

Although the vast majority of services are run responsibly and enjoyed by thousands of people, consumer confidence in the industry has taken a knock following this year’s high profile problems involving TV phone-in competitions.

According to research published by PhonePayPlus today, almost two-thirds of the UK population have a distinct distrust of phone-in competitions, while 60% admit to having little faith in chat and entertainment services. The research also showed that 76% of people would not consider using a phone-paid service in the next 12 months.

Commenting on the findings, Sir Alistair Graham, Chairman of PhonePayPlus, said: “After the headlines of recent months, there is no doubt that the public’s trust in phone-paid services has been dented.”

“While we don’t underestimate the size of the task ahead, we are confident that confidence in phone-paid services can be restored. As well as knowing that there is an organisation out there making sure services are being operated fairly, consumers need to know where to go if they need advice or have a specific problem.”

“The first step in this process for us has been to change our name. Changes in the services we regulate and the way in which we do it brought us to the point where re-branding was essential.”

“ICSTIS was no longer an accurate description of our organisation. As our research showed, the name had low awareness among the public and was a significant barrier in terms of people knowing who we were and what we did. We needed a name that gives a real sense of what we do. PhonePayPlus – coupled with our ‘Regulating to build consumer trust in phone-paid services’ strap line – is much more meaningful and memorable for consumers.”

www.phonepayplus.org.uk

www.phonebrain.org.uk (PhonePayPlus’ successful, interactive children’s website)

TTNC is pleased to announce that their entire range of 03 numbers became live on UK’s Public network on the 1^st of October, 2007. TTNC has more than 260,000 numbers live and ready to be used by businesses, charities and government bodies including a wide range of ‘Memorable’ numbers.

Mark Burcher, MD for TTNC said “We are very pleased to have launched our 03 numbers as scheduled, as far as we know, we are the very first operator to launch their 03 number ranges and we have had a huge demand for them, particularly memorable numbers.”

About 03 Numbers

03 UK Wide Phone Numbers were introduced by Ofcom as an alternative to chargeable 08 Phone Numbers such as 0871, 0870, 0844 and 0845 Numbers.

03 Numbers will allow organisations to have a National presence whilst their customers will only be charged Standard Call Rates.

• Calls to 03 Numbers will cost the same as Calls made to Geographic 01 and 02 Numbers
• Calls to 03 Numbers will be included as part of any Inclusive Call Minutes or Discount packages offered by Landline or Mobile phone Operators, such as BT’s “Friends and Family” packages.
• Call Share Revenue will not be permitted on calls to 03 Numbers.

All of TTNC’s 03 numbers will come with access to The Novero Platform™, the advanced web based control panel which gives customers total control over Numbers and Call Services as well as Comprehensive Real-Time Call Statistics.

More Information

If you would like more information about 03 numbers or would like to purchase a 03 number, then please click below.

03 Numbers

About TTNC

TTNC Limited is an Ofcom registered PECN Operator (Public Electronic Communications Network) providing Inbound Telephone Numbers and Intelligent Call services to UK and International customers through both retail and wholesale channels.

From the 1^st of September 2007, originating operators such as BT and Mobile Network Operators are required to provide a Pre Call Announcements to any calls made to 070 Personal Numbers that are charged above 20 pence per minute (ppm) or 20 pence per call (ppc).

On 13^th February 2007 Ofcom issued a statement and consultation entitled “Raising Confidence in Telephone Numbers”. This statement places a requirement on all Call Originators to provide the free to caller pre call announcement.

Ofcom is doing this to increase consumer protection from abuses on some existing 070 personal numbering services. Consumers often confuse personal numbers with mobile numbers and are often unaware of the potential charges involved in making calls to PNs.

The announcement will advise the caller of the maximum cost of a call of this type and will last approximately 20 seconds.

The pre call announcement will contain the following, or similar, wording: “You have dialled a Personal Number, which starts 070. This is not a Mobile Number. 070 calls from XXX (Operators name) cost up to 50 pence per minute or a fixed fee of up to 51 pence. Charges from other service providers, payphones and via the operator may vary. You have not been charged for this message. Please hold to be connected.” This will be followed by a 2 to 3 second pause before connecting the call.

TTNC has introduced 3D Secure Authentication for all Online Orders made on its Web site.

3D Secure is the latest online fraud prevention initiative launched by the card schemes as a more secure method for authenticating the cardholder at the time of the online transaction.

Mark Burcher, Managing Director for TTNC said “We are very pleased to be able to offer the latest fraud prevention on our Web site, we take security very seriously and to the best of my knowledge, TTNC is the very first Telecom’s company in Europe and maybe even the World, to offer 3D Secure on a Web site which people can order and provision Telephone Numbers and Call Services in Real-Time.”

TTNC worked in conjunction with Protx (one of the UK’s leading Credit/Debit Card payment gateways), Visa, MasterCard and Barclays Bank to integrated 3D Secure Authentication with their Online ordering system, the project took 10 days in total to complete.

For more information about 3D Secure, please see http://www.ttnc.co.uk/about/3d-secure.do

TTNC has broken another milestone today by being the very first Operator in the UK to release the new 03 UK Wide Phone Numbers.

03 Numbers will not become live until September 2007, but TTNC is helping organisations to prepare for the change by giving them the opportunity to purchase 03 Numbers now. This will allow organisations to secure Memorable 03 Numbers, and also allow organisations who currently use 084 or 087 Numbers to purchase the 03 Numbers equivalent.

About 03 Numbers

03 UK Wide Phone Numbers have been introduced by Ofcom as an alternative to chargeable 08 Phone Numbers such as 0871, 0870, 0844 and 0845 Numbers.

03 Numbers will allow organisations to have a National presence whilst their customers will only be charged Standard Call Rates.

• Calls to 03 Numbers will cost the same as Calls made to Geographic 01 and 02 Numbers
• Calls to 03 Numbers will be included as part of any Inclusive Call Minutes or Discount packages offered by Landline or Mobile phone Operators, such as BT’s “Friends and Family” packages.
• Call Share Revenue will not be permitted on calls to 03 Numbers.

More Information

If you would like more information or would like to purchase a 03 UK Wide Number, please click here;

About TTNC Limited

TTNC Limited is one of the UK’s leading Communications Network Operators that provides Businesses and Individuals with Telephone Numbering Services, Inbound Call Management Services, Low Cost Outbound Call Solutions and Voice over IP Services.

TTNC is helping its customers to get noticed by offering them a chance to be listed in every 118 Directory Services database in the UK.

For a once of charge of just £15, TTNC will submit customers details to BT’s OSIS (Operator Services Information System), which is a centrally administered database containing over 27 million Telephone Numbers for Businesses and Individuals in the UK.

OSIS is the most up-to-date and accurate source of Telephone Number information available, with up to 80,000 updates each day.

Every 118 Directory Enquiry Service Provider in the UK uses OSIS, as well as the various Printed and Online Directories.

About TTNC Limited

TTNC Limited is one of the UK’s leading Communications Network Operators that provides Businesses and Individuals with Telephone Numbering Services, Inbound Call Management Services, Low Cost Outbound Call Solutions and Voice over IP Services.