20 April 2006
Consumers are to be better protected and also receive clearer pricing information for calls to 0870 numbers.
The industry regulator Ofcom said that it was giving consumers better protection on 0870 numbers following a public consultation last year.
Phone providers will be obliged to charge the same for the numbers as they do for national-rate calls to geographic areas.
If companies want to charge more than this, they will be obliged to provide a free price announcement at the beginning of the call.
Changes to 0870 calls are set to come into effect 18 months after the completion of a wider numbering review, due for publication this summer. This is to allow those affected by the changes time to adapt.
Ofcom added that it was also proposing to introduce a new numbering system for countrywide, non-geographic numbers.
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