A
Guide to Non Geographic Numbers
Here
in the UK the term ‘non-geographic numbers’
broadly refers to telephone numbers starting with
the digits ‘08x’.
However, as the name suggests the
term can also be used to describe any telephone
number that cannot be attributed to a geographic
area of the UK, e.g. London or Glasgow.
Some examples of non-geographic
numbers:
03xx
UK-wide
0800
Freephone
0845 Local
Rate
0844
Special Rate
0870
National Rate
0871
Special Rate
070x Personal Numbers ***
090x Premium Rate ***
How
do they work?
Essentially all non-geographic numbers
work in the same way i.e. they simply point or ‘translate’
to an underlying telephone number.
The underlying telephone number
is not affected in any way. Any services you have
on the line e.g. Call Minder, Call Divert will continue
to work as normal.
Why would a Company want
a non-geographic number (NGN)?
Companies use NGN for lots of different
reasons. Here are some of the main benefits:
- Portable –
It’s a fact of life that companies move
premises and it’s not always possible to
keep your existing telephone number(s). For any
Company changing telephone numbers is a nuisance
– new company literature, signage, contacting
your customers etc. Using an NGN means you will
never have to change your telephone number(s)
again*. You would simply need to change
where your NGN(s) point.
- Monitor Marketing -
We can set up any number of NGN to point to just
one telephone number. This gives you the opportunity
to use different numbers for different publications
/ promotions, allowing you to measure the effectiveness
of your marketing. e.g. a Company could use a
different NGN in their Yellow Pages advert, to
the one on their website. Our Call
Reporting service would enable the
Company to see how many calls were received to
each number over a given time period.
- Call
Routing - NGN
can help you to control where and when your calls
are received. Lots of different options are available
including Routing by time of day / day
of week which allows you to control where
and when you receive your calls based on the time
of the day, or the day of the week or Automatic
routing on unanswered or busy where if
for any reason your line is either not answered
(after X seconds), or busy (engaged), your call
can be automatically re-routed to another number.
- Increase Sales Response
– Whilst
claims that using a Freephone
number will generate a ‘300
percent’ increase in calls may be extravagant,
it’s widely accepted that potential Customers
are more likely to ring you if you advertise a
number that’s cheaper to ring than your
competitors.
- Generate Revenue –
0844/0871
numbers can be used to generate revenue and are
therefore ideally suited to technical support
lines, advice lines and data response services
where the use of a 090x premium rate number may
be unsuitable. However certain number types e.g.
0844/0871, may not be suitable for companies expecting
a large amount of calls from certain 'at risk'
sections of society e.g. the elderly or people
on fixed/low incomes.
- Professional Image –
Certain number types e.g. 0845
and 0870 numbers, have long been associated with
large national companies; when was the last time
you saw a standard telephone number appear in
a TV advert, for any major company? Rightly or
wrongly, start-up companies especially may benefit
from using NGN to help portray a professional
‘business image’.
- Disaster Planning –
In the event that your landline telephone number
develops a fault, NGN can be dynamically re-routed
to another landline number or voicemail service.
Which number is right for
me?
What type of non-geographic number
you choose is largely a marketing decision.
Our most popular products are 0845
and 0870 numbers.
0845
numbers
Commonly referred
to as ‘local
rate’ numbers.
• Callers phoning from a BT
line pay up to 4p/min** for the call.
• Standard numbers cost
just £4.95 to set up.
• There are no ongoing
service charges or call charges to pay
0870
numbers
Commonly referred
to as ‘national
rate’ numbers.
• Same
price to ring as 01/02 landline numbers (from
1st August 09)†
• £9.95
service charge covers all
0870 numbers on an account
• This
price also includes 2,000 minutes of calls
• After
free minutes calls charged at 1ppm
†From
1st August 2009 0870 calls should cost
the same as calls to landline numbers starting 01/02
and can be included as part of any inclusive call
minutes or discount schemes for landline calls.
This should apply to calls
from any UK operator (including mobiles).
Prior to 1st August 2009 0870
calls are charged at up to 8p/min from BT landlines.
Calls from other networks may vary. Calls made from
Mobiles will cost considerable more.
If you can’t decide which non-geographic
number is right for your business, call us for a
Free no-obligation chat on 0800 505 3210*.
*Lines are open 9.00am-5.00pm, Mon-Fri.
Why choose 4tel?
- We only deal with carriers
employing the very latest in network technology.
This ensures you receive reliability of
service and accurate management and billing
information. And because of our buying power we'll
give you access to some of the best rates
available in the UK today.
- Thousands of companies,
both large and small already use our services.
Our expertise means that we manage services for
some of the largest companies in the UK.
- But ALL our customers, large
or small have access to some of the most advanced
call routing
solutions available today.
- You'll also receive excellent
customer service and all year round-the-clock
support.
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Related Links
All prices exclude VAT unless stated. * except
where Ofcom make changes to the UK telephone numbering
system ** including VAT *** we do not supply 070x
Personal Number Services / 090x Premium Rate numbers
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