AGENDA
- Comments
on the Note of the last meeting
- Progress
on Action Points
- Business
Model and Comments
- Issues to
be decided for Rules of Use manual
- Conclusions
- Portability
Rights
- Shared
Rights
- Changes
to Conventions
- Others
- Next Steps
Rules
Governing Number Use Manual
INTRODUCTION
Rules Governing
Number Use
- These rules
have been drawn up to address the need to clarify what telephone
number users should expect, either as a called party or as a caller,
when they use a number. It has been drawn up by industry and user
Working Groups that were convened by Oftel to discuss the recommendations
of a Parliamentary Committee that reported on telephone numbering
in February 1999. It was recognised that a clear statement on
this was especially needed because of present plans to introduce
the allocation of individual numbers, charging for numbers and
the legitimisation of number trading.
- Telephone
numbers are a national resource and belong to the nation. Some
lesser rights in telephone numbers can, however, be acquired.
If a customer has paid for a number, although he cannot "own"
that number, he acquires certain stewardship rights over the number.
These rights are not "rights" in the strict legal sense
but will be referred to as such in this manual for want of a better
term.
Telephone
numbers in the UK
- The UK’s
telephone numbering system, the Specified Numbering Scheme (SNS),
is undergoing re-organisation into a family of number ranges wherein
the first two digits (the prefix) identify the type of number
and sometimes the type of service that can be called by dialling
a number in that range. The family comprises:
00 –
International
01 – Existing Geographic Area Codes
02 – New Geographic Area Codes
03 – Reserved for Future Use
04 – Reserved for Future Use
05 – Reserved for Future Use
06 – Reserved for Future Use
07 – Mobiles/Pagers/Personal Numbering
08 – Free/Local/National Rate
09 – Premium Rate Services
- Telephone
numbers as referred to in this manual consist of the two-digit
prefix and the 7, 8 or 9 (usually 9) digits that follow, e.g.
0808 22 4 2000.
- Numbers are
presently allocated in blocks of 10,000 numbers but it is planned
that they will gradually be moved to an individual allocation
structure. At present numbers that have been allocated in blocks
are often then assigned or "sub-allocated" in smaller
blocks or individually to service providers and users.
- Although
these rules set out chiefly to explain the rights of a number
"owner", callers also have the right not to be subjected
to promotion of a number that misleads about the cost or nature
of the service and to gain clear tariff information from numbers
through the prefix. The prefix indicates the type of number (e.g.
geographic – 01 and 02 - or non-geographic – 08 or 09)
and the likely cost of the number (0808 = free; 0870 = between
local and national rate).
Other
Definitions
User
- In the sense
that it will be used in this document a "user" is a
person or company that receives calls on a number and has stewardship
over a number.
Customer
- This term
is used here to signify the person or company that calls the number.
Service Provider
- A person
or company that provides services that contain an element other
than just the arrangement of conversation telephony.They may or
may not operate their own telecommunications system.
Number
Trading
- Paying the
person or company that has first acquired stewardship over a number
to transfer that stewardship to another person or company.
Scope
- The rules
in this manual set out to describe how telephone numbers can be
used by those who have stewardship over them and how a transfer
of use of a number affects the use of that number.
- These rules
apply to UK numbers in all number ranges (see para 4). Oftel has
no plans at present to charge for numbers other than those in
the 08 and 090 ranges.
RULES
Principles
- These rights
have not until now been clearly defined, although licensed telecommunications
Operators have several obligations placed on them directly by
their licences and indirectly by the Numbering Conventions. The
set of rules that follow here is designed to distil into one document
those elements of those other documents that bestow rights on
those acquiring use of telephone numbers and marry them with the
legitimate expectations identified recently by Oftel working groups.
- Operators
can be allocated numbers for routing calls for others or for their
own internal communications. They only acquire the rights over
numbers described here when they have those numbers as "users".
USERS
Rights to uninterrupted use
- If a user
obtains a number for use, he acquires the right to ask for service
on that number through any Operator. Once a user has arranged
service, he continues to have the right to take (or port) that
number to another Operator.
- A user acquires
the right to have calls to a number diverted unless the user has
previously ported that number.
[Add OW point
here]
- A user acquires
the right not to be forced to change their number unless:
- it is essential
for the proper management of the national numbering space;
- as long as
payable charges are paid promptly and all other relevant conditions
of use are complied with.
- For geographic
numbers, major number changes are made necessary by continuing
demand for numbers (eg, those changes taking place in the six
areas such as London, due to change in April 2000). Such changes
have been and will continue to be required from time to time by
Oftel after due consultation and must be implemented by all Operators.
- Some customers
in less populated areas of the UK still retain 5-digit local numbers.
It may be necessary to lengthen these to 6-digit or (as with Northern
Ireland) 8-digit local numbers if local capacity expansion is
needed or if the 5-digit arrangement is deemed unacceptable.
- For non-geographic
numbers including mobiles and pagers a migration exercise is currently
underway to move many of these numbers into the appropriate part
of the UK numbering scheme family, as set out in para X above.
Whilst new numbers are now being issued from the outset in the
new format, many numbers in the old format need to migrate.
- If a move
of house or office involves being served by a new local exchange,
Operators may require a number change unless the customer is willing
to pay for services, such as out-of-area lines or call diversion,
to enable calls to be forwarded.
- Numbers may
change at the customer’s behest. Such circumstances include
receipt of nuisance calls: such calls may be because the customer
is being subjected to genuine offensive calls, or because his
number is mistaken for a similar one for a business that receives
many calls.
- A customer
may wish to change the tariff of a service. To change from one
tariff to another requires a change of prefix and, hence a change
of number.
- A user has
the right, if a change is needed to a number, to help for the
transition, such as notice of [reasonable period] before a change
and to parallel running for [reasonable period] if available and
suitable. A user may also take use of a Changed Number Announcement
to be activated on their number if one is available and suitable.
Privacy
and freedom from unwanted calls
- A user acquires
the right to give up their number on request and to replace it
with another available number of their choice for a reasonable
charge.
- A user acquires
the right to change their number at no cost if they show that
they have received malicious calls. If the same user receives
malicious calls on the new number, Operators are entitled to charge
for other number changes unless the user can show that they have
been careful not to divulge the number widely. For more help with
this problem, contact the Malicious Calls Bureau.
- A user has
the right to refuse unwanted direct marketing calls. The responsibility
for preventing such calls falls to the individual or the company
receiving the calls. Direct requests to direct marketing companies
should be heeded and users should contact the Telephone Preference
Service for advice on how to prevent this type of call.
- A user can
expect their service provider to ensure a minimum of misdialled
calls unless he has chosen to put back into service a number that
has not been quarantined for the full [X] days.
- With a number
comes the right to send or withhold your Calling Line Identification
signal.
Commercial
rights
- Operators
have the right to levy a reasonable charge for number changes
or portability transfers.
- A user acquires
the right to have their number published for informational or
marketing purposes, provided they do not do so in a misleading
way. They have the equal and opposite right to withhold their
number from publication. On the issue of misleadingness, the ICSTIS
Code of Practice details rules about the marketing of premium-rate
(09) numbers. Other organisations, e.g. the Advertising Standards
Authority and the Independent Television Commission (ITC), which
control the content of advertising and TV programmes, help ensure
marketing material is not misleading.
- A user can
sell a number he has acquired for a price. He has the right to
dispose of it by other means, whether by private arrangement or
by public auction.
- Users and
customers lose all rights if any legitimate bill is not paid on
time.
- Users lose
their stewardship rights if they misuse the system to which they
are connected (e.g. unapproved equipment, illegal service).
Service
Providers
- Often a number
that is first allocated to Operators is then allocated on (sub-allocated)
to a service provider and then to a user. In this scenario both
the service provider and the user could claim rights over the
number. The following paragraphs attempt to resolve this difficulty.
- The user
retains the right to port the number assigned to him by the service
provider.
- Notwithstanding
the previous paragraph, if the service contract makes it clear,
the service provider may retain the right to port a number from
one Operator to another without recourse to the user to whom he
has sub-allocated that number.
Operator
or Service Provider Failure
- If an Operator
goes out of business, users should be informed by the [OPF, industry
focus group?] within [a reasonable period] how it has been agreed
the numbers that were routed by that Operator will be routed henceforth.
- If a Service
Provider goes out of business, users who had services provided
by that Service Provider can request the Operator that routed
calls for that Service Provider to arrange service them at standard
rates.
Mark Whitbread
Policy Adviser
Oftel
Background
Papers
- Click
here to view Example 1 of Internet and UK Numbering
- Click
here to view Example 2 of Internet and UK Numbering
MEETING
NOTE
Rules Governing
Number Use Working Group
20 January 2000
Time & Place:
10:30am at Oftel
Meeting called
by: Oftel
Meeting chaired
by: Claire Milne (Independent telecoms consultant)
Oftel representatives:
Mark Whitbread
Attendees:
Owen Watson (Torch)
Roger Gilbert (DMA)
Steve Smith (DMA)
Isobel Brown (FUG)
Noel Scanlon (ADTS Ltd)
Michael Dixon (Chairman, WG2; Consultant)
Lesley Bulman (ntl)
Bill Crane (BT)
Kathy Mulville (THA)
Chris Kemp (Ericsson; Chairman, NICC Technical Group)
Alan Price (Dial It)
Tracy Fenton (CWC)
Apologies:
Liz Wainman (CA)
Richard Cox (Mandarin)
Paul Brisby (One2One)
Andrea Dworak (Energis)
1. Note of the
last meeting
It was recorded that the note did not reflect the request that had
been made at the last meeting for clearly stated
objectives with respect to the transition to INA and charging, including
some rough timescales. Oftel had hoped that the working groups would
give the forum for deciding these, once consensus on the main issues
had been achieved. This was not achieved in all areas and firming
up plans and timing will need to wait until the responses to the
consultation document have been analysed.
2. Progress
on Action Points from Last Meeting
Rules of Use manual
- The group
was largely supportive of the principles the manual tried to enshrine
but several queries about how "rights" could be delivered
and the group proposed considerably more detail on ownership and
delivery of obligations in the next draft.
- A revised version is to be drafted and circulated for information.
The content of the manual will be reflected in the coming consultation
document on Developing Number Administration.
- Oftel believe incorporating rights of use into the Numbering
Conventions in the ongoing update was not suitable, because this
would be at odds with the rest of the INA work. Later developments
in the INA consultation might affect what rights should be included
and how those rights might be expressed and the Conventions would
then need revision.
Business Model
- Network
operators continued to query whether charging at any reasonable
level would bring increased efficiency in number use, because
those who held valuable numbers could be willing to write off
the relatively low charges that the model proposed and not return
numbers that were not in service. It was felt that charges could
not be raised too high, because that might prevent new market
entrants. It was agreed however that charging would prevent numbers
being grabbed as they became available.
- Concern over how charging would begin, e.g. whether it would
be a phased introduction of some kind; and how new blocks would
be released, especially because the timing and approach would
affect the behaviour of potential number hoarders and would probably
call for different policing measures.
- Difficulties in setting up a charging system were discussed
at some length; Cable & Wireless and BT referred the group
to the full versions of their responses to Oftel about the Business
Model. Oftel said these would be posted on its web site.
Group members
were invited to comment on these documents for the last time before
they appear in summary form in the forthcoming consultation document
on Developing Number Administration. Oftel would also ask the Telecom
Managers Association and Telecom Users Association to post the business
model on their web sites and invite comments from their members.
3. Number
Trading
This was not discussed as a separate issue.
4. Next Steps
Some concern was expressed that the group had not reached consensus
on enough issues to allow the next stage of consultation
to be undertaken usefully; other members of the group were, however,
concerned that the working group meetings were not continuing to
progress some of the unresolved issues and it would be better to
move to the next stage of consultation without delay. Oftel are
satisfied that we have moved several of the main issues forward
and agreement on all issues in this forum is unlikely, hence the
groups have served as much of their purpose as possible for now
and should end. Meetings on specific issues or with individual stakeholders
would take place before and after the next consultation document
was published. One-off group meetings remain an option for the future
if needed.
The main points
of the Rules of Use Manual and the Business Model for INA and charging
will be outlined in the Spring Developing Number Administration
Consultation document. This document will include several questions
on unresolved issues as well as items of settled policy.
[Return
to 'Numbering Working Group 1' page]
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